Gallery by Greg Barnett
Oak Hill – The Princeton offense is like a ticking time bomb. You can hold them down for a while, but eventually the Tigers are going to explode.
Friday night in the first game on the new turf at John P. Duda Field, the explosion came via 31 unanswered points in a 44-28 win over Oak Hill.
“Every time we get together with Oak Hill it seems strange, especially when we play here,” Princeton head coach Keith Taylor said. “Two years ago we couldn’t get anything going. It was a triple overtime game and a real ugly win. That is a credit to Oak Hill. We came in with our heads a little too high and they punched us in the mouth early.”
Naturally the game plan for Oak Hill was to keep the high octane Princeton offense off of the field as much as possible.
That plan worked to perfection in the first period.
Possessing the ball for 16 plays, the Red Devils marched 80 yards, capped by a 12-yard touchdown run from Devin Richardson for a 7-0 lead.
Oak Hill then opted for a onside kick which was recovered by Mikey Spack, hoping to build on the early momentum.
“The first quarter, we wanted to come out with ball control and keep possession of the ball,” Oak Hill head coach Davon Marion said. “Then a surprise onside kick to get the ball back, but we squandered that drive a little bit. They are a really good football team. We knew they were going to make some plays to get back in this game.”
The first big play for the Tigers came on a 27-yard touchdown run from Daniel Jennings with 9:31 to play before the break on Princeton’s second possession.
Less than two minutes later, the Tigers were back in the end zone taking a lead they never relinquished.
Following a fumble recovery from Wyatt Cline, Chance Barker dropped a dime in the back corner of the end zone to Marquel Lowe for a 20-yard touchdown pass.
However, the visitors missed on a golden opportunity to advance the lead when a low snap on an Oak Hill punt gave Princeton the ball 11 yards from another score.
Oak Hill stuffed the third-down run from the two yard line and forced a 13-yard loss. Jayce Gumm came on and knocked in a 32-yard field goal to give Princeton a 17-7 lead at halftime.
Princeton scored quickly to open the second half on a 15-yard strike from Barker to Brad Mosser with just over nine minutes to play in the third period.
After a turnover on downs, the Tigers went right back to work and appeared to have another score before it was called back on a holding penalty.
However, the missed opportunity to score in the red zone failed to hurt Princeton because Lowe forced a fumble on the ensuing Oak Hill drive which Cline scooped up for a five-yard score.
“We kind of hurt ourselves tonight, but I really liked our heart and hustle tonight. We got it back within 10 points with just over six minutes left,” Marion said. “I give credit to coach Taylor and them. They made some plays. You just can’t beat yourself against a good team like that. We have to protect the ball and win the time of possession.”
Trailing 31-7, Oak Hill made it interesting with a nine-yard score from J.D. Mauritz and a 44-yard strike from Richardson to Armonyi Hicks with just over six minutes to play.
“Give credit to our guys. They withstood everything. I was happy with the defense until the end. This is the second year in a row that we have allowed Oak Hill to score two touchdowns in the fourth quarter,” Taylor said. “I take that personally. I am not sure if it is us just checking out or what. We are a better defense than that. Some of the things we were stopping early, we kind of relaxed and took our foot off the pedal. To be a top triple-A team, we cannot do that.”
Scoring runs by Mosser from six yards out and Lowe from 27 yards put the Tigers back up by three scores before Richardson hit Carson Treadway on a 38-yard strike late in the game.
Barker finished the night with 214 yards passing, while Mosser caught 10 balls for 118 yards. Cline collected three fumbles including the one score.
“They are a good football team, but I think Princeton helped beat Princeton a little bit tonight,” Taylor said “A lot of penalties. We have to clean that stuff up. It is the same thing each week. I feel like we are in Groundhog Day. We just keep going back to having penalties. That is on me. I have to figure out how to fix it. I plan on doing that.”
P: 0 17 14 13 – 44
OH: 7 0 0 21 – 28
First quarter
OH: Devin Richardson 12 run (Elisha Jones kick)
Second quarter
P: Daniel Jennings 27 run (Jayce Gumm kick)
P: Marquel Lowe 20 pass from Chance Barker (Gumm kick)
P: Gumm 32 FG
Third quarter
P: Garrett Mays 15 pass from Barker (Gumm kick)
P: Wyatt Cline 5 Fum Rec (Gumm kick)
Fourth quarter
OH: J.D. Mauritz 9 run
OH: Armonyi Hick 44 pass from Devin Richardson (Jones kick)
P: Mosser 6 run (kick no good)
P: Lowe 28 run (Gumm kick)
OH: Carson Treadway 38 pass from Richardson (Jones kick)
Rushing: (P) Lowe 11-76-1, Jennings 6-67-1, Barker 5-2, Mosser 1-6-1; (OH) Richardson 13-35-1, Mauritz 16-66-1, Tyler Ashmore 7-18, James Green 2-13, Carson Treadway 1 – (-5), Cade Compton 2-4,
Passing: (P) Barker 15-20-0-214-2; (OH) Richardson 9-21-0-170-2
Receiving: (P) Mosser 10-118-2, Garrett Mays 2-16, Cline 1-35, Lowe 2-45-1; (OH) Treadway 4-71-1, Mauritz 1-10, Zy Lewis 1-3, Armonyi Hicks 3-86-1
Takeaways: (P) Cline (3 fum rec); (OH) Mauritz (fum rec)
