Published: October 03, 2008 10:57 am            

On the sidelines with Coach Spadaro

PRINCETON — Princeton Senior High School went into last week’s game against Ripley looking for revenge. Ripley came to Princeton last year and beat the Tigers during their homecoming game, and the Tigers hoped to return the favor Friday in Ripley.

Princeton lost the game 38-34 and will have to wait at least another two years to face the Vikings again. The Tigers are now 2-2 on the season.

Princeton coach Ted Spadaro said his team had the ability to beat Ripley, but they didn’t follow through.

“Well, we got up on them 28-12 and then got complacent,” Spadaro said. “In other words, we lost our intensity.”

Spadaro noted that Princeton had a few turnovers, and Ripley capitalized on that.

“We didn’t stay as hungry, and we didn’t play as hard as we should have after that,” Spadaro said. “It just comes down to football is blocking and tackling for four quarters and not two quarters and a half.”

Spadaro said his team had a chance to win both the 2007 and 2008 games.

“We felt that we had a chance to win last year; we missed a 20-yard field goal,” Spadaro said. “This year, we got up on them and might have got a little relaxed and lost our intensity for a while.”

Due to scheduling issues, Ripley and Princeton will not meet for another two years. When asked about the unresolved issues with the Ripley Vikings, Spadaro offered the following:

“We don’t even play them for two more years. We just have to forget it; it’s over with.”

Regarding last week’s injury report, Spadaro said that the kids with injuries stepped up and played the best they could.

“Tevin [Allen]’s doing better,” Spadaro said. “Jerrell [Powell]’s still hampered by his ankle. And, then I had Josh White out, with his hamstring. Brandon Lafferty played injured. As a result of having those injuries, they’re not up to 100 percent yet.”

Tonight’s game has Princeton hosting the Huntington Highlanders for homecoming. The Highlanders, led by head coach Zach Wilson, carry an 0-5 record heading toward Hunnicutt Stadium.

“Huntington’s 0-5, and I was telling the kids here if they look at their record, they’re in trouble,” Spadaro said. “If they’ll look at the teams that beat them, they’ll see that they better respect and never underestimate their opponent. Huntington is a good football team; they just had some hard times like they did last year, like we did last year. We’d better not let our guard down.”

Homecoming games are steeped in tradition and are generally seen as a way for alumni to come together in celebration. Spadaro noted that but said the football team cannot lose focus.

“Well, those things are all nice and everything, but we, as a football team, have to focus on what’s being taught from Monday to Friday,” Spadaro said. “We can’t get caught up in all that excitement and everything.”

Spadaro said that being a 2-2 team, the most important thing for the Tigers to do is stay focused on both sides of the ball during the game.

“Hopefully, all of the players who played for me in the past who come in will come in into a winning locker room,” Spadaro said. “Those guys who come back, the alumni, they have their fun on Friday and Saturday, and we’ve got to come out and win this game for all of these people and the community and my football team.”

Spadaro said to do that, his team can’t get caught up in the excitement of the week.

“We’ve got to play ball first and enjoy whatever afterwards.”

Princeton plays the final five games of the season beginning next week on the road against George Washington, October 10. They continue on the road, playing Capital Oct. 17, before heading back to Hunnicutt Stadium for two games, hosting Riverside and Greenbrier East. The final game of the season is on the road, against Nitro, Nov. 7.

“I think the team is capable of winning the rest of these games. It’s just a matter of ‘Who’s going to step up this week?’ And, we can’t have one or two; we need all of them to step up another notch,” Spadaro said. “That’s the whole thing: Step up another notch, and get after it.”

        

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