Dogs, Tigers ready to clash in Princeton

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on September 25, 2014 1:49 PM

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PRINCETON -- During the Harvey Brooks era, Princeton played plenty of historic contests with then-running back Mike Atkinson toting the pigskin in the single-wing offense.

Three-plus decades later, Princeton is back on center stage.

Ranked No. 2 in the latest Associated Press Class 1-A prep football poll, the unbeaten Bulldogs seek their first signature win since Derrick Minor arrived on campus three years ago. But they don't expect No. 3-ranked and defending 1-AA state champion James Kenan to be an obliging guest.

Kickoff is Friday at 7:30 p.m.

"Where we are right now and (with) everything that's riding on this game, it's definitely one of the biggest (games) I feel like in the school's history," Minor said. "(A loss) won't define our season, but (a win) can help us accomplish what we want to accomplish. We've got to play as close of a perfect game as we can."

And that's beating a program that has respect on both the region and state level. The Tigers (3-1 overall) have claimed five conference titles and played for -- and won -- two of three state championships during Ken Avent Jr.'s nine-year tenure in Warsaw.

Kenan hasn't lost a conference game since Oct. 28, 2011 against archrival Wallace-Rose Hill.

"We're going to have to play good, they're one of the best teams in the state," Avent Jr. said. "We're going to have to have our best effort to have a chance, and that's been our focus (in practice) this week.

"We have to realize they are going to make plays and we have to make plays, too, put some points on the board the best we can."

The Bulldogs, who are 5-0 for the first time since 1980, aren't one-dimensional compared to last season. Florida State commit Johnny Frasier is the area's top rusher with 680 yards and 11 touchdowns. Now he's part of a balanced spread offense that's produced 800-plus passing yards with senior quarterback Michael Wooten at the helm.

Wooten has spread the wealth among eight receivers this season. Cam Jackson, Nick Hare and Tanner Woodard have combined to haul in 35 receptions for 558 yards and three TDs.

In recent weeks, bruising junior fullback Adrian Whack (6-foot-1, 235 pounds) has churned out 145 yards and toted the ball to the house on three occasions. Overall, the Bulldogs have scored 30 touchdowns and average 416.4 yards offensively per game.

Princeton has the league's second-best scoring offense (43.8 points) behind Kenan, which scores 45.8 points.

"Frasier, I don't know if there's ever been a 1-A player in North Carolina as highly recruited as him," said Avent Jr., whose team has the league's second-best scoring defense (15.4 points/game).

"We've got to find ways to slow him down a little bit. They are very explosive offensively. We've got to try to keep their offense off the field as much as we can."

Kenan will contend with a Princeton defense that is anchored by three players -- Whack, senior linebacker Cody Garner and senior lineman Quinton Rhue. The trio is part of a unit that averages 56 tackles and has recorded seven quarterback sacks.

Tigers quarterback Ken Avent III has thrown for 635 yards and 12 touchdowns. His main targets have been John Brooks (12 catches, 293 yards) and Greg Washington (12-237). The duo have combined for 10 TD catches.

Jaquan Williams leads the ground game with 286 yards on 30 carries.

"Our defense has stepped up every game and gotten better, and we're excited about the opportunity ahead of them," Minor said. "We felt like we left some things (on the field) from last season and we've got some returners who remember those two losses.

"We just have to keep the guys focused on what happens between those 100 yards."