SENIOR MOMENT: Senior players for the Princeton High football team enjoy the moment after the Tigers defeated the WW-P United Co-op 35-0 last Friday night in their season finale. The victory left the Tigers with a 7-2 record, the most wins in a season for the program since PHS went 8-2 in 2014. (Photo by Bill Alden)
By Bill Alden
Ezra Lerman waited a long time to finally get his first start at quarterback for the Princeton High football team.
Having backed up Quinton deFaria for the first eight games of the season, senior Lerman started last Friday night against the WW/P United Co-op in the season finale with deFaria having been sidelined the week before due to an arm injury.
“That means a lot to me; the season didn’t quite go the way I was expecting or the team was expecting,” said Lerman, referring to PHS getting banned from the state tournament due to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) rule that any team that accumulates three or more player or coach disqualifications during a season will not be permitted to compete in the playoffs. “To be able to play this one, it was a good way to go out.”
Lerman played well on Friday, connecting on 7-of-9 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns as the Tigers rolled to a 35-0 win over WW/P, ending the season at 7-2 as they earned the most wins in a season for the program since PHS went 8-2 in 2014.
Getting the reps in practice in the week leading up to the contest helped Lerman produce his stellar performance.
“It felt great to be able to prepare as a starting quarterback for the week, to watch film and play with the offense at practice,” said Lerman. “My arm got sore as hell after Tuesday. I never threw so much in practice before. I was ready today.”
Lerman experienced a trial by fire a week before when he came off the bench in the first quarter of a 27-14 loss to Trenton after deFaria dislocated his left elbow.
“I hate that had to happen to my teammate, I have so much respect for him,” said Lerman, who hit 11-of-18 passes for 205 yards and one touchdown in the defeat. “I love the opportunity. I really wish we could have won. I was playing pretty well. I wished I could have just done a little bit more to get us over the hump in that game. I feel like I gave us a shot to win. We were down 20-0 and got two straight and then we got a stop. We really had a shot in that one. I was proud of myself to put us in that situation.”
Against WW/P, Lerman got the Tigers down the field in last 1:29 of the first half, going 4-of-4 passing for 48 yards, culminating with an 11-yard TD pass to Ellington Hinds as PHS built a 20-0 halftime lead.
“I have been feeling it since I got in, I wish I could have done more this season playing in games,” said Lerman, reflecting on engineering the Tiger offense. “I helped my team out in practice every week, giving the varsity defense hell when I was playing with scout.”
In the third quarter, Lerman tossed his second touchdown pass of the night as he found Vincent Min in the end zone for and 18-yard scoring strike.
“I was really happy about the second one, getting my boy Vincent in the end zone,” said Lerman. “He is a sophomore and I got him a huge touchdown. I really love that.”
PHS head coach Charlie Gallagher loved the way his players put the disappointment of being banned from the state playoffs behind them.
“I was a little bit unnerved because they seemed real positive which was really great,” said Gallagher. “We just rode that and every practice was a great practice. They knew this is their last game, there were really good vibes. We kept the practice light for the most part. We did some fun and games at the end, just some competition stuff. The kids love competition, it was just another way to take their mind off what took place and at the same time just have some fun with the guys they have been going to school with for many, many years now and playing football with.”
The Tigers competed well on both sides of the ball in the win over WW/P.
“It was a great game, we got over 20 points for the first time this season and we didn’t give up any points,” said Gallagher. “The offense started getting into a nice groove. The defense did a great job. I am so happy about that.”
Gallagher was very happy with how Lerman played. “It was good to see him scramble, he made some plays,” said Gallagher of Lerman, who also completed a 53-yard pass to Jheki Gordon in the first half. “He made a nice TD pass to Ellinton. All year, Ezra had a really great long ball. The players like that, they are saying coach he is going to throw long. He does a really good job with that. He has good arc on the ball. It gets up in the air. It is throw it early and let them run underneath it. We always tell him to throw them open.”
Senior star Hinds was dazzling as usual, scoring on a 15-yard touchdown run in addition to his TD catch.
“He wanted to throw one too,” said Gallagher of Hind who made three catches for 48 yards on the night. “What a spectacular player, it is going to be hard to find another Ellinton.”
In reflecting on the 7-2 campaign, Gallagher credited his senior group with making a huge impact.
“Every senior class is different,” said Gallagher. “It is going to be hard to find another Carmine [Carusone] or another Andrew [Foreman] or Jheki [Gordon]. It is going to be hard to find another Zaire [Mackey-Wright] or a Jaxon [Jones]. This is one of the first senior classes that kind of played four years. We had like 12 guys, some guys came in and out of the program. It is nice to have some consistency, we had a core and they played well.”
While the win in the finale was nice, Gallagher rued what might have been if the PHS seniors would have gotten to end their careers by competing in the playoffs.
“I am happy with the way it ended for these guys,” said Gallagher. “It is bittersweet without a doubt.”
Lerman, for his part, believes that the Tigers made a statement with their performance last Friday.
“We wanted to have fun, I wanted a big game and we had a big game,” said Lerman. “I think we showed that we belong in the playoffs, everyone knew that. I was happy we went out with a bang.”