Gallery by Heather Belcher
The Princeton football players are not shy about talking a little smack.
Friday night at Van Meter Stadium, there was some pregame talk from the Tigers. However, the most important talking from the visitors came between the lines.
Scoring from all directions on offense, along with two defensive scores, Princeton knocked off rival Beckley, 55-20 on Homecoming.
After their first setback of the season last week against Hurricane, Tigers head coach Keith Taylor was pleased how his team bounced back against the Flying Eagles.
“Our guys have to look forward to each week and our guys came in hungry. We have great kids and they are fun to be around even if some say they are not,” Taylor said. “They like to talk and it is what it is. I tell them they can talk all they want if they can back it up. I am proud of them and I love them. We are going to go out there and play four quarters and never quit.”
Princeton took to the ground early on the back of Marquel Lowe who gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead after a 36-yard touchdown run on the opening drive.
For the remainder of the quarter, however, neither team could make any real headway.
“I think their game plan tonight was to take away Dom (Collins). They put what I feel is their best corner on Brad Mossor, so it was a tough night for him,” Taylor said. “They forced us to run the football. We have a good run game and we have established that. Marquel is a great running back and even though our offensive line is young, they played really well up front.”
Struggling to run the ball, the Flying Eagles went to the air to even the game.
Early in the second quarter, quarterback Devin Richardson found Elijah Redfern in the back corner of the end zone to tie the game at 7-7.
The next 11 minutes looked like a wild video game with 48 points being put on the scoreboard.
First, Princeton answered with a five-minute drive that culminated in a five-yard touchdown pass from Chance Barker to Michael Diacomo.
After Beckley could not handle the short kickoff and Princeton recovered, the Tigers were back in the end zone one play later when Barker hit Collins on a 42-yard scoring strike.
“This was a big game. It was kind of a win or go home game and we did not want to go home,” Collins said. “This is an old rivalry and we still take it as a rivalry game.”
Looking to answer back, the home team drove the ball to the Princeton 22-yard line before Garret Mays stepped in front of a pass and took it back 78 yards for a score.
“I thought our secondary did a great job. Garret Mays, we have been talking about him all year,” Taylor said. “He has been a standout for us since day one. He has always played man-to-man coverage on the best receiver. He did a great job tonight. He caught two balls and housed one.”
When Beckley’s next possession came up short on a failed fake punt attempt, the Tigers made them pay on a 27-yard Barker to Collins score for a 35-7 lead.
What appeared to be a comfortable halftime advantage became a close game in a matter of 30 seconds.
Richardson and Elijah Waller electrified the Homecoming crowd with a 75-yard TD-strike before Princeton failed to handle the ensuing kick, giving Beckley another shot just before halftime.
Richardson and Waller hooked up again for a 17-yard score to trim the deficit to 35-20 at the break.
“I think we had a good game plan going in. We did a good job early and controlled everything we wanted to in the first quarter,” Taylor said. “In the second quarter we just had some mental lapses. You cannot give up 14 points in 30 seconds.”
Unfortunately for the Flying Eagles, they could get no closer the rest of the way.
“I thought we were able to get them out of what they are comfortable doing. I think they threw it over 30 times and they are not used to doing that,” Taylor said. “The quarterback fortunately missed a couple of deep balls that could have been touchdowns. At the end of the day, when you play a team and force them to do things they are not comfortable with, those things are going to happen.”
Although there was no scoring in the third quarter, Beckley missed on two excellent opportunities with the ball deep in Princeton territory.
An interception and a turnover on downs allowed Princeton to maintain its two score lead.
“We wanted to establish our run, but we fell behind a little bit. We started completing some passes, so we just rolled with it,” Beckley head coach Street Sarrett said. “We just couldn’t get over the hump.”
A Lowe six-yard run and another Barker to Collins connection from 30 yards out sealed the win. Lowe capped the scoring with the second Princeton pick-six, rolling in from 50 yards out.
“There at the end, we are trying to win. We are going to throw the ball and go fast. We aren’t going to roll over and run dives every play,” Sarrett said. “A lot of heart on our ball club. A lot of heart in those kids. We had to so some things tonight and Devin Richardson grew as a quarterback.”
The touchdown grab by Collins was his only catch of the second half which gave him 142 yards receiving on the night. With that final catch, Collins broke his own single-season receiving record set last year of 1,019. He currently has 1,021 on the season.
“It was a little hard tonight. I had a pretty good (defensive back) guarding me. He was one of the only ones that could kind of stop me, but my speed just kills everybody,” Collins said. “It was a good team win tonight. We all came out and ready to play. That is what got us this win.”
P: 7 28 0 20 – 55
B: 7 13 0 0 – 20
First quarter
P: Marquel Lowe 36 run (Saeed Aboulhosn)
Second quarter
B: Elijah Redfern 20 pass from Devin Richardson (Tyler Radford kick)
P: Michael Diacomo 5 pass (Aboulhosn kick)
P: Dom Collins 42 pass from Chance Barker (Aboulhosn kick)
P: Garrett Mays 78 INT return (Aboulhosn kick)
P: Collins 27 pass from Barker (Aboulhosn kick)
B: Elijah Waller 75 pass from Richardson (Radford kick)
B: Waller 17 pass from Richardson (kick no good)
Fourth quarter
P: Lowe 6 run (Aboulhosn kick)
P: Collins 30 pass from Barker (kick no good)
P: Lowe 50 INT return (Aboulhosn kick)
Rushing: (P) Marquel Lowe 23-181-2, Chance Barker 5-21; (B) Elijah Waller 2-20, Bryce Ford 3-4, Konnor Ray 5-15, Devin Richardson 10-(19).
Passing: (P) Barker 13-22-164-0-4; (B) Richardson 15-36-237-4-3
Receiving: (P) Dom Collins 7-142-3, Brad Mosser 1-3, Lowe 1-(-5), Michael Diacomo 2-8-1, Kalum Kiser 2-16; (B) Redfern 8-109-1, Waller 5-109-2, Jonathan Zakresky 2-12, A.J. Thomas 2-17.
