Princeton gears up for move to 2A

By RANDY CAPPS

PRINCETON — The COVID-shortened 2020 campaign was a tale of two seasons for Princeton.

The Bulldogs raced out to a 7-0 record this spring and drew the five seed in the State 1AA Playoffs, but it all came to an abrupt end in the opening round in a 39-28 road loss to Edenton Holmes.

Coach Travis Gaster will reload with five returning starters on defense and six on offense, including some key contributors from last season’s squad.

Senior tailback and linebacker Jaydon Brooks tallied 1,293 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns last fall, while junior wing back and corner Christian Perris added 617 yards and 12 more scores. Another senior, Paul Edens, will line up next to Brooks in the “Fred” position, and he completed nine of his 10 pass attempts for 219 yards and four scores in the spring. He also recorded 19 tackles.

Junior Jake Crocker, voted team captain as a sophomore, brings stability to the offensive line, while Peyton Mitchell, another junior, was one of the leading tacklers while making the calls and adjustments from his safety position.

The Bulldogs also have an accomplished kicker in McKinley Uzzell, who hit 37 of his 39 extra points last season.

“Our strength will be leadership,” Gaster said. “We have a solid group of seniors that lead by example, both on and off the field. I am really looking forward to seeing them take charge of our team during the season.”

Princeton will rely on that experience as it joins the 2A ranks this season, sharing the Neuse 6 Conference with Beddingfield, Eastern Wayne, Goldsboro, Spring Creek and traditional rival North Johnston. It’s a step up in competition, but one about which Gaster is excited.

“Moving up in classification will be a big challenge for us, but it’s one that we are ready to take on,” he said. “Our goal is simple, to be a champion. We want to be a better team every week and be playing our best football at the end of the season. Winning the first-ever Neuse 6 Conference will be one of our goals this season.”

Getting there, Gaster believes, is a straight-forward process.

“We must be a fundamentally sound football team that can win all three phases of a football game,” he said. “Football is a simple game that we don’t need to make complex. If we block and tackle better than our opponent, we will usually win. In order to do this, we must continue to get stronger in the weight room and practice fast.”

It’s the sort of process that could make the Bulldogs’ jump to the 2A ranks a memorable one.

Princeton takes the field.

Photo courtesy of We Journal Great Sports

Schedule

Aug. 20 Smithfield-Selma

Aug. 27 at East Duplin

Sept. 3 Rosewood

Sept. 10 BYE

Sept. 17 at Richlands

Sept. 24 at Louisburg

Oct. 1 at Eastern Wayne

Oct. 8 Goldsboro

Oct. 15 Spring Creek

Oct. 22 at Beddingfield

Oct. 29 at North Johnston