PRINCETON, N.J. – It certainly wasn't easy – very few Ivy League wins are – but Team 150 remains very much alive in its quest for a championship.
Joshua Pitsenberger scored on a 3-yard touchdown run on the first possession of the second overtime, and
Wande Owens knocked away a Princeton fourth down pass as the Bulldogs edged the Tigers 36-28 in a thriller on a gorgeous fall afternoon at Princeton Stadium.
Yale (6-3, 4-2 Ivy) has won six of its last seven games and can earn a share of the Ivy title with a win over Harvard next Saturday in The Game at Yale Bowl, Class of 1954 Field.
TEAMS TRADE FOURTH QUARTER SCORES
The score was tied at 14 entering the fourth quarter, but both teams' offenses came to life.
Joey Felton's 12-yard TD reception gave the Bulldogs the first lead of the quarter with 11:29 remaining. Princeton, though, needed only 11 seconds to tie it on Luke Colella's 85-yard touchdown reception. Yale regained the lead, 28-21, on Pitsenberger's 21-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth. The Tigers answered late, and again it was Colella, this time catching a 3-yard TD pass with 18 seconds remaining that tied the score at 28.
SCORELESS FIRST OT
Yale's defense stopped Princeton on a 4th-and-goal on the first possession of the first overtime, but the Bulldogs missed on a 35-yard field goal.
QUOTING RENO
"I'm really proud of the team. They battled. We knew it was going to take a knock-out punch in the end to win it," said
Tony Reno, The Joel E. Smilow '54 Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "Wande made two huge plays at the end to finish the game off, and Nolan took the game over on offense. Those two seniors really had extraordinary games for us. I was proud of our guys up front for battling. Princeton has got a really good front, but we found a way to give Nolan enough time to get the ball down the field and open some running lanes."
NOTES
• Pitsenberger rushed for a career-high 131 yards and three touchdowns, also a career best.
• Yale finished with 197 rushing yards in the game.
• Quarterback
Nolan Grooms finished 23-of-30 for 232 yards and one touchdown. It was his 20th TD toss of the season.
•
Mason Tipton was held without a touchdown reception for only the second time this season, but he still had 10 receptions for 130 yards.
•
Joseph Vaughn made a team-high 12 tackles to lead the defense.
•
Ezekiel Larry had two sacks on the afternoon.
Mitchell Tyler also contributed a sack.
• The Bulldogs were 8-of-16 on third down conversions, while Princeton finished 4-of-17.
• Yale's last overtime victory came in the thrilling 50-43 win over Harvard to conclude the 2019 season.
• It was the third overtime game of the season for Princeton.
WHAT'S NEXT
The 139th edition of The Game at the Bowl. Kickoff is slated for noon. The Crimson edged Penn 25-23 in triple overtime at Harvard Stadium on Saturday.
