Princeton caps sixth straight TRAC East title

There were a lot of good things happening for the Princeton Tigers Friday night at Bryant Field.

Six different players scored touchdowns along with a seventh Tiger adding a safety en route to a 54-0 win over rival Hall in the 2023 season finale.

The Tigers defense pitched their third straight shutout and sixth on the season, holding the Red Devils to 51 yards rushing and seven passing.

The win clinched the Tigers’ sixth straight Three Rivers East division championship and solidified their seeding for the upcoming playoffs next week.

“it’s insane. Not a lot of teams do it. It’s definitely something special,” said junior Arthur Burden of Malden, who had a touchdown reception.

“It means a lot. Six straight years. It’s great. Our program has worked hard to get to this point and I think it really shows,” senior lineman Jack May said.

May said it was extra special to clinch the championship by beating Hall.

“They’ve been rivals for years and it’s fun to beat them one last time,” he said.

Tiger coach Ryan Pearson said winning six straight division championships is quite the accomplishment.

“I told the kids, I don’t know too many program around, even statewide, can say they won six conference championships in a row,” he said. “For them to accomplishment that feat, that really says a lot about the kids we have and the kids who played before them. It’s really a special thing.

“I’m glad we accomplished that. The kids can enjoy that tonight and the fun part starts when we find out who we play (in the playoffs tomorrow.”

The best news Pearson heard was that Hall senior Gianni Guerrini, who was carted off the field on a back board and sent to the hospital, was going to be OK.

“Randy (Hall coach) Tieman said he sustained a concussion, but was moving his extremities,” Pearson said. “We told the family we were praying for him when the left. We’re happy to hear that. You never want to see a kid get hurt.”

Burden was the happiest person at the field when Pearson called his number again on the same pass play he dropped, this time cradling the ball like a baby to pull down a 9-yard touchdown with 10:10 left in the second quarter.

“First time, I just got too excited and looked away from it,” he said with a laugh. “I appreciate coach giving me a second chance.”

“When he dropped that one earlier, I know he was taking it hard, because his dad’s a Hall grad and he wanted to score a touchdown in the worse way,” Pearson said. “So I called it again. And fortunately, he was able to make that grab and get his touchdown.”

Burden said he was highly motivated to score against his dad’s alma mater. Archie Burden was a member of Hall’s 1995 state champions.

Ian Morris tackled Hall backup quarterback Nate Lankford in the safety to put the Tigers up 24-0.

Tiger quarterback Will Lott accounted for two more touchdowns with a 28-yard pass to Noah LaPorte and a 11-yard keeper, giving the Tigers a 40-0 lead with 4:29 left in the second quarter.

Junior reserve Kaydin Gibson got in on the fun with with pair of touchdowns (15, 4) in the fourth quarter. They converted a conversion pass to Jordan Reinhardt on a broken PAT attempt in which PHS stats man Denny Ohlson said, “that’s when you know everything is going good for you.”

Princeton took a knee rather than attempt a conversion on its final score.

Now the Tigers turn their attention to the playoffs. they will learn their playoff draw Saturday night and Pearson said he and his staff will go right to work preparing a game plan.

“We’ll go to work as soon as the pairings show announces who we play. It’s a pretty late night. Usually we’re up to 3 or 4 (a.m.) breaking down film. We got to have the game plan ready Monday. It’s fun. We’re going to enjoy it.”

Tieman said the Red Devils (3-6) faced a tall task facing the No. 2 ranked Tigers.

“They can throw it. They can run it. Their defense is good. They’re going to be someone to reckon with the next month,” he said. “There’s things you think you can try to do. We weren’t success with them. We tried to do what we thought we could do.”

Tieman said he was going to miss his seniors, because “they put in the work for us.”

Casey Etheridge got the Tigers’ train rolling with a 40-yard scamper on the third play from scrimmage less than three minutes into the game after the Tigers had taken over at midfield.

They also scored on their next possession when Ace Christiansen capped a 6-play, 53-yard scoring drive with a 1-yard run.