It’s been four years since anyone in the Grand River Conference won a league title by two games or more. The Princeton Tigers are certainly headed in that direction after they distanced themselves still more from the crowd last Friday night.
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Andrew Smith threw five touchdown passes in the second half, including four in the third quarter, to lead the undefeated Tigers past Gallatin, 58-23, in Friday’s Grand River Conference showdown.
The Tigers’ dominance wasn’t immediately apparent as the Bulldogs gave a good accounting for themselves on both sides of the ball in the opening half.
Defense kept Gallatin in the game in the first half. Gaven Gray intercepted a Smith pass and that would set up an Adrian Hernandez field goal try late in the first quarter. Hernandez had plenty of distance from 34 yards and Gallatin led, 3-0.
Princeton struck back on the ground with a 68-yard scoring run by Tanner Coffman and a two-point conversion early in the second quarter. Smith took advantage of poor tackling on the Tigers’ next series by eluding first, second and third tier defenders on a 38-yard scoring run with 7:10 left in the half.
Two minutes later, Bulldog punter Colin Beck put the Tigers in a deep hole with a 53-yard bomb that rolled dead at the Princeton 19. Tight coverage on tight end Blaine Millburn led to a tipped pass. Bulldog linebacker Cole McBee plucked the ball out of the air and raced 47 yards to the end zone. Gallatin’s PAT failed, but the gap closed to 16-9.
Bulldog elation proved short-lived when Smith surged ahead on a quarterback keeper and ran 61 yards all the way down to the Bulldog two-yard line. Smith carried for the TD on the next play, but Graydee Rains stuffed Garrett Enright on the two-point conversion try.
Gallatin’s offense showed life with a drive that ate up yards, seconds on the second quarter clock, and ended with a bit of trickery. The Bulldogs moved the ball to the Tiger four-yard line before calling a time out with one second left. Lining up in field goal formation, holder Caleb Boyd took the snap from center, leaped to his feet and outran pursuit to the corner pylon. The extra point kick by Hernandez kept the Bulldogs in the running at 23-16.
Princeton established its dominance in the second half by scoring six touchdowns and allowing just one more GHS score that came by way of a McBee to Gray 39-yard pass late in the final period.
Gallatin ground out a tough-to-get 159 yards of offense on the ground, averaging 3.4 yards a pop. McBee completed 4 of 10 passes for 47 yards.
Smith’s totals included 14 carries for 141 yards and two scores, along with 12 of 22 passing for 227 yards and five TDs. Millburn was on the receiving end of three touchdown passes and finished with 104 yards in catches.
The Bulldogs host the Putnam County Midgets on Friday in their final home game of the regular season. The Midgets defeated Maysville last week, 45-8, for their second win of the season.
Picture: Adrian Hernandez puts his foot into a 34-yard field goal late in Friday night’s first quarter against Princeton. Gaven Gray’s interception at midfield set up the Bulldogs’ first score of the night.