The first Princeton-Hampton showdown was everything that college football should be. In perfect conditions, and with two sides of excited fans, a pair of defending conference champions played the game at an extremely high level. Unfortunately for the home Tigers, though, that level didn't last the full 60 minutes. Princeton saw a 27-14 halftime lead evaporate in a 34-0 second-half run for No. 21 Hampton, which left Powers Field at Princeton Stadium with a 48-27 win.
“This was a big-time college football atmosphere,” a disappointed head coach Roger Hughes said afterwards. “I'm very proud of the way the team played, but we left points on the field because we didn't execute. We need to get that fixed.”
Princeton outgained Hampton 484-353 in total offensive yards, but the Tigers had five turnovers, two of which were returned for touchdowns, and failed to score on fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard-line during the decisive second half. Interception returns of 80 and 65 yards surrounded a trio of short touchdown runs for the Pirates, who improved to 4-1 overall. Princeton fell to 2-2 with the loss.
Bill Foran led Princeton with 60 yards rushing and 181 yards passing, and he accounted for three touchdowns (two rushing, one passing). Three Princeton players had four receptions, including Will Thanheiser, who led the team with 82 yards receiving. Dan Kopolovich led the Tiger defense with 11 tackles and an interception, while Kevin Kelleher had 10 stops. John Callahan and Tim Boardman, Princeton's leading tackles, combined for 19 stops, and Callahan added two tackles for loss. Tom Methvin had two sacks and a forced fumble, while Collin McCarthy had 1.5 tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and a special teams surge that led to Princeton's last touchdown.
After both teams were stopped on their opening drives, Hampton got on the scoreboard first with a six-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that ended with a surge up the middle by Van Morgan. The two key plays of the drive came much earlier, as a 43-yard pass from TJ Mitchell to Justin Brown came one play after a personal foul on the Tiger defense.
Princeton showed its trademark resiliency in the ensuing drive. Following a good kickoff return by Kenny Gunter, Foran threw a 25-yard seam pass to Toresco, who took a big hit but held on to the ball. On the ensuing third-and-5, Foran called his own number and ran a draw up the middle for 21 yards. Inside the red zone, where Princeton was 6-for-6 with six touchdowns last week, Foran threw a third-down lob down the right sideline to Staser, who batted the ball to himself, came down with it and got his right foot down before being knocked out of bounds by Jimari Jones. The back official ruled Staser had control of the ball for his second touchdown in as many weeks.
Hampton went right back to work, using a crisp passing game and tough running from Kevin Beverly to get back into scoring range. A fourth-down crossing pass to Brown inside Princeton territory, and Beverly did the rest of the work. His four-yard run off the right side of the line gave the Pirates another seven-point lead.
Princeton used its two quarterbacks to perfection to start off its next drive. Greg Mroz started in the shotgun with Foran split out wide. Foran started in motion and took the handoff from Mroz, who stayed behind the line and eventually took a backwards pass from Foran. Still eligible to throw a forward pass, Mroz sent a 45-yard pass down the left sideline to Adam Berry. Another 15-yard completion to Will Thanheiser got the ball back inside the red zone on the final play of the quarter. For the first quarter, Princeton averaged 10.6 yards per play, while Hampton averaged 6.9 per play. The drive ended with a missed 24-yard field goal attempt by Connor Louden ? his first missed kick of the season.
The first turnover of the game went Princeton's way, as defensive tackle Pat Gallagher was able to fall on a fumbled exchange. An 11-yard run by Gunter moved Princeton into field goal range, and Foran worked hard to avoid a sack that would have taken the Tigers back out of range. Louden bounced back from his miss with a 36-yard kick that cut the deficit to four points.
Princeton forced another turnover on Hampton's ensuing possession, as Tom Methvin sacked Mitchell and forced a fumble that was recovered by Collin McCarthy at the Hampton 7-yard-line. The Pirate defense held, and Louden converted on a 21-yard field goal to make the score 21-20.
A three-and-out by the Princeton defense, which started with a tackle for loss by John Callahan and Cart Kelly, and a 19-yard punt return by Jeb Heavenrich gave the Tigers the ball at their own 46-yard-line. A 12-yard pass to Brendan Circle and three straight Lagomarsino rushes for a total of 22 yards set up an eight-yard touchdown run by Foran, giving Princeton its first lead of the game.
The defense came up with another stop, and this time it was the special teams that made a big play. On the punt attempt by FCS national leader Jahmal Blanchard, McCarthy broke through the line up the middle and forced Blanchard to run with the ball. He had open field to the left side, but Callahan was there for the saving tackle on sideline. Princeton got the ball back on the Hampton 29-yard-line, and then went back 10 yards more on an intentional grounding. On a fourth-and-14 that was too far for a field goal and too close for a punt, Hughes kept the offense on the field. Foran made the gamble pay by hitting Thanheiser on a deep corner route for a 25-yard gain. One play later, Foran ran a quarterback draw and leaped into the end zone for a 27-14 lead.
It would stay that way until halftime, thanks to a ineligible receiver call that negated a Hampton touchdown pass and an interception by Dan Kopolovich in the end zone with seconds remaining in the half.
The next 20 minutes belonged to the famed Hampton marching band, which thrilled a packed Princeton Stadium with a brilliant performance. The Pirate Marching Force, one of the premier bands in the nation, united the crowd by earning a full standing ovation upon completion of their set.
The next major cheer would come from the Pirate faithful. Princeton had the ball first and was moving down the field before a Mroz attempt was tipped at the line of scrimmage by Kevin Burke and intercepted by Charles Robinson. The Hampton junior sprinted 80 yards untouched for the score, which cut the deficit to 27-21 early in the third quarter.
After both teams came up with stops, Princeton got the ball at its own 19-yard-line with 7:36 remaining in the quarter. It would hold the ball for eight minutes and reach the 1-yard-line on fourth down, but the drive would come up without points when Gunter's option run would be stopped at the 3-yard-line.
Gilchrist gave Hampton breathing room with a 25-yard catch along the right sideline, and a pass interference call against Kelly gave the Pirates a first down near midfield. Another long Gilchrist catch put the ball in Princeton territory, and a personal foul moved the ball inside the 10-yard-line. Van Morgan was stopped at the line on first down, and Dennis Mathis followed with a run to the 2-yard-line. Morgan went over the top for the touchdown, completing a 15-play, 96-yard scoring drive that took 4:40 off the clock. The game would remain tied, though, as Matt Murphy came through the line and blocked the extra point.
Marcus Dixon gave Hampton a chance to go ahead by stripping Toresco as he received a handoff. The Pirates got the ball at the 43-yard-line, and faced a quick third-and-7. Mitchell found Kevin Teel for eight yards to extend the drive and keep a tiring Princeton defense on the field. Hampton would convert on two more third downs, including a Mitchell run to the 2-yard-line, which set up a short Beverly score for a 34-27 lead.
Hampton added two late touchdowns off turnovers to win the game going away. Beverly scored on a 1-yard run following the first of two late Sam Pope interceptions. Pope did the job himself on the second one, returning a pick 65 yards for a touchdown.
Princeton will play its final six games against league competition, starting next weekend in Providence against the Brown Bears, which lost to Holy Cross Saturday 48-37. The Bears have had two shootouts in the last couple of weeks, including a 49-42 double-overtime loss to Rhode Island. The game, which will be aired on NESN (DirecTV 623) and can be heard live on WPRB 103.3 and GoPrincetonTigers.com, will begin at 12:30 p.m.
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