Sports: October 6, 1999



A grim opener for football

The offense struggles in a 20-3 loss to Cornell

Football coach Steve Tosches has always viewed quarterbacks like Henry VIII viewed his wives. Seven times in the last eight years Princeton has opened the year with a new starting QB-a record in vacillation that surpasses even the volatile king.

This season, Tosches has chosen to be polygamous, deciding to rotate Tommy Crenshaw '02 and Jon Blevins '01 every two series. In the season opener, against Cornell, the result was an offense that flowed as smoothly as a Chevrolet Corvair. Princeton lost 20-3, and the team's 13 possessions included six punts, two fumbles, two turnovers on downs, and an interception. After the game, Blevins, despite completing 11-18 passes for 150 yards, had the look of a player whose confidence was shot. "Just when you think you're getting in the flow," he said, "you sit out for two series. It's hard to get-and keep-a feel of the game."

Reporters didn't have to look far for a dramatic contrast with the shaken Blevins. Fifteen minutes earlier, Cornell coach Pete Mangurian had sat beside his own sophomore QB, Ricky Rahne, who, like Crenshaw and Blevins, entered the game as unseasoned as a dining-hall steak. Rahne, however, made tartare of the Princeton secondary, throwing for 307 yards and two touchdowns, and after the game he was ebullient about his afternoon. "It was exciting," he said. "After the first touchdown] I relaxed and said, 'Let's go play football.'" Rahne's future seems bright.

Princeton's immediate future, on the other hand, is not promising. If Princeton had a difficult time stopping Rahne in his first start, it seems likely that Brown's All-Ivy QB James Perry and Penn's Gavin Hoffman, a transfer from Northwestern, will shred the Tigers' secondary. On paper, Cornell is not a good team. The Cornell receivers and backs are no better than the Princeton's, and the offensive line and defense are worse. Mangurian admitted in the postgame interview that the Tigers were bigger, stronger, and more talented than his team-comments that seemed more candid than coachspeak.

So why did Princeton look so bad? Football coaches often justifiably complain that reporters who can't cogently dissect the strengths and weaknesses of a 4-3 defense have no business analyzing how they do their jobs. And in his 12 seasons at Princeton, Tosches has won enough games (75) and titles (3) to earn the benefit of the doubt. He has built his teams around a simple philosophy that he articulated again after the Cornell game: "Successful teams run the football and stop the run."

But when his team can't bludgeon its opponents at the line of scrimmage, Tosches tends to lose. If Florida's Steve Spurrier is the Machiavelli of offensive innovation in college football, Tosches is Strom Thurmond. Watching Princeton's talented, fast, wide receivers block for two consecutive draw plays during the two minute drill against Cornell was an experience more painful than listening to Carl Lewis sing the national anthem. Most frustratingly, Princeton does have the personnel to be dynamic. Cornell repeatedly used its tall wide receivers to victimize Princeton's short cornerbacks, and the Tigers had the same mismatch, yet threw only two passes over 25 yards-completing both of them.

From a spectator's standpoint, watching Princeton over the last few years has too often been the kind of dull that makes you dream of being at home and mowing the lawn. Not many eager-eyed freshmen who wandered down to the stadium for the Cornell game are likely to return-no matter what kind of snacks the athletic department offers. Certainly, the coach's job is to win games, not appease spectators, but the defense of football in the face of Title IX is that it's a sport that can bring a community together. And that effort can only be aided by having a watchable product on the field.

Some of Princeton's problems are both forgivable and correctable. The Tigers graduated some good football players last spring, and breaking in a new QB can be a long and difficult process. But in a league where the other teams are beginning to recruit better skill players and get more aggressive on offense, the Princeton coaches need to make sure they're giving their own talented athletes the chance to consistently make big plays. And if that means shelving the ball control offense before the team is down by two touchdowns, so much the better.

In the winter the Princeton community has grown used to watching its basketball team beat teams with more talent. It has been a while since that happened to the football team. In this era of instant gratification, too many columnists and reporters spend their time calling for the heads of perfectly decent coaches. Tosches has undeniably earned a chance to prove that he can adapt to the changing conditions in the Ivy league and turn his team into an entertaining winner. But if this campaign ends as poorly as it began, it will be difficult to explain to anyone who saw the Cornell game why they should be excited for another season of Tosches football.

-Wes Tooke '98


Goals come in bunches for men's and women's soccer

Titles possible for both teams

When Krista Ariss '03 headed home a cornerkick just over three and a half minutes into women's soccer's September 19 contest against Cornell, head coach Julie Shackford breathed a heavy sigh of relief. That score marked the first time the Tigers had found the net in more than five hours of soccer-including two scrimmages against the College of New Jersey and Penn in the Mercer County Cup, and losses to No. 7 Clemson and Furman in the Clemson Invitational.

With Princeton finally having scored some goals, Shackford sounded believable when she repeated after the Cornell win what she had felt all through the preseason: This was the strongest team of her five-year tenure. "We are so deep, especially up front," she said.

During a first-half deluge against Cornell, it was clear what Shackford meant. The Tigers (1-2, 1-0 Ivy) quickly swamped the Big Red with three more goals after Ariss's header and cruised to a 4-0 win.

Shackford has three lethal forwards, one more than she can use in her 2-4-4 offensive formation. One of them is Ariss, perhaps the best striker in the province of Ontario and at 5'10" an imposing presence on the frontline. "She's good in the air and has great feet," cocaptain Dana DeCore '00 said of her teammate.

DeCore returns as the second leading scorer from 1998. Princeton also returns its top offensive weapon from last season, Amee Reyes '01. Reyes displayed her blinding speed against Cornell when she raced past the Big Red back line for the Tiger's fourth goal.

Princeton's attack will be fed by two-time All Mid-Atlantic selection Julie Shaner '01. The experience of Jennifer Lankford '01 and Susan Rea '00 in the back lessens the loss of defensive stalwart Janet Santo '99. In goal for the Tigers will be Jordan Rettig '01, who played in every one of Princeton's nine wins a year ago. Pushing the Tiger veterans are 12 freshmen that comprise one of the nations' Top-25 recruiting classes.

Having solved the scoring riddle, Princeton now sets about challenging Harvard and Dartmouth for the Ivy title.

Men's Soccer

Picture at left: A rainbow or a stumble? The men's team hopes to reverse three years of streaky play.

After three years of streaky play and mediocre Ivy finishes for men's soccer, members of the class of '00 decided this past spring they had had enough. Rejuvenating spring workouts that had gone flat in recent years, captain Chad Adams '00 and his classmates set a serious tone for the fall season. The team got another chance to develop on and off the field during an August playing tour of England.

The result has been palpable. "This is by far the closest team I've been on in my four years here," said Griff Behncke '00, a stalwart of the defense.

September 19 the Tigers (1-1, 1-0 Ivy) turned in a gutsy performance to match the team's new mood. Coming off a 1-0 loss to Lehigh, Princeton fell behind early to Cornell when goalkeeper Jason White '03 misplayed a long ball into penalty box. But goals by Behncke and his brother Matt '02 gave Princeton the lead before half. Mike Nugent '02 found net in the second half to ensure a 3-1 win.

The Behncke brothers-Griff at sweeper and Matt in the midfield-give Princeton a solid foundation. Nugent, Matt Striebel '01, and Lucas Moskowitz '02 will provide the firepower up front. Barlow started four freshmen last year so with White (who has extensive experience at the national team level) the lone freshmen starter this season, the coach has a seasoned bunch. His closer-knit group should improve drastically on last season's sixth-place finish in the Ivies.

-Oakley Brooks '99


Football game fast facts

It was over when: Cornell answered Princeton's field goal at the end of the third quarter by marching 72 yards in eight plays to score a touchdown. 17-3 Cornell.

Best play: Blevins finds Phil Wendler '00 along the sideline for a 36 yard gain in the third quarter.

Worst play: With seven minutes left in the game and Princeton down by two touchdowns, Crenshaw, hit as he releases the ball, overthrows a covered receiver. A Cornell defensive back dives and makes the interception.

Quote of the game: "There was no pressure on the QB. That's my job, and I didn't get there." David Ferrara '00, commenting on Princeton's lack of sacks.



Online News Sources for Tiger Football

Game stories:

Princeton Packet (www.pacpub.com/new/sports) Daily Princetonian (www.dailyprincetonian.com).

News and statistics:

Princeton Athletics (www.princeton.edu/athletics/football/index.html)

Princeton Football Association (www.princeton.edu/football)

 


A golden anniversary for two Princeton crews

In 1949, Princeton sent it's 150-pound varsity crew and the University Cottage Club crew to the Royal Henley Regatta. While the Cottage crew, competing in the Grand Challenge Cup, fell to the defending champion in the semifinals, the 150-pound crew defeated the Lady Margaret Boat Club of Cambridge by over a boat length in the final to win the Thames Challenge Cup for the second consecutive year. Mrs. Winston Churchill, wife of the prime minister, presented the team with its trophy.

In July of this year, 16 members from those two crews met at Henley to celebrate the 50th reunion of those races. The reunion crews had dinner with members of the current undergraduate crew team (a mixed group of heavyweights and lightweights), which was at Henley to race in the Temple Cup. The modern crew fell in the semifinals of its event.

Four enterprising members of the reunion crew expressed an interest in getting back on the water, and their coxswain said he'd steer if he could fit between the gunnels. "We ultimately decided not to do it," says Brodius Bailey Jr. '51, a member of the 150-pound team. "The Henley stretch of the river was enormously crowded with hundreds of crews. To expect for 70-somethings to successfully navigate that seemed like a bit much. I think the secretary of the Henley committee heaved a great sigh of relief when he heard we didn't want to go out."


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