Princeton's football team had a chance to strike first at Jackie Hendricks Stadium on Friday night, and instead watched Prosper Rock Hill pull away for a 50-0 win built in large part on Panther miscues in the kicking game.
The Princeton Herald's game report counted 167 total yards of offense for the Panthers, two turnovers, a string of offensive penalties and two punt snaps that flew over the punter's head.
How it got away
Princeton's defense opened by stopping the Blue Hawks on fourth down after a dropped pass, but the Panthers went three-and-out. On the punt, the snap went high; the punter chased it down and threw a pass under pressure that was caught by one of Princeton's own linemen.
That drew an illegal touching penalty and gave Rock Hill a short field, and the Blue Hawks scored on a 25-yard run four plays later to lead 7-0 midway through the first quarter.
The next punt snap also sailed over the punter and bounced out the back of the end zone for a safety. Rock Hill followed the free kick with a 45-yard touchdown pass for a 16-0 lead.
Princeton then put together its best drive, reaching the Rock Hill 21 as the first quarter ended. A holding call pushed the Panthers back to fourth-and-17, and a running play came up short. On the very next snap, Rock Hill hit a 75-yard scoring pass.
