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Football Caps Strong Offseason Stretch With 2011 Spring Game

Courtesy: Princeton Athletic Communications Release: 04/23/2011

Courtesy: Princeton Athletic Communications

Tommy Wornham, Steven Cody, head coach Bob Surace and Mike Catapano.

The 2011 Princeton football spring session concluded Saturday afternoon during a rainy-but-productive Spring Game, held on Powers Field at Princeton Stadium. With all three of its captains on the field, albeit in differing capacities, the Tigers took a nice step forward towards the 2011 season, which opens Sept. 17 against Lehigh.

Starting quarterback Tommy Wornham made his first passes on Powers Field since suffering a season-ending shoulder injury against Brown during the fifth week of the 2010 season. Though he was without his top two targets last season, Trey Peacock and Andrew Kerr, Wornham showed both the poise and leadership he demonstrated early in the season. With a stronger grasp of the offense, he did a nice job spreading the ball to a variety of new targets, including Issac Serwanga, Connor Kelley and Tom Moak.

However, the first touchdown of the day came on the ground, courtesy of freshman Brian Mills. The speedster, who made a strong first impression in the shootout at Lehigh last fall, cut through the line, found the left sideline and would not get caught on his way to a long touchdown run.

The defense, led by tri-captain and starting lineman Mike Catapano, bounced back on the next series. It nearly forced a fourth-down turnover, but after barely allowing a first down, the defense got its stop and left junior kicker Patrick Jacob to attempt a long field goal. The kick had plenty of distance but missed right, giving the defense its first victory of the day.

That would be the trend throughout the session, as both sides picked up small victories over each other. Both sides of the line had their strong moments, while the skill positions also traded off victories through both full-team sessions and 7-on-7 drills.

All three captains and head coach Bob Surace talk about the game on the included video. Check back with GoPrincetonTigers.TV over the next two weeks for the annual Spring Chat, where Surace will give an in-depth look at his team as it breaks spring camp and starts to truly focus on the 2011 season.