Ivy hopes dim, football fights Princeton for pride

Princeton Coach Roger Hughes is running out of quarterbacks. In his first year at the helm, Hughes has faced the unenviable task of replacing his starting quarterback because of injury not one, not two, not three, but four different times this season. His current starting signal-caller, Brian Danielewicz '02, began the year fourth on the depth chart; with his start against Yale on Sat., Nov. 11, Danielewicz will become the fourth Princeton quarterback to start at least two games this season. "It seems like every two weeks we have a new quarterback," Hughes commented. "They don't have a very high life expectancy."

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Ben Sproul, BR '02, and Kyle Harmon, CC '01, take Fordham down.

This season, it seems like no Tiger player is safe on the field. In last week's 40-24 loss to Penn at home, Danielewicz managed to survive the game unscathed, but the top two centers had to leave the game with injuries—Brian Wilson '01 suffered a minor concussion and Roger Patter-son '03 dislocated his shoulder. Also going down was starting tailback Kyle Brandt '01, who dislocated his elbow against the Quakers; the injury ended Brandt's season and career. The beat-up Tigers then relinquished a 24-6 lead, letting Penn score the last 34 points of the game.

As the game went, so has the season for the Tigers. Princeton was one of three teams tied atop the league at 2-0 after freshman quarterback David Splithoff led the Tigers to a 55-28 drubbing of Brown on Sat., Oct. 7. But on the last play of the following week's 35-21 loss to Harvard, Splithoff suffered a broken jaw, ending his season. After a one-point loss to Cornell the following week and the defeat by Penn last week, Princeton is 2-3 in the Ivies, out of contention, and weary.

Considering the injuries the Tigers have suffered, and the 1-6 league record they posted last year, even their two league wins are impressive. "Hughes has done an excellent job," Yale Head Coach Jack Siedlecki said. Hughes gives much of the credit to the leadership of his seniors, who have kept the team's intensity high. "We've been through some adverse situations," Hughes said. "But, for example, Tuesday's practice was excellent."

Fourth-string quarterback or not, the Tigers do not plan to lie down for Yale. Hughes has watched tape of Brown's 28-14 defeat of Yale last week, and has learned from the clinic Brown's pass defense—which had been the worst in Div. I-AA—put on against Yale quarterback Peter Lee, TD '02.

Hughes does not hesitate to use what he learned; he admitted, "coaching is probably the worst plagiaristic profession in America." The Bears put constant pressure on first-year starter Lee, sacking him four times, picking off four passes, and hurrying him into numerous other poor passes. Lee had come into the game with 14 touchdown passes and only three interceptions on the season. "The biggest problem we had was the pass rush," Siedlecki said. "I think we went in unsure of ourselves." Siedlecki was disappointed in the team's collapse. "It's amazing—you can build these kids' confidence up for weeks, and then things can snowball so quickly," he said.

Hughes hopes to rattle Lee early and make him pile up mistakes again. "Logic dictates that you need to get pressure on him," Hughes said. "If he gets time, he'll pick you apart."

Football

Record: 5-2. 3-2 Ivy Recent Results: Lost vs. Brown, 28-14 Coming Up: Sat., Nov. 11 vs. Princeton; Sat., Nov. 18 vs. Harvard.

"We know they'll try to blitz us just like Brown did," Lee said, "because that was obviously the least productive our offense has been all season. But we learned a lot last week. We'll be ready."

Ready or not, Lee will be facing one of the best pass rushes in the league. Siedlecki said three Princeton linebackers are All-Ivy candidates, and Lee pointed out that their two cornerbacks are both freshmen, which he sees paradoxically as a cause for concern: "You don't start in this league as a true freshman unless you're really talented."

Despite last week's disappointing performance, Lee remains the 23rd highest-rated quarterback in Div. I-AA, and he has eight collegiate starts under his belt. Danielewicz has only one, so he will be a prime target of Yale's defense on Saturday. "We're going to go after them," Siedlecki said. "Their quarterback will have to throw the ball on time, and young quarterbacks have trouble doing that."

The Bulldog defense will likely be particularly relentless because of Yale's must-win predicament this weekend. After last week's loss to Brown, the Bulldogs fell one game behind Harvard, Penn, and Cornell with two left to play. Yale must win its last two games and get some help. Ironically enough, this means that, a week before the Harvard game, the Bulldogs will be hoping for a Crimson win against Penn. "It's unlikely we will win the league," Siedlecki said, "but we will root for Harvard this weekend."

The improbable quest for a league title will have to begin with a win this Saturday in the Class of 2001's final home game. Yale Captain Pete Mazza, JE '01, said the Bulldogs still have unfinished business. "It's interesting," he said. "Looking back on last year, when I got hurt in the Princeton game, it seems like the injury came at the end of the season. This year, as we're getting ready to play Princeton, I feel like we have a lot of things left to do."

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