Football preview: Princeton looks to parlay offensive experience into greater success

By Randy Capps

PRINCETON — Last season could have gone either way for Princeton. A three-game skid left it at 3-3 overall as the calendar flipped to October, but the Bulldogs bounced back to win six of their last seven before bowing out in the third round of the playoffs.

“We went through a threegame slide last year,” head coach Travis Gaster said. “I think you had to go back seven years to find, combined, three regular season losses for us. So for a whole program, that was getting punched right in the mouth.

“Normally, panic can set in and people want to change. They just took it upon themselves to practice harder and to believe in the system and, and keep moving forward. So that was good for them. But hopefully this group has been through that, so hopefully we don't have to go through it again.”

Any conversation about Princeton starts with its offense, particularly the running backs. When starter Kadyn Haire went down with an injury early in the season, Austin Lewallen was thrust from third string into a starting role.

All he did was rush for 2,643 yards and 29 touchdowns, surpassing all expectations — even his coach’s.

“He was a JV player for us going into the year,” Gaster said. “We lose Kadyn on the second play of the second game and we lose his backup two plays later. … Austin had played an entire JV game the night before. And we had to call on him to play four more quarters of football in the heat of the second week of the football season.

From then on, he just stepped up to the challenge and was ready to go and kind of proved me wrong in his readiness. … He was an unbelievable force for us last year, breaking some tackles when we didn't block everything perfectly.”

Haire is recovering from his knee injury, and at press time, was hoping to be in the mix by the start of the season. He rushed for 487 yards and seven scores in 2022, and his availability might affect the lineup choices at the team’s “Fred,” or quarterback, position.

No matter how the Bulldogs line up, Treyson Holloman will be clearing the way as what can be best described as a blocking back, and his coach calls him, “a force to be reckoned with.”

Of course, the offensive line, led by Aydan Daughtry, who’s “poised to have a great year,” sets the tone for an offense that threw the football a grand total of 18 times last season.

“We definitely don't set up the run by throwing it,” Gaster said. “So we know going into every ball game we're going to have to block. There's not many tricks.”

The staff is on the hunt for a center, which with every snap being from the shotgun, is a critical piece of the puzzle.

New faces will need to emerge on defense, particularly at linebacker, and on special teams. Not that anyone on the schedule will be concerned with the Bulldogs’ growth areas.

“The P on the side of your helmet doesn't mean that when you go out there, people are going to roll over for you,” Gaster said. “You know that you are the target and that's that. That just comes along with being successful.”