Princeton stunned in 2OT loss

Princeton fans and fans of 8-man football and its high-scoring contests may have thought they were going to see more of that Saturday, as the Eagles and visiting Butte Valley both scored on their opening possessions.

What probably was not in the wildest nightmares of the Princeton fans was that the score would remain 7-7 into a second overtime period, until a Butte Valley interception in the end zone put an end to the Eagle's run with a 14-7 defeat.

Princeton tool the field minus quarterback Cody Hanson, who was injured in the Westwood game and could only voice his support from the sideline while on crutches.

The Eagles marched the ball effectively on their first drive, capping a nine-play 62-yard drive with Guillermo Rodriguez's 5-yard TD scamper followed by Rafael Aria's PAT. Rodriguez became Princeton's signal caller in Hansen's absence.

A face mask penalty against the Eagles on the ensuing kickoff gave Butte Valley the ball on its own 44, but later in the drive on 4th-and-short from the Eagles 44, Jeremy Lopez found his way for a 44-yard scoring run, with the PAT knotting the score at 7-7.

It looked like Princeton had retaken the lead in the second period when Anthony Sorrels returned a punt for a TD, but the score was negated by a holding penalty.

Rodriguez also injured his ankle in the first period, sending Sorrels under center until the fourth quarter.

With the Princeton attack needing to come on the ground, both teams struggled to put sustained drives together in the second half.

The Eagles staved off a Bulldogs' scoring attempt in the fourth quarter when they blocked a field goal attempt, but both offenses sputtered and regular time ended with sevens on the scoreboard.

Princeton received the ball first to begin the initial extra period, and appeared to have capitalized when Justin Zoller came down with the ball in the end zone, but offensive pass interference was called, resulting in Princeton's second score being called back.

After the Eagles were stopped, the Bulldogs curiously opted not to try for a game-winning field goal, but Princeton's defense kept them from scoring to force the second overtime.

This time Butte Valley got the ball first, and Evan Penella ran it in from the 10 to put the Bulldogs up, with the PAT making it a seven-point advantage.

When Princeton's possession bogged down for third down on the 8, Rodriguez lofted a pass in the direction of Sorrels, but Steven Pace won the battle for the ball and pulled it down for an interception to end the game.

Speaking about his team's injuries, Princeton coach Bryan Lex said, "It really changed our play calling drastically. We weren't able to pass like we normally would, and losing Rodriguez early in the game was a real impediment to us."

He added, "Butte Valley played well, but we would have liked to have been a little healthier. We thought we had it there in the end zone at the end,' the coach said, referring to the pass interference call, ‘but apparently the officials saw it differently."

The Eagles finished the season with a record of 7-4.