By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
The Princeton University football team wasn’t going to let this one slip away.
The Tigers opened their season with a 35-31 win over Lafayette last Saturday at Princeton Stadium. After battling back from a couple of different touchdown deficits, Princeton was able to run out the clock over the final 5:22 of the game thanks to the running of senior Joe Rhattigan.
“To have that drive at the end, I don’t how much time was on the lock when we got the ball but they had all of their three timeouts,” Princeton coach Bob Surace said. “That is a tremendous defense. They didn’t give up a touchdown the first six quarters. They haven’t been giving up rushing yards.”
Princeton led 35-24 before Lafayette scored to pull within 35-31 with 5:22 left. Thanks to the PU offense, the Leopards never got the ball back for an opportunity to go ahead.
“We come out on that last drive and coach (James) Perry gets in the huddle and says we are going to run the ball and we are going to finish,” Surace said. “You saw the guys eyes just light up, like yeah we can do this, we believe. That was good because they had stopped us the previous couple possessions. To have the offense run the ball that hard and close the game out, it is like having closers in baseball with Joe, Johnny (Lovett), and Charlie (Volker).”
Rhattigan finished the game 136 yards rushing to give the Princeton offense the balance it needed. He’s been a quiet leader for the Tigers leading up to the opener and let his performance to the talking on Saturday.
“It is amazing,” Surace said. “Not many people get named captain who don’t say much. It is a testament to him and his effort and the respect the players have, because as coaches we love guys like that. They just play hard. They don’t say much. The team responds to effort not words and he is a guy of action.”
The win was a great way to start the season as Princeton looks to rebound from a rough finish last year. After opening 4-1 a year ago, injuries took a toll on the Tigers as they went 1-4 in the second half of the season.
“Every win is important,” Surace said. “We know how hard it is. We only get 10 games. There is no ugly win. You play and you correct it. Win or lose, you make corrections. To me, when you win, that is a great time to make corrections because you feel good. Lehigh is going to see us on film and they are going to know the spots we weren’t good at and they are going to attack us that way.”
The Tigers are back in action this Saturday at Lehigh. They will open Ivy League play on Oct. 1 at Columbia.
