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Princeton University Athletics
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Experienced Defense Returns, New Backfield Debuts Princeton Football 2005 Opens Saturday
September 13, 2005 | Football
Sept. 13, 2005
The interest this football offseason, which officially ends Saturday at 1 p.m. against Lafayette, focused on the open positions in the Princeton backfield. Now that they have been filled, some of the focus can shift back to the forgotten few who will be depended on to lead Princeton to the top of the league standings.
Sure, it was interesting to follow the races for the quarterback and running back positions. But when Princeton faces off against Lafayette this weekend, the Tigers won't be depending solely on junior quarterback Jeff Terrell, junior tailback Cleo Kirkland and sophomore fullback Rob Toresco to win this one on their own.
Instead, the hopes for a season-opening win, against a team that has already earned two victories, will rest in the hands of the experienced veterans who have been in their fair share of tight contests.
Defensively, a pair of former first-team All-Ivy selections return in linebacker Justin Stull and defensive back Jay McCareins. All-Ivy selections Abi Fadeyi (LB) and Tim Strickland (DB) are among the other returning starters to a unit that will need to be one of the best in the Ivy League this season.
Offensively, the coaching staff will depend on a senior-heavy offensive line to guide the way. Co-captain Ben Brielmaier, third-year starter Dave Szelingowski and 2003 All-Ivy selection Paul Lyons will lead the cast of linemen whose job it is to allow the likes of Terrell and Kirkland the opportunity to make plays. There are a pair of experienced playmakers on the squad in senior wideout Greg Fields and senior tight end Jon Dekker. They present very different challenges to opposing coaches, and both will need to be effective for Princeton to success this weekend.
Will there be some growing pains from the new faces, which are not solely limited to the offensive backfield? Of course, just as there are on any team. But those forgotten veterans should quickly move back to the forefront of fans' minds Saturday afternoon.
Princeton (0-0) at Lafayette (2-0) Game Notes in PDF Format
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Game Notes
Opening Act • Princeton opens its 136th season Sept. 17 at Lafayette. Lafayette opened its season two weeks earlier, hours after Princeton completed its 14th practice of the fall.
More Openers • Princeton broke a five-year winless stretch in opening games last season by defeating Lafayette 35-18 at Princeton Stadium. The Tigers outgained the eventual Patriot League champion 410-289 in the game and held a 35-6 lead in the fourth quarter.
Seven Deadly Sins • Princeton has lost its last seven season-opening road games. The last time the Tigers opened the season with a win on the road was 1992, when Keith Elias rushed for 114 yards in a 22-20 win at Cornell.
Home Sweet Home • The home team has won each of the last five games in this series, including a 28-13 win for Lafayette in 2003, the last time these teams met at Fisher Field.
Not So Close Encounters • The winning team in each of the last two meetings has held a lead of 15 points or more in every minute of the second half.
24 • In the last three meetings, the winning team has held at least a 24-point lead at some point.
Five Alive • Five different Princeton players scored touchdowns in last season's 35-18 victory against Lafayette.
One and Done • Of those five touchdown scorers, only one (Greg Fields) is a current member of the Princeton football team. The Tigers will start a new quarterback (Matt Verbit '05), tailback (Branden Benson '05), fullback (Joel Mancl '05) and split end (Clinton Wu '05) against Lafayette this season.
Fresh Face • Quarterback Matt Verbit began the 2004 season with 15 starts, 477 passing attempts and 17 touchdown passes to his credit. Saturday's starting quarterback, Jeff Terrell, has zero career starts and zero career attempts.
Glass is Half Full • Princeton started two of its last five seasons with 4-1 records, and both seasons have included wins over Lafayette.
Glass is Half Empty • Princeton has combined to start the remaining three seasons with 4-11 records, including an 0-2 record against Lafayette (the 2001 contest was cancelled following 9/11).
Starting Off On The Right Foot • Princeton returns seven defensive starters from its season-concluding 17-10 win over Dartmouth in 2004. Among them are four '04 All-Ivy selections (1st-team DB Jay McCareins, HM LB Abi Fadeyi, HM DB Tim Strickland and 2nd-team LB Justin Stull).
Tackling The Issue • Senior linebacker and co-captain Justin Stull has more tackles over the last two seasons (220) than any other active player in the Ivy League. The next closest player, Dartmouth's Josh Dooley, has 148.
Justin Time • Justin Stull is the first two-time Princeton captain since John Rush led the 1915 and 1916 teams.
Big Ben • Joining Stull as a co-captain this season is senior offensive tackle Ben Brielmaier, who has started three seasons for Princeton. Brielmaier started as a defensive tackle in 2003 before moving to offensive tackle before the 2004 season.
Familiar Faces • Justin Stull has started 20 straight games for Princeton, while Ben Brielmaier has started 18 straight games.
First Up • Senior defensive back Jay McCareins is Princeton's lone returning first-team All-Ivy selection from 2004 (Stull was a first-team pick in 2003). McCareins finished second in the Ivy League last season with 12 passes defensed, and he finished second on the Princeton offense with 21 receptions.
Tim-ber • Junior Tim Strickland has started every game in his career, and he is expected to start at cornerback against Lafayette. Strickland, who tied a Princeton record with three interceptions in one game last season (Colgate) started all 10 games at cornerback in 2003 before playing safety last year.
Fields of Dreams • Senior wideout Greg Fields finished seventh in Division I-AA last season with 157.2 all-purpose yards per game. He opened the campaign by gaining 230 all-purpose yards in the season- opening win against Lafayette.
More Fields • Fields has more career yards against Lafayette (283) than he does against any other team on the 2005 schedule. The senior wideout averages 12.9 yards per touch against the Leopards, and he scored his first career touchdown against them in the win last season.
Junior Mint • Junior Jeff Terrell was named the starting quarterback last weekend by head coach Roger Hughes on the same day Brad Maurer started his 14th game at quarterback for Lafayette. Terrell has never taken a snap in a varsity game.
1,061* • The last 1,061 passes attempted by a Princeton quarterback were thrown by either Dave Splithoff or Matt Verbit. The last attempt by a Princeton quarterback other than Splithoff or Verbit was thrown by David Mroz in a 2001 loss at Colgate.
Home Is Where The Backfield Is • Both starters in the Princeton backfield grew up in New Jersey. Junior tailback Cleo Kirkland was an all-conference running back at Eastern HS in Voorhees, while sophomore fullback Rob Toresco rushed for 54 touchdowns and was an all-state selection at Hunterdon Central in Flemington, N.J. On Dek • Senior tight end Jon Dekker will be beginning his third season as a starter. He has caught 32 passes in his career, including one touchdown, and averages 12.3 yards per catch.
Line 'Em Up • Princeton returns five players who have started on its offensive line, including four expected to start on Saturday. Both Ben Brielmaier and Dave Szelingowski started all 10 games at tackle last year, and Andrew Aurich, who will move to center Saturday, started five games at guard last year. Left guard Paul Lyons started all 10 games in 2003 and earned All-Ivy honors. The fifth former starter, Andrew Wilson, missed much of the preseason with an injury and is currently listed as a reserve.
Just For Kicks, Part I • Princeton returns an All-Ivy placekicker in senior Derek Javarone, who ranked ninth nationally last season with 1.3 field goals per game. He made 13 of 18 attempts last season, and he holds the Ivy League record with five field goals in a league game (2003 vs. Dartmouth)
Just For Kicks, Part II • Princeton also returns a two-time All-Ivy punter in junior Colin McDonough, the only player in program history to earn first-team all-league honors as a freshman. McDonough has averaged 38.1 yards per punt in his career and has pinned 29 punts inside the 20.
Sixth Sense • Princeton is beginning its sixth season under Roger Hughes. Hughes has a 2-2 lifetime record against Lafayette, although he is 0-2 at Lafayette.
Zak Attacks the NFL • Linebacker Zak Keasey, who led the Ivy League with 127 tackles last season, made the Washington Redskins roster as an undrafted free agent and played on special teams for the Redskins in their 9-7 win over Chicago last weekend.
What's The Frequency, Kenneth • Princeton football returns to WHWH 1350 AM this year, with Ed Benkin (play-by-play) and Dan Loney (color) providing commentary. All audio broadcasts will also be available online at www.GoPrincetonTigers.com.
Are You Sirius? • SIRIUS Satellite Radio, the nation's premier provider of live professional and collegiate sports events and sports talk on satellite radio, and the Ivy League have announced a multi-year agreement to broadcast a "Game of the Week" for football and men's basketball, plus a select number of men's hockey and other games from across the Ivy League sports landscape, on SIRIUS throughout the season.
Lights, Camera, Action • Princeton will have at least one football game televised by the YES Network in 2005 as the Tigers welcome the Cornell Big Red on Saturday, Oct. 29 at noon. Princeton's season finale at Dartmouth on Nov. 19 could also be televised as the Ivy League and the network left the final date open to choose a contest with Ivy-title implications. The YES Network is available to viewers in New York, Connecticut, and large parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The YES Network is also available nationally to DIRECTV subscribers who have the "SPORTS Pack," one of the provider's premium services. The YES Network airs on DIRECTV's channel 622. All home games can be seen locally on Patriot Media TV.
The Crystal Ball • Princeton opens a three-week homestand on Sept. 24 when it welcomes San Diego to Princeton Stadium for a 1:00 contest. A pair of defensive touchdowns by James Williams and Jay McCareins helped Princeton to a 24-17 win in San Diego last season.
Last Year: Princeton 35, Lafayette 18
2004 Box Score
Wide receiver/return man Greg Fields gained 230 all-purpose yards while quarterback Matt Verbit threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another as the Princeton football team opened its 2004 season with a 35-18 victory over Lafayette. The Tigers, who held a commanding 29-point lead early in the fourth quarter, earned their first season-opening victory since 1998.
Verbit completed 18 of 26 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns. He ended the game with 3,661 passing yards all-time, moving him past former teammate Dave Splithoff `04 (3,446) and Bob Holly `82 (3,624) and into fourth place on the Princeton all-time list. Verbit completed passes to eight different receivers, including a team-high seven to senior Clinton Wu.
Fields was the most explosive player on the field, gaining 165 of his 230 yards in the return game. He helped Princeton win the field position battle all night, especially by averaging more than 14 yards per punt return.
The defense was dominant until the game was out of reach, and it was led by its linebacking duo of Justin Stull and Zak Keasey. Stull, a first-team All-Ivy selection in 2003, led all players with 14 stops. Keasey, a first-team All-Ivy selection in 2002 and the Prince-ton leader in tackles in 2001 and 2002, had 12 tackles and two sacks. Keasey joined senior defensive back Brandon Mueller and junior defensive back Jay McCareins back on the field for Princeton; the three players combined to record 25 tackles. Seven of Lafayette's first eight drives ended with either punts or turnovers, including linebacker Abi Fadeyi's first career interception, which stalled Lafayette's first real scoring opportunity against Prince-ton in the first half.