STANDING TALL Princeton High senior quarterback Dave Beamer unloads the ball during a recent scrimmage. Beamer’s passing prowess helped PHS go 8-2 last fall on the way to West Jersey Football League’s Valley Division title and an appearance in the state playoffs. The Little Tigers kick off 2015 regular season play with a game at Hamilton on September 12. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

There was some apprehension around the Princeton High football team as it entered the 2014 season.

Coming off a nightmarish 0-10 campaign the year before, PHS was looking to prove that it could be competitive.

The Little Tigers proved that and a whole lot more, producing a remarkable reversal of fortune, going 8-2 on the way to the West Jersey Football League’s Valley Division title and an appearance in the state playoffs.

As the squad prepares for the upcoming season, which kicks off on September 12 when PHS plays at Hamilton, there is a different attitude around the program.

“I do think there is a little bit of swagger, which is good,” said PHS head coach Charlie Gallagher.

“The guys are a little loud, that is not bad for a football team every once in a while. Whereas before last year, it was we don’t know what to expect. We were just trying to be competitive obviously and so everybody was a little nervous.”

One of PHS’s top competitors is relentless star running back Rory Helstrom, who shredded opposing defenses last fall with his breakaway speed, elusiveness, and power.

“He will be a feature back,” said Gallagher of Helstrom. “We are excited to have him back, he accounted for 2000 yards last year and 21 touchdowns. We think he is just a really special player.”

PHS has added another special player in Alex Solopenkov, a transfer from North Brunswick.

“He is just a talented hard working young man and we are so excited to have him in the program,” said Gallagher.

“He is actually a wide receiver but we are trying to make him a tailback. He is a track kid, he is also a football kid. He is learning how to run the ball, there are nuances to the position and Rory is trying to help him out with that.”

The Little Tigers have a big void to fill at fullback with the loss of bruising Colin Buckley to graduation.

“Moses Mahiri is a sophomore and he is a banger,” added Gallagher. “He had a couple of good runs up the middle for us in our last scrimmage. Danny Schiavone is doing a nice job, hopefully he will grow into that role.”

Senior David Beamer has grown into an outstanding quarterback. “Dave has looked sharp,” said Gallagher. “He did a lot of stuff in the spring; he went to a lot of schools and showcases and stuff. He is in great shape, he has to throw the ball around a lot.”

Beamer’s main targets at wide receiver figure to be battle-tested senior Matt Ochoa and promising sophomore Jakob Green.

“Jakob Green is a nice complement to Matt, he can stretch the field,” said Gallagher, noting that Green is also handling the placekicking duties. He is 6’1, 165, he’s wiry.”

At tight end, the Little Tigers have two veterans who can stretch defenses.

“We have some guys doing a nice job for us, Nick Fliss is a senior and then we have Kyle Angelucci, a junior,” said Gallagher.

“They are both vying for that position. Kyle can play a little split end as well. He is a little bit bigger guy. He is 5’11, 6’0; he has got some size. He caught a touchdown in our North Brunswick scrimmage where he kind of muscled it away from the guy.”

PHS features plenty of muscle and experience on the offensive line. “We are returning three guys,” said Gallagher.

“Ethan Guerra is back at center, we are real happy with his progress. He will be a junior, he will be the anchor for the next couple of years. At left guard, we have Matt Toplin, who is doing a great job. He plays really aggressive, he is a three-year guy. Noah Ziegler is our left tackle, he is another three-year player. We are happy with him. At right guard, we have senior Kiki Mahiri. He played a lot of defensive tackle for us last season, he is doing a nice job. He is figuring out the plays. We are hoping a senior Joe Cunsolo comes through for us at right tackle. We will count on him as a senior, we are hoping he can anchor the right side of the line.”

The PHS defense will have an aggressive, new look this fall, changing its scheme.

“We have a new defensive coordinator, Steve DiGregorio, he is really awesome,” asserted Gallagher of the savvy, experienced DiGregorio, a former assistant coach at Princeton University and former head coach at Nutley High.

“He has installed a new defensive. It is high pressure, it is a lot of blitzing, you have to know your assignment. It is a 4-4. They are definitely getting after offenses, the kids are loving it. I think it is simple to a certain extent but it is aggressive.”

Gallagher is expecting his veteran defensive line to get after it. “A lot of the same guys on the offensive line, Guerra, Ziegler, Matt Hawes, and Matt Toplin, are anchoring the defensive line,” said Gallagher. “They are doing a real nice job.”

At linebacker, PHS faces the task of filling the hole left by star Sam Smallzman, who is now playing for Penn’s sprint football program.

“We moved Kiki Mahiri from d-line to linebacker and he is playing there with Kyle Angelucci,” said Gallagher.

“Kyle is picking up the defense real nice, the signals and calls and all of that stuff. They are big hitters, there is a big void to fill, Sam was great. I don’t know if you are going to find a new Sam Smallzman any time soon. We are hoping to put two of those guys together and get one Sam out if it.”

The PHS secondary is coming together nicely. “Solopenkov is on one corner, Ochoa is on the other corner,” said Gallagher.

“Matt is a three-year starter at defensive back. Alex has some great speed so I don’t see him getting beat too often. Green is at safety, he is tall, rangy and don’t put the ball near him because he will pick it off. He is a good hitter and comes up hard. Rory will see time in the secondary.”

While Gallagher is proud of what PHS accomplished last fall, he knows his team faces a hard road as it looks to build on that success.

“I think the idea of being 8-2 and being division champs was an exciting time but that was a whole year ago,” said Gallagher.

“We have a big focus on Hamilton right now. We want to run the table and be division champs again. We made the playoffs last year and you want bigger things. I think the players want it and we have the talent to do that but it all starts with Hamilton and that is a good ball club. We surprised a lot of teams last year. We surprised Hamilton. No one is going to get surprised on September 12. We will travel there and it is going to be a good ballgame.”