Football cages Tigers in Homecoming blowout

Third-quarter surge ignites Football win Everybody knew the scoreboard was wrong -- everybody, except perhaps the Princeton Tigers. With 3:27 left in the third quarter, Franklin Field's scoreboard told the 18,305 Homecoming fans that their Quakers led Princeton 227-6. In reality, the score was only 27-6, and the scoreboard's error was soon corrected. Still, the 21 unanswered points that Penn (4-4, 3-2 Ivy League) ran up in the preceding 5:14 must have felt like 221 in the hearts and minds of the from-then-on-listless Tigers. This five-minute stretch secured the Quakers' margin of victory and sunk Princeton for good. After a 6-6 first half, Penn outscored the gentlemen from Old Nassau (3-5, 1-4) 35-7 in the second half for a demonstrative 41-13 victory. "They fell apart in the second half," Quakers defensive lineman Mike Germino said. "You really got a sense that they folded out there. They just said,'Enough is enough; we can't do this.' Midway through the third quarter you really felt it." The last score in Penn's three-touchdown flurry was a 41-yard interception return by sophomore safety Kunle Williams. Williams' dramatics didn't stop there, however, as he returned yet another Princeton interception with less than a minute to go in the game -- this time for a shocking school-record 100 yards. Williams' marathon return brought the boisterous crowd to its feet and broke the previous 94-yard mark set by in 1994 by Dana Lyons, who attended Saturday's Homecoming contest. Although the final score was lopsided in favor of the Red and Blue, the Tigers weren't outclassed. Time of possession favored Princeton 30:45 to 29:15. The Tigers had four more first downs and seven fewer penalties. This showdown was definitely not decided on paper; it was a game predicated by big plays. And it was the Quakers who made more of them. Penn's initial possession was an auspicious one. Brandon Carson returned the opening Princeton kickoff to the Penn 31. After an offsides call against the Tigers, Quakers tailback Kris Ryan ran for 34 yards up the left side of the field after the Penn offensive line ripped a gaping hole in the Princeton defense. Ryan's longest run of the day gave the Quakers prime field position but they were unable to gain another 10 yards. Penn settled for a 41-yard Jason Feinberg field goal and led 3-0. The ensuing Princeton possession was indicative of the maladies that would plague the Tigers all afternoon. On first down, Princeton quarterback Tommy Crenshaw lined up in shotgun formation and attempted to catch Penn off-guard with a draw to tailback Cameron Atkinson. The Penn "D" adjusted beautifully and Jim Hisgen and Adrian Puzio stopped the Princeton freshman at the line of scrimmage. On second down, Atkinson got the call again and managed only three yards. Third down saw a vicious Penn pass rush as tackle John Galan sacked Crenshaw for a stinging eight-yard loss. The Tigers were forced to punt. This pattern would continue, as the Penn pass rush was one of the principal keys to victory on Saturday. The four frontmen for Penn refused to give Crenshaw and his backup Jon Blevins time to make things happen. Penn sacked Princeton quarterbacks seven times on Saturday. Six Quakers defenders got in on the action. Hisgen led the team with two. "Obviously, we had trouble with their pass rush," Princeton coach Steve Tosches said. "They blitzed a little bit, but most of it was from the four-man rush." On the ensuing possession, it looked as if the Tigers would forge ahead. On a first down play from the Penn 43-yard line, Crenshaw found wide-out Phil Wendler for 42 yards." "We go backward on two straight run plays," Tosches said. "Those are opportunities to grab momentum, and we just didn't do that." Another Princeton field goal knotted the score going into an extra-long halftime. "It turned into a 25-minute halftime because of all the things they were trying to do Homecoming-wise," Bagnoli said. "We didn't really know what to expect because they had scored just before the half." As it turned out, the Quakers did much better than anyone could have expected in the second half. Penn didn't look stellar from the get-go in the second half, however. The Quakers' first possession ended when an errant Hoffman pass was intercepted by Princeton cornerback Gary Beem after just three plays. But the Quakers defense struck back with ferocity. On the second play after the interception, the Tigers tried to get innovative and attempt a reverse. Penn's Mike Germino got to Crenshaw just as he handed the ball off to wide receiver Chisom Opara. The exchange was bumpy and Opara fumbled the ball, which Penn's Rogers recovered. With short field, Hoffman marched his team rapidly into the end zone. The touchdown was a 22-yarder to Rob Milanese. Hoffman hit him while Milanese was moving full-speed on a crossing pattern. So began the much-vaunted 21-0 run. The second touchdown came after a putrid six-yard punt by Princeton's Taylor Northrop. "Short field made a big difference," Hoffman said. "The offense only has to go 30 or 40 yards." The Penn offense played well in the second half, but the real secret to the Quakers' success was their ability to make the big play in every facet of the game on Saturday. "All season long, we haven't done a good job protecting the ball offensively and creating turnovers defensively," Bagnoli said. "Until we're able to do that better and get some opportunities in short field, it's going to prevent you from winning those close games. Finally, we did a good job of that today."

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