Princeton sophomore running back Daevion Brown holds on the ball as a Newman Smith defender reaches out with his arm Friday. Photo by Tina Lopez / C&S Media
By David Wolman
(Click on the link to view the photo gallery from the game: https://www.dotphoto.com/viewalbum.asp?AID=6888876)
Last Friday night’s game wasn’t perfect by any means. But what impressed Princeton head coach Daniel Johnson the most about his team’s 41-20 homecoming win over Newman Smith was how the Panthers overcame their mistakes.
“It’s always clean when you win, there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “But it wasn’t pretty. We have to clean up some penalties. You’ve got to remember that we’re a very inexperienced team. We graduated 30 seniors last year. So, we’re trying to grow and develop. At the end of the day, we put the game in our hands, and we finished in the second half.”
The defining moment of Princeton’s (2-1) perseverance occurred late in the third quarter.
Leading 21-18, the Panthers were driving in the red zone with a chance to go up by two scores. Princeton went with a little trickery on a second-and-10 play at the Trojans’ 19-yard line, but a pass on a double-reverse play was intercepted by Newman Smith.
Newman Smith (1-2) quickly marched into Princeton territory and had the opportunity to take its first lead since the second quarter, but the Panthers’ defensive line held its own and authored a sequence that shifted the momentum in Princeton’s favor for good.
Facing fourth-and-1 at the Princeton 31, Newman Smith junior quarterback Rashaad Robertson handed off the ball to junior running back Ryan Robertson. But Ryan Robertson was met by a host of Panthers, who pushed him back several yards, forcing a turnover on downs.
That was the momentum Princeton needed to finish the game strong.
Just four plays later, sophomore quarterback Ayden Hughes bobbled a snap but quickly scooped up the ball and darted 13 yards for a touchdown. Anthony Armijo’s ensuing PAT kick increased the Panthers’ advantage to 28-18.
Hughes’ touchdown run was the first of 20 straight points for Princeton, which increased its lead from 21-18 to 41-18 in just over four minutes of game time.
After the Panthers forced a quick three-and-out by the Trojans’ offense, Hughes connected with senior wide receiver Jayden Rogers on a 19-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the fourth quarter to give Princeton a 17-point lead.
Princeton’s defense came up with another big play moments later.
A strip-sack by Se’Lee Huntley and fumble recovery by Kaidon Williams set up the Panthers at the Trojans’ 22-yard line.
The Panthers converted the takeaway into points. Daiveon Brown received a push from offensive lineman RJ Hughes into the end zone for a 4-yard rushing touchdown and a 41-20 Princeton lead with 9:23 remaining in the game.
“Coach (Alex) Guerra and Coach (Sam) Wren did a really good job of game planning,” Johnson said. “Coach (Efe Osawemwenze) did a good job with our DBs fixing the deep ball at halftime. Coach G and the defense did a good job of shutting them down. Kaidon Williams and Winston Smith did a good job of controlling the line of scrimmage.”
Brown took over the lead role at running back after Sammy Musimbe exited with an injury in the first quarter, but Princeton’s rushing attack didn’t miss a beat. Brown finished with three rushing touchdowns on runs of 1, 8 and 4 yards, with his first score giving the Panthers a 7-6 advantage with 7:16 remaining in the second quarter.
“Next man up,” Johnson said. “Sammy is one of our team captains, and we love Sammy. He got hurt today, but he’ll be back. Daiveon Brown did a really good job.”
Hughes finished with three touchdowns of his own on runs of 1 and 13 yards, in addition to his 19-yard touchdown pass to Rogers, helping Princeton overcome a penalty-filled first quarter.
Princeton will host Jesuit (1-2) this Friday at 7 p.m. to commence District 6-6A play.
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