Princeton, NJ – The Stetson Hatters knew they were going to have their hands full against the best team in the Ivy League on Saturday at Princeton Stadium.
With the talent and experience of the home-standing Tigers combined with a rash of offensive mistakes, penalties and bad field position, the Hatters dug a hole they had no chance to get out of in a 63-0 loss.
Stetson now looks ahead to Pioneer Football league play with a 2-1 record on the season while the Tigers take consecutive shutout wins into the chase for the Ivy League crown next week.
After trading punts to start the game, the Hatters committed their first turnover of the season when graduate transfer quarterback
John Seter was picked off by Michael Ruttlen Jr., at the Stetson 43.
The Tigers took advantage to score on a nine-yard run by Cole Smith, starting a stretch where Princeton scored on six consecutive possessions, with five of the six drives starting inside Hatters' territory.
While Princeton was piling up a 35-0 lead, Stetson had managed just five yards of total offense against the stout Tigers defense. It was not until the final possession of the half that Stetson managed to move the ball into Princeton territory, but that drive ended when Seter was sacked on fourth down, giving the ball back to Princeton.
The Tigers continued to have their way on offense in the second half, putting together scoring drives of 74, 19, 53 and 75 yards.
Stetson finished the game with just 26 total rushing yards of 33 attempts, but that includes the seven sacks of Hatters quarterbacks that accounted for 46 lost yards, as well as another five tackles for losses of 20 yards on run plays.
Freshman
Kaderris Roberts, who had six rush attempts on the final Stetson drive of the day, finished as the Hatters' leading rusher with 33 yards.
The Hatters were also flagged for seven penalties for 46 yards and turned the ball over on a muffed punt which led to a short Princeton touchdown drive.
The two Stetson quarterbacks – Seter and fellow graduate
Justin Agner – combined to throw for 173 yards, completing 17-of-32 pass attempts. Agner, who made his Stetson debut in the game, completed 10-of-15 attempts for 90 yards while Seter was 7-of-17 for 83 yards.
The Hatters will look to put this game behind them as they turn their attention toward the Pioneer Football League opener next Saturday at Spec Martin Stadium. The game against Davidson (2-1, 1-1) is scheduled for a 1 p.m. kickoff. The Wildcats, who won the spring season PFL title, opened league play earlier today with a 28-16 victory over San Diego.
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.
