One of the biggest struggles for the Princeton football team was their ability to find consistency on the offensive side of the ball.

With several new starters, the Panther’s offense was up and down, particularly in the passing game. Now that most of those players are returning, there is more optimism in the offensive approach heading into the new season after a 1-9 finish last year.

Among those returning players is starting quarterback Braeden Ratliff, who threw for 1,009 yards and four touchdown passes last season. Ratliff grew more comfortable in the role late in the season as he continued to develop chemistry with his receivers as the year progressed.

With three of his top receivers returning, head coach Ervin Chandler believes Ratliff has what it takes to get the job done again.

“He’s put together a good spring and is doing what we’re asking of him,” Chandler said. “With a new offensive coordinator, he’s being coachable and is working hard to earn his spot on the roster.”

Ratliff is facing some competition heading into his senior season, with rising sophomore Marcus Flowers pushing for the job as well. Flowers missed a chance to win the job as a freshman with a shoulder injury but has shown plenty of promise still at such a young age.

With two options that the team feels good about, coach Chandler said the competition should help fuel the Princeton offense.

“Both guys do a great job and have a lot of talent,” Chandler said. “Even beyond quarterback, we feel like we have a lot of competition on the offensive side, and it should only help us. We’ll see how they both do this fall and let them battle it out on the field.”

Ratliff impressed early in the season in a shootout game against Sherman in the second game of the season. He completed 60 percent of his passes in the contest and threw two touchdowns as the Panthers fell short against the Bearcats 34-30.

Unfortunately for Ratliff, he couldn’t capitalize on that momentum as he went down with an injury the next week against Lake Dallas that held him out for a month. When he returned, it was the most difficult part of the schedule for Princeton and the team struggled against some of the state’s top teams.

Still, Ratliff managed to throw touchdowns in the final two games of the year, showing the promise that earned him the starting job in the first place.

“He was very impressive against Sherman, even if we fell a little short,” Chandler said. “It was disappointing that he couldn’t get in a groove when he had an injury. It hurt us as an offense. He was able to put on some muscle and improve his quarterback reads, we’re just hopeful he can go out there and protect his shoulder.”

Princeton’s offense will feature more looks with the quarterback under center, and while Ratliff isn’t the biggest quarterback, he can read the defense well and has the arm strength to connect with his receivers over the middle. Coach Chandler said the team is going to focus on building off the run game to help his quarterback succeed.

“We’re not the kind of offense that is going to drop back 50 times and throw the ball all over the field,” Chandler said. “Braeden can move around well and throw the ball on the run, and we’re going to use the play-action, roll-outs and different things to make throws easier for him and maximize his skills.”

Flowers is one of the youngest players on the varsity roster but has shown that he can quickly adapt to new situations. His football IQ has allowed him to adapt quickly to the new offense, and speed of the varsity game.

“He’s a very smart kid and an extremely hard worker,” Chandler said. “The only thing hurting him right now is experience, and we hope to give him a few reps early on and see how he handles the pressure of Friday nights. He’s a little bigger than Braeden and he’s got a very high ceiling to work on.”

With both players angling for as many reps as they can get, the fall camp beginning at the end of July will be key to who ends up winning the starting position. Over the last few weeks of summer and camp, leadership qualities and efficiency will be the key to whoever earns the starting job.

“It’s all about whoever directs our offense the best,” Chandler said. “I can’t predict the future right now, but both of those guys are going to have chances to direct our offense and lead. They both support each other well, and I don’t think there will be any love lost for whoever wins the starting job.”

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