Published: November 05, 2009 11:31 pm      

Princeton still has playoff hopes

PRINCETON — Shooting for their sixth straight win, Princeton entertains Woodrow Wilson in an important Mountain State Athletic Conference football game tonight.

For the Tigers (5-4), a win is vital if they are to keep alive their playoff hopes. Princeton head coach Ted Spadaro said his squad is more concerned with Flying Eagles and than computer ratings.

“These kids know what they have to do and what is at stake for them and they have to be focused and take care of business,” Spadaro said. “That is the most important thing, not playoff ratings.”

Ranked 19th among West Virginia’s Class AAA football teams in the latest WVSSAC ratings, Princeton needs to win tonight, then receive some help in a few other games on the final football weekend of the regular season.

Robert C. Byrd, ranked 14th in Class AAA, visits Bluefield tonight, and both Riverside (17th) and Hurricane (18th) are also in action. The top 16 teams in the final regular season standings advance to next weekend’s opening round of postseason play.

Princeton last reached the playoffs in 2006.

“I don’t keep up with the addition and all that because I don’t know that much about how they do it,” said Spadaro, about Princeton’s postseason hopes. “We have an opportunity to get in, but our main focus over here right now is Woodrow Wilson.

“Woodrow is a good team, they’re a quick football team, and they can score from anywhere on the field.”

The Flying Eagles (2-6) enters tonight’s game after an open date last week. Quarterback J.C. Pennington has been a key to the Flying Eagles’ attack all season.

Spadaro compares Woodrow Wilson and last week’s opponent — Huntington — to the Tigers at the start of the season when Princeton began with an 0-4 mark.

“They’re pretty much like us and Huntington, at times they make mistakes and turnovers that hurt us,” Spadaro said. “That’s what hurt us in the early part of the year.

“We’re not looking to talk about playoffs right now, we have to have this game for us to even think about it.”

Princeton’s defense has put together back-to-back shutout efforts in the Tigers’ last two games. A week ago at Huntington, the Tigers forced three Highlanders’ turnovers in the red zone, and the Princeton “D” has surrendered just two touchdowns in the last 16 quarters.

Offensively, tailback Tevin Allen rushed for 241 yards and two touchdowns against the Highlanders, and has now gained 1,306 yards this season.

“Field position and turnovers, that’s the thing about football,” said Spadaro, and then added a favorite comment of Bluefield’s head coach. “As Fred Simon says, ‘block and tackle’.

The Tigers and the Beckley-based Flying Eagles have had a long-time rivalry, even longer than Greenbrier East, which Princeton defeated two weeks ago in the first of two consecutive shutouts.

Princeton has lost to Woodrow Wilson the last two seasons, but beat the Flying Eagles three straight from 2002-04.

“Princeton has played Woodrow a lot longer than we have played East,” Spadaro said. “I think Greenbrier East came into effect when I was coaching at Mount Hope in ‘67 and ‘68 and Woodrow has been on Princeton’s schedule, I know back in the ‘40s.”

Rivalry or not, the Tigers know this is must-win territory tonight, and then they’ll have to hope for some help from the computers.

“You’ve got to win first,” said Spadaro, with a smile, “and then they can get their pens and pencils out and add it up.”

—Brian Woodson

contributed to this report