Published: September 06, 2008 12:36 am      

Hear the roar

Princeton rallies past Bluefield

BLUEFIELD — Ted Spadaro sat on 99 career wins as his Princeton Tigers were taking on inter-county rivals Bluefield on Friday night.. In 2007, the Tigers won just one game.

Friday night, the Tigers equaled their win total from 2007 and Spadaro finally reached the century mark. Tevin Allen gained 144 yards on 26 tough carries and the Tigers survived late heroics from Will Cole and the Beavers to hold on for an emotional 15-13 win.

“This is about as sweet as you can get,” said Princeton head coach Ted Spadaro. “I thought our team played well considering the injuries we had. We had these seniors out here that’s played for me for three years and really stepped it up the second half and wasn’t going to go and take no for an answer.”

“We worked hard all year long, since December,” Allen said. “Our team’s been working our best to get ready for the season. I think we’ll do a good job this year.”

“We turned the ball over, we had special teams, crucial offsides and whatever,” said Bluefield head coach Fred Simon. “Once we learn to do the little things and quit making those mistakes, we’re going to be a good football team.”

This was the debut of Spadaro’s new-look offense. The spread was out. The power-I was in. As Graham had done the week before, Princeton pounded on the Beavers between the tackles.

They gained 223 yards on 52 rushing attempts and gradually wore down their opponents. They also kept the ball out of the hands of Bluefield’s talented offense, holding on to it for 29:55 and giving the Beavers the pigskin for just 18:05.

“We just went into this ball game saying ‘If we can keep the ball they can’t score,’” Spadaro said. “And I think the first half we had the ball 15 minutes and they had it eight and something similar to it the second half.”

Allen carried the bulk of the load. But he was accented by 49 yards on 11 carries by Justin Lester and 39 yards on nine rushes by Jerrell Powell.

“If it weren’t for my line I couldn’t get one yard,” Allen said. “They blocked hard every play and that’s how I got all them yards.”

The Beavers tried to ride the arm of Will Cole to victory again, and again it nearly paid off. He went 12-for-22 for 235 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He also led them on another last-minute clutch drive.

Last week, Cole started the game by completing his first six passes. This week, he completed his first two, the second over the middle to Isaiah Manns who broke a tackle and outran the Tigers defense for a 46-yard touchdown.

Each team had a first-half scoring opportunity they let get away. The Tigers used their running game to take the ball 58 yards to the Bluefield 12. But two runs gained four yards and a pass from Austin Harris to Allen lost four yards. Garrison Shay’s 28-yard field goal attempt fell wide and short and the Tigers came up empty.

With 1:56 left in the half, the Beavers got the ball on the Princeton 47 yard line. A 32-yard completion and run from Cole to Marcus Patterson put Bluefield on Princeton’s eight. But an incomplete pass and two runs left the ball on the Tigers’ 3. Holder Jake Lilly mishandled the snap on the field goal attempt and his run only got back to the line of scrimmage. Bluefield went into the locker room up 7-0.

The Tigers got the first break of the second half. Cody Wassum fumbled after catching a short pass from Cole and the Ti gers recovered on their own 39. They immediately launched an 11-play 61-yard drive that keyed on the rushing of Allen and Jerrell Powell. Allen finished the drive by cutting back inside for a five-yard touchdown run that tied the game.

Princeton got another break on Bluefield’s next possession. Three Bluefield plays gained five yards and the Beavers were forced to punt. All night, Cole had been booming his punts. But on this one, a high snap caused Cole to have to go retrieve the ball. He got off a kick, but it was partially blocked and only went two yards before being caught on the Beavers’ 25.

“We had heat on and Cole did a fantastic job just to get it off,” Spadaro said. “I can’t say enough about our special teams.”

“That definitely hurt,” Simon said. “That gave them good field position and it wasn’t the only thing but it was one of the keys.”

On the next play, Allen carried several defenders on his way to a 20-yard gain.

“I try to get my team in the best position to score,” Allen said. “So I just kept moving my feet, kept running and they couldn’t take me down. I felt them, but I kept moving my feet, kept trucking and tried to get as far as I could.”

Two plays later, Austin Harris snuck over the goal line to give Princeton the lead. After an offside penalty on Bluefield, Justin Lester ran for a two-point conversion. The Tigers led 15-7.

The Beavers did not quit. Cole again led the Beavers down the field that got to the Princeton 3. But that was as far as it got. Marcus Patterson lost seven yards on a run to the left and Cole was sacked for a three-yard loss. Cole missed a 30-yard field goal attempt wide right and the Beavers trailed by eight.

The Tigers tried to run the clock out with their running game. But with 2:11 to go, the Beavers got the ball on a fumble on their own 45. As he had last week, Cole faced the task of leading the Beavers down the field to a touchdown in the final minutes. Only this time, he got there.

Cole completed a pass to the left to Patterson. The receiver broke a tackle, then raced down the sideline and lunged past a Princeton defender for a 42-yard touchdown with 1:11 to go. Cole again looked for Patterson for the game-tying two-point play, but his pass was knocked down harmlessly to the Mitchell Stadium FieldTurf.

“We just didn’t quite make it,” Simon said. “But you know, we’ve got to make our own breaks and we’ve just got to keep working and that’ll happen.”

Princeton (1-0) hosts St. Albans next Friday night.

“I always tell the kids we’re only as good as our last play,” Spadaro said. “And it’s a carryover. And we want to play four quarters and when the game’s over we’ll go to the next.”

Bluefield (0-2) has a week off before traveling to Charlotte Country Day School on Sept. 19. Simon has already planned out the time.

“We’ve got to get better fundamentally and get better mentally,” Simon said, “and that’s how we’ll (use) it.”

—Contact Jed Lockett

at jlockett@bdtonline.com

At Mitchell Stadium

Princeton (1-0)....................0 0 7 8 — 15

Bluefield (0-2)…..................7 0 0 6 — 13

First Quarter

Blu - Isaiah Manns 46 pass from Will Cole (Cole kick), 3:16

Third Quarter

Pri - Tevin Allen 5 run (Garrison Shay kick), :16

Fourth Quarter

Pri - Austin Harris 1 run (Justin Lester run), 9:13

Blu - Marcus Patterson 42 pass from Cole (Pass failed), 1:11

TEAM STATISTICS

First Downs: PR 12; BF 12. Rush-Yards: P 52-223; BF 23-86. Pass Yards: PR 29; BF 236. Comp-Att-Int: P 3-4-0; BF 12-22-1. Punts-Avg. P 4-30.5; BF 4.34.8. Fumbles-Lost: P 3-2; BF 3-1. Penalty-Yards: PR 6-60; BF 8-56. Time of Poss: PR 29:55; BF 18:05.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - Princeton, Tevin Allen 26-144, Justin Lester 11-49, Jerrell Powell 9-39, Josh White 1-2, Austin Harris 3-(-4), Team 2-(-7); Bluefield, Marcus Patterson 9-35, Jake Lilly 8-32, Will Cole 5-13, Levi Beckett 1-6.

PASSING - Princeton, Austin Harris 3-4-0 29; Bluefield, Will Cole 12-22-1 235.

RECEIVING - Princeton, Brandon Lafferty 1-31, Tevin Allen 2-(-2); Bluefield, Marcus Patterson 5-100, Isaiah Manns 3-72, Levi Beckett 2-33, Cody Wassum 2-30.

MISSED FIELD GOALS - Princeton Garrison Shay 28; Bluefield, Will Cole 30.