Princeton builds momentum for playoffs, defeats Erie-Prophetstown

PROPHETSTOWN - The Princeton Tigers have their eyes on making another deep postseason run.

They put that plan in motion Friday, taking a 32-point halftime lead on the way to a 61-14 win over Erie-Prophetstown in a Three Rivers Conference crossover to close out the regular season.

“Getting this win right now, Week 9. Lot of momentum going into the playoffs. We’re looking forward to it,” Princeton senior all-stater Noah LaPorte said.

“That’s a good way to get the ball rolling for the second season, give us some momentum. Things were clicking. That’s a good thing to happen right before the playoffs,” Princeton senior lineman Cade Odell said.

“We’ve been playing really good football the last few weeks and it’s really important to continue that momentum and come over here and play well against a good football team,” Tiger coach Ryan Pearson said. “They’re going to be a 2A playoff team. We wanted to end the regular season on a high note. Now the fun really begins.”

Both the Tigers (8-1) and the Panthers (5-4) await their playoff pairings, which will come out Saturday night, Princeton in 3A and E-P in 2A.

LaPorte exemplified the Tigers’ gritty attitude Friday by catching five passes and carrying half the student body of both Erie and Prophetstown along for the ride on each play.

“Get the momentum, speed everything up a little bit. Run it right down their throat. And just 100% effort every single time,” he said.

Junior running back Casey Etheridge scored four touchdowns in the first half and added a 29-yard TD run with 8:02 left in the third quarter to put the running clock in play. He finished with 156 yards rushing.

The Tigers also snuck in a 46-yard field goal by Ian Morris as time ran out at the half to give the Tigers a 39-7 edge at halftime.

Senior Kaydin Gibson got in on the fun in the second half with touchdown runs of 43 and 44 yards.

Pearson was pleased in the Tigers’ offensive attack in their no-huddle offense, racking up 422 yards rushing while quarterback Will Lott had a perfect night passing, completing 7-of-7 passes for 99 yards.

“With the no-huddle, we’re trying to take what the defense gives us and I thought the kids really executed very well,” Pearson said. “I thought our run game was working really well. Obviously, Will going 7 for 7, we had our opportunities to throw the ball and Will delivered.”

The Panthers got on the board with 18.5 seconds left in the half when Gaven Adams caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from QB Keegan Winckler that deflected off a teammate.

Winckler also found paydirt with a 10-yard run in the third quarter.

E-P coach Tyler Whitebread said playing a team like Princeton can only help the Panthers heading into the playoffs.

“I’m pretty sure we’re not going to see a team the caliber of Princeton next week or probably throughout 2A. Princeton’s a heck of a team,” he said. “I know there’s some takeaways from this game. We did some things well. But yeah, we have to have a short-term memory. It’s the playoffs, it’s do or die. What we did the previous week doesn’t matter right now. Put our best foot forward and try to put everything together.”

The Tiger coaching staff will await their first-round playoff opponent. Pearson said all bets are off on who that will be at this point.

“It’s such a crap shoot right now,” he said. “By (Saturday) morning, I usually have a pretty good idea. There’s a lot of variables that go into it. We’re just going to be excited who we play. Any time you get an opportunity to play a Week 10 game, that’s what we work so hard for.

“So, I’m happy for out kids we get to go into Week 10 and start having some real fun.”

Odell said the Tigers will be on mission.

“We’ve got the quarters curse, so we’re going to get rid of that curse,” he said, noting the Tigers’ three straight quarterfinals defeats.

* Princeton won the sophomore prelim 42-0. The Kittens finish 7-2.