Tiger fight goes to Princeton
Princeton (55) vs. Shady Spring (7)
Written: Aug 30, 2014
By JONATHAN GREENE
for the Daily Telegraph
SHADY SPRING — The Shady Spring Tigers were hoping to avoid a repeat of last year's game against Princeton. For the majority of the first quarter, it looked like the would. Then a fumble near the goal line changed everything.
Princeton took advantage of five Shady Spring turnovers as they routed the Tigers 55-7 Friday night at Thomas Field at Shady Spring High School.
“It was a big win for us on the road with a young team like we've got,” Princeton head coach Randy Peek said. “It sets the tone for us for next week against big rival [in Bluefield]. I wasn't happy with penalties and some of the mistakes we made.
“With a young team, you've got to expect that.”
Princeton (1-0) racked up 400 yards on the ground with 301 yards coming from running back Jordan Jones (154) and quarterback Jay Palmer (147) while Shady Spring (0-1) had 244 yards of total offense — 221 on the ground.
“I thought we came out playing decent ball,” Shady Spring head coach Vince Culicerto. “We just couldn't match their speed. We knew they were going to get some big plays, but we felt we could control ball.
“We did that in the first series and we took it all the way down inside the five, but fumbled. We just can't get over that hump. We told the boys it's like we can't shake last year off and start believing.
“Princeton is a good team. Those boys run the ball well. Once they got in the open field, we couldn't do anything.”
Five Shady Spring turnovers led to five touchdowns by Princeton none was bigger than a fumble by Jon Hardy in the first quarter.
The Tigers were looking to answer Jones' 84-yard kick return,to start the game.
Shady Spring marched down the field behind a solid running attack and had a chance to even the score. However inside the five, the Tigers fumbled and Princeton was able to recover.
“It would of made a difference for a bit,” Culicerto said. “It would of let them know we're here to play. Off that turnover, they go and score again. That put us in a bad funk.”
Palmer capped off a nine-play 99-yard drive with a 15-yard touchdown. He would add another score in the second to push Princeton's lead to 19-0.
The game was still within striking distance for Shady Spring late in the second before things took a turn for the worse.
Jones broke free for a five yard score to start a string of three touchdowns for Princeton inside the final two minutes of the half.
Two interceptions in the final minutes turned a 26-0 lead into a 40-0 advantage for Princeton.
“We were trying our best to keep their offense off the field,” Culicerto commented. “The two interceptions returns were a back breaker. You try to keep it on the ground, but you're trying to get something there right before the half.
“We just keep making those mistakes. We just have to keep plugging and getting better.”
Jones scored on a 14-yard rush after a pick by Jeyne Hearn then Palmer picked off Lively and took it 55 yards to the house at the end of half.
Princeton need just two plays to add 15 more points in the second half.
Palmer broke free for a 70-yard score then Jones added a 36-yard touchdown.
Keith Sexton had Shady Spring's lone score — a five-yard rush in the fourth quarter.
Jones had 154 yards rushing and three scores on 10 carries. Palmer wasn't far behind with 147 yards rushing and three touchdowns on seven carries.
John Hardy paced Shady Spring's ground attack with 58 yards.
Princeton visits rival Bluefield Friday while Shady Spring travels to Logan.
“There's nine more weeks,” Culicerto said. “We'll fix the problems or at least give it a shot. They've still got to get better at open-field tackling. Everybody has to stay up.”
At Thomas Field
Princeton (1-0)...........12 28 15 0 — 55
Shady Spring (0-1).........0 0 0 7 — 7
First Quarter
P— Jordan Jones 84 kick return (Jacob Whittington kick no good), 14:48
P— Jay Palmer 20 rush (Whittington kick no good), 1:07
Second Quarter
P— Palmer 15 rush (Whittington kick good), 7:51
P — Jones 5 rush (Whittington kick good), 1:42
P — Jones 14 rush (Whittington kick good), :49
P — Palmer 55 interception return (Whittington kick good), :00
Third Quarter
P — Palmer 70 rush (Whittington kick good), 8:09
P — Jones 36 rush (Palmer rush), 5:35
Fourth Quarter
SS — Keith Sexton 5 rush (John Lively kick good), 9:04
———
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — P: Jordan Jones 10-154-3TD, Jay Palmer 7-147-3TD, Jared Hamm 3-52, Austin Fulp 1-26, Zack Standifur 6-16, Christian Shafer 3-4, Matt Burress 3-3, Jeyne Hearn 1-2, Josh Siemiaczko 1-1, Michael Thomason 1-(-2), Logan Barrett 1-(-3). SS: John Hardy 14-58, John Lively 8-39, Nathan Sink 5-36, Keith Sexton 7-29-TD, Shady Varney 2-26, Keeten Asbury 5-23, Jarod Cline 1-10.
PASSING — P: Palmer 0-1-0-0-0, Shafer 0-1-0-0-0, Hamm 0-2-0-0-0. SS: Lively 1-4-3-0-2, Cline 1-2-20-0-0.
RECEIVING — Hunter Monette 1-3.
TURNOVERS — SS: Fumble, Interception, Interception
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