After back-to-back losses to non-conference opponents, the football team (3-2, 2-0 Ivy) came into Saturday's game looking to get its season back on track, resuming its Ivy League schedule at Princeton. Brown did just that, outscoring the Tigers (2-3, 1-1 Ivy) 17-0 in the second half to run away with a 31-10 victory.
A big question mark going into Saturday's game was the Brown defense. After a dominant performance in Bruno's 17-7 season-opening win over Stony Brook, the defense had another strong showing the following week in a 24-22 victory over Harvard. In the last two games, though, the defense seemed to have no answers for opposing offenses, allowing 78 total points in a 37-13 loss to URI and a 41-34 loss to Holy Cross.
On the opening drive, the struggles appeared to continue for Brown's defense, when the Tigers, starting at their own 40-yard line, picked up five first downs to move the ball to the Brown 1 yard line, in part due to three Brown penalties totaling 21 yards.
Then, on first-and-goal on the 1, the defense kicked into gear. Stops by linebackers Andrew Serrano '11 and Kelley Cox '10 on first and second downs kept the Tigers out of the end zone, and a pass attempt on third down fell incomplete, forcing Princeton to settle for an 18-yard field goal.
"We knew that we could do well against them as a defense, and when a few calls didn't go our way in the beginning, I think it lit a fire underneath us that lasted the game," linebacker Jon May '09 wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. "The goal line stand proved we would make them earn every yard they wanted to gain."
Receiver Buddy Farnham '10 fielded the ensuing kickoff and ran it back 32 yards, the first of many great returns for Farnham, who finished the day with 55 yards on two kickoff returns and 67 yards on four punt returns.
"We had a successful day on returns because our return team did a great job blocking," Farnham wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. "They really made my job easy, all I had to do was catch the ball and run up the seam they created for me."
The Bears picked up a first down when quarterback and co-captain Michael Dougherty '09 fired a 14-yard completion to Farnham on third-and-5. On the next play, Dougherty broke off a 34-yard run, his longest of the season, to put the ball on the Princeton 6, and on the following play running back Dereck Knight '08.5 ran the ball in for the touchdown, giving Brown a 7-3 lead. Knight had a strong day for Bruno, carrying the ball 22 times for 89 yards and a touchdown.
After the defense stymied the Tigers' offense at the Princeton 21 on the next drive, the Bears started at their own 29. After a pass interference call against Princeton gave Brown 15 yards, Dougherty threw an 11-yard completion to receiver Matt Sudfeld '11, and a 28-yard completion to Farnham, who led the team with six receptions and 79 yards on the day. A 15-yard run by Knight moved the ball down to the 2-yard line, where receiver Bobby Sewall '10 ran it in for his second rushing touchdown of the season, to give the Bears a 14-3 advantage with 1:41 remaining in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, the Tigers fought their way back into the game with a four-play, 69-yard touchdown drive. Quarterback Brian Anderson completed passes of 33 and 20 yards, setting up a 12-yard touchdown run for running back Meko McCray with 9:28 left in the first half. Neither team scored again before the end of the half, and Bruno went into halftime with a 14-10 lead.
In the second half, it was all Brown. After a short kickoff, running back Nkosi Still '09 started things off with a 33-yard return, giving the Bears the ball on the Princeton 45 to start the half. Sewall picked up a key first down with a 3-yard run on fourth-and-1 to move the ball to the 33. Though they did not find the end zone, the Bears eventually moved the ball down to the 16, and kicker Robert Ranney '09 kicked a 33-yard field goal to widen the lead to 17-10.
On the ensuing drive, May came up with a tackle for a four-yard loss to force the Tigers into a third-and-14 situation. May finished the day with five tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss. In the third-and-long situation, Anderson was forced into a dangerous throw, which was picked off by cornerback David Clement '10 for his first interception of the season.
Though Dougherty was intercepted on the following drive, the defense forced Princeton to go three-and-out, and a 37-yard punt return by Farnham gave Brown the ball back at the Princeton 20. From there, it took only one play, a 20-yard completion from Dougherty to Farnham, to increase the lead to 24-10 with 7:10 left in the third quarter.
"We wanted to come back and try to hit another big play right away," Farnham wrote. "We ran a hitch and go on the outside and got their corner to bite on the hitch and Mike threw a perfect pass over the top."
Dougherty completed 14 of 27 passes on the day for 181 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.
Princeton's next three drives failed to result in a single first down, rounding out a streak during which the Brown defense did not allow a first down for five consecutive drives.
"We primarily only ran one or two base defenses the entire game," May wrote. "This simplified game plan helped eliminate a lot of the thinking, enabling us to just react and play faster. We also placed emphasis on increasing the physicality of our play."
Tackle David Howard '09 and linebacker Steve Ziogas '09, as well as May and Serrano, all recorded sacks on the day, while safety Chris Perkins '10 led the team with eight tackles, including an assist on a tackle for loss. In all, nine players made or assisted on a tackle for loss in Saturday's game.
With 3:50 remaining in the third quarter, the Tigers started off a drive with an eight-yard run, but Cox came up with a tackle for a three-yard loss on the next play. Then, on third-and-5 from the Princeton 26, Howard got to quarterback Dan Kopolovic at the 20, and forced a fumble, which defensive end Neal Rooney '12 secured for the first fumble recovery of his collegiate career.
The fumble gave the Bears the ball at the Princeton 20, and Farnham continued to carry the team on his back, this time with the running game. On first down, the offense caught the Tigers off guard with a reverse to Farnham for 17 yards, and on the next play, Farnham took a hand-off up the middle for a 3-yard touchdown run, giving the Bears their largest lead of the day at 31-10 with 1:30 left in the third quarter.
"I was actually asking coach to call that reverse play a few minutes before we got the ball back on the fumble recovery because we practiced it all week and I knew it would be a good play," Farnham wrote. "Then we finished the drive off with a little run up the middle thanks to our offensive line clearing out a nice hole."
Farnham finished with 285 all-purpose yards on the day, with two touchdowns.
After Princeton was forced to punt, Brown opened the fourth quarter with a drive lasting 10:35, and after just one more Princeton drive, the Bears kneeled out the clock to secure the 31-10 victory.
Next week, Brown will continue its Ivy League schedule with a home match-up against Cornell (3-2, 1-1 Ivy), which is coming off of two losses after starting the season 3-0.
"We're going to take every game one at a time and continue to improve," May wrote, "but I believe this provides us with a great building block for the rest of our season."
