(Photo by Stephen Goldsmith) ON THE FLY: Princeton High senior receiver Doug Bryant races down the sideline last Saturday on a 65-yard touchdown jaunt in the fourth quarter that was the margin of victory in PHS’s 19-14 win at Nottingham in the season opener. Bryant’s score came on an impromptu hook-and-ladder play when he took the ball from teammate Nicky Miranda as he was getting tackled at the 35-yard-line.

With Senior Stars Sparking Dramatic Rally, PHS Football Edges Nottingham in Opener

Bill Alden

It was midway through the fourth quarter last Saturday and Doug Bryant was still hustling for the Princeton High football team.

With PHS trailing 14-13 at Nottingham in the season opener for both teams, senior receiver Bryant galloped down the sideline looking to run interference for Nick Miranda, who had gathered in a Mike Olentine pass.

As Miranda got corralled, Bryant made eye contact with his classmate and the next thing he knew the ball was in his hands.

“I was making a block and I saw him getting wrapped up,” recalled Bryant.

“I just kind of looked at him. I didn’t signal for it, he just gave me the ball and I took off.”

Bryant took advantage of the opportunity, breaking one tackle and then racing for a 65-yard run down the sidelines and a touchdown to give PHS a 19-14 lead with 4:52 remaining in regulation.

As the PHS bench was still celebrating the scintillating score, Nottingham hit on two long pass plays to get deep in PHS territory.

With Nottingham knocking on the door, Little Tiger senior standout Trevor Barsamian produced more drama, recovering a fumble on the one-yard line as PHS stymied the Northstars.

The 250-pound Barsamian then plunged into the Nottingham line twice to get PHS out of the shadow of the goalpost and Josh Gordon broke free for a first down to end the game and give PHS an improbable triumph.

“It is how you start the season,” said Miranda, noting that Nottingham had whipped PHS 29-3 in last fall’s opener. “It is huge; it is also big for the division.”

Things didn’t start well for PHS last Saturday as the Little Tigers found themselves trailing 14-3 at halftime.

While PHS head coach Steve Everette was concerned at intermission, he was confident that his players could find their rhythm in the second half.

“Nottingham is a good football team, they were blocking us and their backs were making great cuts,” said Everette.

“We made a couple of slight adjustments. We reminded our kids this is what we have been practicing against, nothing different. The kids came out and did well.”

The Little Tigers didn’t waste any time doing well in the second half, stopping Nottingham on a three and out.

In Barsamian’s view, the Little Tigers made a statement with that stand. “We weren’t wrapping up in the first half, we were a swim team as Coach Everette would call it, diving right at the guy,” said Barsamian, who did yeoman’s work on the defensive line in addition to rushing for 24 yards from his fullback spot.

“In the second half, we came up big. Everybody put a body on a body; we really took it to them. They didn’t score in the second half.”

Barsamian was responsible for PHS’s first score of the half as he took an Olentine pass in the flat and rumbled 23 yards for a touchdown with 7:30 left in the third quarter as PHS narrowed the gap to 14-10.

“I am not usually the guy who catches the pass,” said a grinning Barsamian.

“They kind of just dumped it off to me and I was like alright I have got to get rid of this guy and then someone else came and I got rid of him. I took off, I have got some wheels.”

The opening sequence of the third quarter changed the tone of the contest, according to Everette.

“That was huge, getting a three and out and then going down and getting points,” said Everette. “It got our confidence back and got our heads back into things.”

The impromptu hook-and-ladder scoring play in the fourth quarter was an example of players using their heads.

“We haven’t been working on that; that was just kids hustling,” asserted Everette.

“That was a real smart kid, Nicky Miranda, realizing that he was lateraling it to his teammate. Doug being a great athlete, broke a tackle and goes into the end zone. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.”

Everette knows he is lucky to have a group of 20 seniors leading the way for his club.

“That’s just seniors wanting to win; they willed us to a win,” said Everette, whose team will look to keep on the winning track when it hosts Ewing on September 17.

“The kids had to start trusting in one another. Jay Dwyer finally get here in the second half from taking his ACT. When you are missing one of your guys, the other guys step up. Jay got here and kind of gave us a little energy; he made some plays for us in the second. I’ll take 11 more like this. It’s fun … this is why we do the whole high school coaching thing.”

Barsamian and his senior classmates are looking to have a lot of fun this fall in their final season together.

“We have all been playing together since freshman year,” said Barsamian. “We have added a couple and lost a couple but we are all really great friends. When we get down on ourselves, there is always someone there to pick us up. That really helped today.”

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