Princeton's Jake Crocker, 74, and the rest of the offense gathers for a huddle. Photo courtesy of We Journal Great Sports.
Princeton hopes to take final step toward title in 2022 By RANDY CAPPS
he 2021 season had almost everything Princeton could have wanted. It featured a perfect regular season and a Neuse Six Conference title in its first season as a 2A school. That success led to a No. 1 playoff seed and four straight postseason wins to clinch a berth in the 2A Eastern Championship game. Unfortunately, Wallace-Rose Hill spoiled the fun with a 34-25 win in front of a packed house at Harvey Brooks Field, ending the Bulldogs’ season with a 13-1 record. “Our community, and not just our local Princeton folks, but kind of all of Johnston County, was so supportive,” Princeton head coach Travis Gaster said. “We felt like nobody was envious that they weren’t playing and we were. It was like, ‘hey, man, you guys are representing Johnston County now, and we’re going to come watch you and want to see you do well.’ That’s a great feeling. The support from our local community has always been here. Even in bad times. To see the number of people that would come to little-bitty Princeton High School on a Friday night — that was really exciting for the kids to know that they were there for them. “We had a group that was self-led. We had great leadership on that team, and a lot of the guys that we have coming back
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were able to be a part of that experience and get a taste of what it’s like playing in really big-time games in the postseason and how exciting and fun that can be. Hopefully, it just makes them more hungry and want to work harder to try to build on what we’ve done.” What they did was pile up eye-popping points and yardage totals with an offense based on principles as old as the sport itself. The Bulldogs and their modified single wing attack averaged nearly 49 points per game, rushed for a little more than 5,900 yards and averaged a first down on every carry (10.6 yards per attempt). Those numbers explain why Princeton only threw 23 passes last fall, completing 15 of them. And while there are individuals who piled up some impressive stats, that sort of production starts at the line of scrimmage. “With our system, it’s never going to be any different,” he said. “We’ll go as far as our O-line will take us. The offensive line is the heart and soul of our program, and they know their importance. They work hard at being great at what they do.” Four starters return up front for the Bulldogs, led by Jake Crocker. The senior tackle looms large, both literally at 6-6, 295 pounds, and figuratively for Gaster’s team. “Any time your best players are your hardest workers, you’ve got a great chance to be successful as a team,” he said.
“Because the rest of the guys just feed off of that. And in Jake’s case, he’s an unbelievably hard worker. He cares about football. In his mind, he feels like he was born to play football. His body size and everything he brings to the table as a natural leader just fit perfectly for what we do. He’s got an opportunity to have another great year. He’s been starting for us since he was a freshman, so we kind of feel like by now, he ought to be the one out there teaching folks and coaching folks instead of us. He’ll have a lot of pressure put on him as a senior, but he’s proven that he’s up to the task. “Coaching folks like Jake is very rewarding. Because you see him influencing other people. You see people growing, not just for themselves, but in how they influence a large group of people that you’re going to be around for a while. The young people who look up to Jake, they all know who he is. He coaches in our little league program. Those kids all come to watch him play. To them, he’s a giant and he’s a superstar. It’s a great thing playing in a small town and being a big fish. But not letting that go to your head. Continuing to work hard and staying hungry. He checks all those boxes.” Jaydon Brooks was the primary ball carrier last year, racking up 2,127 yards and 26 touchdowns in his senior season. Christian Perris (1,961 yards, 31 TD) and Brandon Turner (712 yards, 11 TD) are in line to continue the recent trend of high-
