First-play trickery turns into Bulldawg treat
By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on November 1, 2009 1:51 AM
PRINCETON -- Princeton celebrated Halloween early with a little trickery Friday evening.
And the Dawgs filled their bag with a long-awaited treat.
Dylan Myers hooked up with Dillon Daughtry for a 68-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage, and Princeton romped past defending Carolina 1-A Conference champion Ayden-Grifton 55-14 on Friday.
The playoff-bound Dawgs (7-3 overall, 3-1 CC) claimed their first-ever victory over the Chargers in nine meetings since 2001.
"It was probably the best complete game we've played all year," said Princeton coach Russell Williamson. "We talked all week long about coming out and playing well, trying to set the tone early. We did that.
"I'm so happy for that group of seniors."
Myers disguised the tomfoolery well on the opening snap.
Expecting to see the spread formation, Ayden-Grifton (6-4, 2-2) crowded the box and Daughtry slipped uncovered into the secondary. Myers dropped back and connected with the senior wideout, who out-raced his nearest defender to the end zone.
Daughtry finished with 110 yards and two TDs on six receptions.
"It was a great catch by Dillon. I kind of under threw him, he adjusted well and took it to the house," said Myers, one of 17 seniors honored before the game. "We've been in the spread all year and then all of a sudden we were in the I formation, and they probably thought we were going to play power football.
"We threw a little trick on them."
Ayden-Grifton never saw it coming.
"They hit us in the mouth ... were ready to play," said Chargers coach Paul Cornwell. "As soon as they hit that first score, we don't have a lot of confidence right now because we've been up and down. As soon as we got down, I think there was a little bit of (thinking) 'we've given up points before..."
Princeton converted its first three possessions into touchdowns. Benton Myers' 14-yard scoring run and Javontae Davis' 30-yard TD gallop helped open the passing lanes for quarterback David Gurganus. The senior completed 14 passes for 245 yards and four touchdowns -- including three strikes to Patrick Jacobs, who hauled in a personal-best 201 yards on eight receptions.
Myers and Davis churned out 35 and 33 yards, rushing, respectively. The Dawgs owned a decisive 427-268 advantage in total offense.
"Our running game really helped us tonight," said Williamson.
Sophomore lineman Gary Hall got into the scoring act, recovering an Ayden-Grifton fumble in the end zone to start the second half. Kicker Amber Brush, who plays goalie on the women's soccer team, added five PATs.
The Dawgs' offensive output was a series high against the Chargers, who had recorded five shutouts in eight previous meetings.
Princeton senior linebacker Chris Hill paced the defense with 15 stops.