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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Tigers Look For Stronger Performance, First Win Against Ranked Lafayette Squad
September 21, 2007 | Football, General
The opening act of the Princeton football season wasn't pretty. Act two must be better, as the Tigers head into Easton to play the No. 22 Lafayette Leopards, winner of the 2006 Patriot League title. Princeton has won four of the last five meetings in this rivalry, but Lafayette is unbeaten and coming off a defensive thriller over Penn. Fans can watch the game live on DirecTV channel 628 or listen to it on WPRB 103.3 FM or GoPrincetonTigers.com.
Game Specifics
Date/Time: Sept. 22/6 p.m.
Field: Fisher Stadium
Location: Easton, Pa.
TV: FSN Pittsburgh, DirecTV Channel 628
Radio: WPRB 103.3 FM
All-Time Series: Princeton 36-4-3
Last Year: PRINCETON 26, Lafayette 14
Last at site: Princeton 23, Lafayette 21
Last Five Years: Princeton leads 4-1
Current Streak: Princeton 3
Game Notes ? Week 2
Bouncing Back ? Princeton has followed its last three losses with victories, including two on the road. The Tigers haven't lost two straight contests since October of 2005.
On The Road Again ? Princeton has won three straight road openers, including a 23-21 win at Fisher Stadium two years ago.
Double Trouble ? Princeton hasn't started a season 0-2 since 2003, when the Tigers lost the home opener to Lehigh and a road game at Lafayette. Under head coach Roger Hughes, Princeton has only started 0-2 twice in seven seasons.
Night Rider ? Princeton is playing the first road night game in team history this weekend. The Tigers have played 10 games under the lights at Princeton Stadium and are 5-5, although they lost last weekend 32-21 against Lehigh.
Mirror Images ? Princeton and Lafayette are both defending league champions. Both shared their league titles with their most historic rivals, and both won their rivalry matchup to ensure a share of the title. Both rivalries also happen to be the two longest-running active rivalries in Division I college football (Lafayette-Lehigh, 142 games; Princeton-Yale, 129 games).
Four Score ? Princeton has won four of its last five games against Lafayette, including each of the last three. In the four seasons when Princeton won the Lafayette game, it had three winning seasons and one .500 season. In the one season Princeton lost the Lafayette game during the last five years, it had its only losing season.
Patriot Games ? Princeton went 3-0 against Patriot League competition last fall. Prior to last season, the Tigers hadn't gone unbeaten in three games against Patriot teams since 1997.
Trying Again ? The last time Princeton was the defending Ivy League champion was 1996. The Tigers went 3-7 that season.
Poll Position ? Princeton was picked to finish fourth in the annual Ivy League preseason media poll. The Tigers didn't receive any first-place votes in the poll.
History Lesson ? Princeton didn't receive any first-place votes in either of the previous two years and went 16-4 with one Ivy League title and one second-place finish.
A Hughes Success ? Princeton head coach Roger Hughes made history last season by becoming the first coach in Ivy League history to improve three straight teams by at least two wins.
Moving Up ? Roger Hughes (35-35) needs one win to stand alone in fifth place on the all-time Princeton coaching win list.
Senior Thesis ? With at least five wins, the Class of 2008 would become the first Princeton graduating class without a losing season since the Class of 1995.
Working Overtime ? Princeton has won four straight overtime contests, including two last season (27-26 at Colgate and 31-30 vs. Penn).
Rallying Cry ? Princeton came from behind in the second half to win five games last season.
Oh Captain, Our Captains ? Senior wideout Brendan Circle and senior linebacker Jon Stem will serve as Princeton's 2007 captains. Circle was a first-team All-Ivy selection last season after catching 56 passes, the ninth-best single-season total in Princeton history. Stem recorded 35 tackles, including three sacks, and helped lead a linebacking corps that lost four starters from the previous season.
Listen Up ? All Princeton games can be heard live on WPRB 103.3 FM and on GoPrincetonTigers.com. Ed Benkin returns for his seventh year as the play-by-play man, and he will be joined by former Princeton and NFL lineman Ross Tucker '01. Tucker played for Hughes during his first season as Tiger head coach.
Watch Out ? Saturday's game with Lafayette can be seen live on Fox SportsNet Pittsburgh and
DirecTV channel 628. Princeton will have two games televised on CN8 (Oct. 6 vs. Hampton and Nov. 3 at Penn), and one game each on ESPNU (Oct. 26 vs. Cornell) and the YES Network (Nov. 10 vs. Yale). All Princeton home games, excluding the ESPNU contest, will be streamed live on www.GoPrincetonTigers.com.
Offensive Notes ? Week 2
Dollar Bill ? Senior Bill Foran threw the first two touchdown passes of his career in last weekend's loss to Lehigh. He became the first Princeton Tiger to record a passing, rushing and receiving touchdown in his career since Judd Garrett '90.
Circle Pattern ? Brendan Circle, who led the Ivy League in receiving yards last season (83.5 per game), needs five touchdowns to tie Kevin Duffy for third place on the all-time Princeton list. Circle has eight career touchdown receptions, seven of which came last season.
Making Them Count ? Brendan Circle caught three passes last weekend, but averaged 32.7 yards per reception.
Spread The Wealth ? Although Brendan Circle is Princeton's first-team All-Ivy wideout, three other players caught touchdowns against Lehigh. Rob Toresco, Adam Berry and Will Thanheiser each recorded their first scores of the season in the opening game.
Rob-bery ? Senior Rob Toresco is Princeton's active career scoring leader with 11 touchdowns. He made his collegiate debut against Lafayette two seasons ago, led the Tigers with 79 yards rushing and helped ice the game by leading the team on a fourth-quarter drive that took 9:25 off the clock.
Top Gun-ter ? Kenny Gunter was moved from quarterback to running back in the offseason and led Princeton with 111 all-purpose yards against Lehigh. He recorded 83 yards in kick returns and added 28 rushing yards on eight attempts.
Defensive Notes ? Week 2
Tackling The Issue ? Senior linebacker Tim Boardman, who led Princeton in tackles last season, recorded a career-best 17 stops last weekend, the second-most for any player in the Ivy League.
For Pete's Sake ? Junior Pete Buchignani is Princeton's lone returning All-Ivy defensive player. He recorded 27 tackles, including five for losses, as a defensive end in 2006.
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do ? Sophomore Dan Kopolovich, a former all-state quarterback in Pennsylvania, is a starting defensive back for Princeton. He led the team with three pass breakups last weekend, which tied for second-best in the Ivy League.
Sing A Song ? Senior Doori Song, another key run stopper for Princeton this season, was second on the team with eight tackles last weekend.
Backing Them Up ? Senior Kevin Kelleher enters the season as the veteran leader of the defensive backfield. The free safety recorded four interceptions last season ? all of which came in Princeton's last three home games.
Not Your Average Joe ? Senior Joe Cerreta, one of the defensive backs Princeton will look to help replace key graduation losses of the last two years, recorded his first career interception last weekend.
Kelly Green ? Starting cornerback Cart Kelly was featured in the ESPNU reality show “Summer House” in 2006. Six Division I recruits were in the house, which was run by former NFL All-Pro Chris Spielman.
Miscellaneous Notes ? Week 2
Not So Special ? Princeton struggled on special teams in its opener last weekend. The Tigers fumbled a punt and failed to recover a short kickoff late in the first half. They also had a punt blocked for a safety and were unsuccessful on an onsides kick.
Louden Clear ? Junior Connor Louden, who is a perfect 28-for-28 on PAT attempts in his career, overcame offseason surgery and will handle placekicking duties this weekend. Louden was 9 for 16 last season on field goal attempts.
Just For Kicks ? Punter Ryan Coyle averaged 40.2 yards per punt last weekend, which tied for second-best in the Ivy League, and recorded a 50-yard punt. Coyle is replacing four-time All-Ivy punter Colin McDonough.
Flagged Down ? Princeton was the least penalized team in the Ivy League last weekend. The Tigers recorded only three penalties for a loss of 10 yards.
The Crystal Ball ? Princeton's next game will be at Powers Field at Princeton Stadium next weekend when the Tigers open the Ivy League schedule against Columbia. Tickets for the 3:30 p.m. game can be purchased by calling 609-258-4TIX or online at Princeton's official athletics web site, GoPrincetonTigers.com. For those who can't make the game, it will be streamed live at GoPrincetonTigers.com.
Last Year: PRINCETON 26, Lafayette 14
PRINCETON, N.J. - Led by three touchdown passes from Jeff Terrell, a pair of interceptions by J.J. Artis and a spectacular 49-yard touchdown reception by R.C. Lagomarsino, the Tigers claimed a 26-14 win over Lafayette in their home opener. Playing its first game on the new FieldTurf, Princeton scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and fought off several Lafayette charges for the win.
Terrell completed 20 passes for 261 yards and three scores, including the winning touchdown to Will Thanheiser. That score, a 14-yarder with 13:59 left in the fourth quarter, gave Princeton a 19-14 lead and was Thanheiser's first career touchdown.
Princeton opened the scoring on its first drive of the game by marching down the field in 12 plays over a five-minute span. The defense held on Lafayette's first possession, and Terrell took the ball from his 20-yard-line to the Lafayette 13-yard-line. Using an array of misdirections on both the run and the pass, Princeton set up Connor Louden to make a 30-yard field goal.
Terrell made four spectacular plays on Princeton's next drive to pick up first downs. The Leopard defense kept the Tigers out of the end zone, but Louden made sure Terrell's efforts were rewarded with a 38-yard field goal.
Lafayette found the end zone in the second quarter to take a 7-6 lead when Brad Maurer connected with Shaun Adair for the score. Princeton got back into scoring territory when Terrell engineered a no-huddle drive. A few plays later, Terrell lofted a perfect floater to the front left corner of the end zone, where Brigham caught it in front of a defender and got a foot down to secure the touchdown and give Princeton the lead.
Both teams were locked in defensively to open the second half, but the Leopards eventually got in the end zone to regain the lead. Princeton ended the third quarter by getting its offense back on track, and had the ball just short of midfield to start the fourth quarter and set up Terrell's game-winning pass to Thanheiser.
Artis' pick in the end zone gave Princeton the ball back with just over 5:00 remaining.