Princeton steps up summer season

The Princeton Tigers football team will be stepping up its summer season this week.

By the end of the weekend, the Tigers will have competed in two 7-on-7s, held a joint practice/scrimmage with 6A Washington High School and competed in their own Linemen’s Challenge as they gear up for the 2024 season, which is just six weeks away.

Princeton lineman Cade Odell is ready for football at any time of the year.

“It’s been fun getting outside and doing football things. I’ve been wanting to do football ever since we were done last year,” he said. “The Lineman Challenge should be fun. It’s cool to be able to do something like all the skill guys.”

The Tigers will travel to coach Ryan Pearson’s alma mater to play in the Stark County 7-on-7 at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Wyoming. Bureau Valley will also be participating.

On Thursday, the Tigers and Panthers will team up for a joint practice/scrimmage from 10 a.m. to noon at Little Siberia. Tiger alum Todd Stevens is taking over as the Panthers’ head coach this season from longtime coach Darrell Crouch. Stevens was a member of Princeton’s 1989 state runner-up team.

PHS will host its annual 7-on-7/Lineman Challenge on Saturday starting at 9 a.m. at Bryant Field and Little Siberia. There will be six games going on during each time slot with two fields at Bryant Field and four at Little Siberia.

There will be 14 schools participating, including Princeton and Bureau Valley along with Durand-Pecatonica, Dixon, Eastland-Pearl City, Erie-Prophetstown, Oregon, Marquette, Mendota, Metamora, Ottawa, Rockridge, Sandwich and Mercer County, a new member of the Three Rivers Conference.

Princeton, Metamora and Dixon are fielding two teams.

Princeton’s varsity will have games with Dixon (9 a.m.), Metamora (10:30 a.m.), Oregon (11:15 a.m.), Ottawa (12:45 p.m.) and Bureau Valley (1:30 p.m.).

Princeton 2 will play Mendota (9:45 a.m.), Metamora 2 (10:30 a.m.), Eastland-PC (noon), Dixon 2 (12:45 p.m.) and E-P (2:15 p.m.).

Bureau Valley will open against Du-Pec at 9 a.m. followed by games with Mercer County (9:45 a.m.), Rockridge (11:15 a.m.) and Marquette (noon) before facing the Tigers at 1:30 p.m. at Bryant Field.

Princeton’s teams for the Linemen’s Challenge will have Cade Odell, Rhett Pearson, Owen Hartman, Eli Berlin and Matthew Lord on Team 1 and Eli Burden, Damian Dalrymple, Graysen Rockey, Cam Voorhies and Daelin Brzezinski on Team 2.

Next week, the Tigers have added a joint practice/scrimmage with Genoa-Kingston on Thursday, July 25 from 10 a.m. to noon at Little Siberia. This will take the place of the Tigers camp that night.