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Princeton University
Hampton
Players Mentioned
Hampton Holds Off Resilient Tiger Effort, Tops Princeton 28-23
October 08, 2011 | Football
The Princeton football team left Hampton Saturday knowing two things: it has the talent to play with this talented Pirate program, and it had the opportunities to win the game. Despite outgaining Hampton and forcing three turnovers, Princeton fell 28-23 in a thriller at Armstrong Stadium.
Freshman running back Chuck Dibilio rushed 21 times for 147 yards and a touchdown to lead the Princeton offense, but his 4-yard score was the only touchdown among seven scoring plays for Princeton. The Tigers kicked four field goals and amazingly scored two safeties in a span of 2:03 in the third quarter.
Princeton reached the red zone seven times, but it hit the end zone only once. Its final opportunity came with 2:52 remaining, when the Tigers drove for the winning points after a short punt left them with the ball at the Hampton 29.
A 20-yard pass from Tommy Wornham to Matt Costello on third down got the ball to the 9, and a Dibilio run moved it to the 6. An incompletion and a holding call, the 10th penalty of the game for Princeton, left the Tigers with 3rd and goal on the 16. After two more incompletions, Hampton was able to take a knee and clinch its third win of the season.
Wornham completed 19 of 39 passes for 171 yards, while Serwanga had a career effort with seven catches for 73 yards. Freshman Matt Costello also recorded a career high with six catches for 52 yards.
The Princeton defense played its best half of the season after giving up three touchdowns in the opening 30 minutes. The Tigers gave up only one touchdown and gave their offensive teammates multiple opportunities to get back into the lead. Junior Andrew Starks ended the game with a team-high 10 tackles, while safeties Mandela Sheaffer and Harrison Daniels both added seven tackles.
Senior Chance Cross had the best game of his career, recording six tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Senior Steven Cody also had a fumble recovery, while Caraun Reid had 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack.
For the first time this season, the opposing team scored first. After both teams failed to score on their opening drives, Chisholm scored on a six-yard rush with 6:38 remaining in the first quarter to give the Pirates a 7-0 lead.
Princeton was stopped on its next drive, but a diving interception by Cross gave the Tigers the ball at the Hampton 40. On the first touch of his collegiate career, freshman quarterback Quinn Epperly lined up at wideout, took an end around and rushed 20 yards down the left sideline before driving into the Hampton safety for an extra two yards. Three plays later, Dibilio broke through the line for a 4-yard touchdown run.
Hampton missed a field goal on its ensuing drive, but it struck quickly the next time it had an opportunity. After a holding call negated a long run by Brian Mills, Legree hit Dyrri McCain for a 57-yard touchdown. Legree was pressured on the play, but he stepped out of the rush and hit McCain coming across the field in stride. The score gave Hampton the lead with 13:03 remaining in the quarter.
Jacob cut the deficit to 14-10 with a 23-yard field goal midway through the quarter, but Jeremiah Schwartz gave Hampton a 21-10 lead at the half with a 26-yard touchdown run.
Cody recovered a Legree fumble early in the third quarter to set Jacob up for a 26-yard field goal. A Reid sack on the ensuing drive left Hampton punting from its own end zone, and a high snap by Dylan Kerns sent the ball into the end zone for a safety. Within a minute, Princeton scored five points and gained a ton of momentum.
Princeton's last safety was in Week 3 of the 2006 season, so the Tigers had gone 50 games without a safety. Then they got them in consecutive drives; following a brilliant punt by Otavio Fleury that pinned the Pirates inside their 5, Hampton was called for a holding penalty on third down inside its own end zone for a second straight safety.
Dibilio rushed five times on the ensuing drive for 27 yards and fullback Jason Ray caught an 11-yard pass to set Jacob up for a 27-yard field goal, which cut the deficit to one point (21-20) with six minutes left in the quarter.
Hampton started to finally move the ball, but it got stopped on the 35 and attempted a 52-yard field goal. The kick was blocked at the line and recovered near midfield by Dan Fitzsimmons. A missed 35-yard field goal left Princeton down 1, and Hampton finally got back on the board with a long drive that ended on a 1-yard swing pass to McCain.
Princeton followed with a 14-play, 55-yard drive that ended with a 22-yard field goal by Jacob, which got the deficit back within five points. Hampton was stopped on its next possession, but Princeton couldn't get that one final touchdown it needed to earn its second win of the season.
The Tigers will now seek that second win when they resume Ivy League play next Saturday at 12:30 in Providence against Brown. Princeton has lost four straight to Brown, including a 17-13 loss last season that included a season-ending injury to Wornham. The Tigers go into the game with a 1-0 league record off last weekend's 24-21 win over Columbia, while Brown is 0-1 after losing its opener at Harvard.