Princeton Sent Off By Top-Seeded Hamilton
Photo courtesy of Terri Wilson Kelly
Andrew Rhoades follows a block during Princeton’s district loss in Hamilton on Friday. Rhoades rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown in the loss.
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No one expected Princeton to go into Alumni Field and upset the Hamilton Hornets, the top-seeded team in Class 1, District 7.
The Tigers, seeded eighth, were winless on the season — one that has seen them scuffle to break in a roster dominated by freshmen and sophomore players.
On Friday the seedings held as Hamilton sent Princeton off to an 0-10 season with a 48-6 loss.
It was the fifth-straight game in which the Tigers allowed over 40 points and the eighth overall.
“This season was a rough one, no doubt,” Princeton head coach Nathan Powell said. “We knew what our deficiences would be — experience, size — but we felt fairly confident we could overcome some of that throughout the season. It’s a credit to the rest of the conference that we weren’t able to get that done.”
Hamilton didn’t exactly take all of the intrigue out of the game early as the Tigers trailed just 14-0 at the end of the first quarter. But the game got away from them in the second when Hamilton scored four more times to go into the locker room up 40-0. At that point the Tigers’ season was already over.
But as has been the case all season, Princeton’s young team kept working — a rare sight for a winless team at this stage in the season. The Tigers were able to get into the end zone in the fourth quarter, scoring on a 12-yard run by Andrew Rhoades.
Photo courtesy of Terri Wilson Kelly
Luke Kelly fights off a Hamilton blocker during Princeton’s 48-6 loss in Class 1, District 7 play Friday at Alumni Field.
“There were things we just weren’t able to overcome or correct and that’s going to be a big focus this offseason,” Powell said. “That said, I’m extremely proud of the effort and work this team put in week after week. I don’t feel like any week was a wasted one or one in which our kids didn’t show up and put in good work. We’re bringing back nearly the entire team next season and I have no doubt we’ll see a big improvement. We’ll get stronger and faster and most importantly work on building confidence.”
Princeton was led in the loss by Rhoades, who rushed nine times for 68 yards and the score. He also had a team-high nine tackles on the defensive side of the ball. He is one of a few juniors who will be back with the 17 freshmen and sophomore players. The Tigers will lose just five players from this year’s team — Logan Smith, Luke Kelly, Kaleb Thomas, Sam Johnson and Jakub Janosic.
