After a short six-day turnaround, the football team (2-3, 1-1 Ivy) went on the road to face the Princeton Tigers (2-3, 1-1 Ivy) in New Jersey on Friday night. With last year’s thrilling overtime victory on the minds of a Bears team in need of a win, the game was sure to be an exciting match-up. Unfortunately, after a lethargic 19-0 start to the game, Bruno was unable to stage a comeback and lost 29-17.
“Honestly, I think we can play better,” Head Coach James Perry ’00 said in an interview with Brown Athletics. “We did things we are capable of doing better. The kids will be hungry to make those corrections. The coaches will too. It’s a hard place to play — I know that firsthand — but we can play better than we did.”
The Tigers dominated the first quarter. Scoring a 66-yard rushing touchdown on their opening possession, Princeton’s running back John Volker exploited an ineffective Bears run defense. Minutes later, Volker exposed the defense again, this time scoring from seven yards out. On the other side of the ball, the Tigers’ defense kept Bruno off the scoreboard, and only ten minutes into the first quarter, the Bears were down 12-0.
“Our defense had a slow start for sure and Princeton was able to make a couple plays early,” senior captain Isaiah Reed ’25 wrote in a message to The Herald. “Once we got settled in as a unit, I think we were able to play more like us. We were able to create sacks, turnovers and get off the field. We just gotta play like that the whole game.”
When Princeton threatened to score for a third time and blow the game open, cornerback Sami Miller ’25 provided the Bears with a crucial turnover. Intercepting the ball with 55 seconds left in the first quarter, Miller took advantage of Princeton’s turnover-prone quarterback Blain Hipa, who now has eleven interceptions on the season. With the ball back in their hands, Bruno’s offense had a chance to draw to within one possession.
Less than a minute later, the Bears handed the ball right back, their first of five turnovers. Picking up right where they left off, Princeton scored — this time through a scramble by Hipa — extending their lead to 19.
Now facing a three-score deficit, the Bears turned to their hurry-up offense in an attempt to catch Princeton’s defense off-guard. Whether due to lack of adjustments on Princeton’s side or brilliant execution by the Bears, when Jake Willcox ’24.5 faked a handoff halfway through the second quarter, the Tigers bit. Willcox delivered a strike down the middle of the field to an isolated Levi Linowes ’27, and after starting at their own 25-yard line, Bruno was now at the opposing two-yard line. Within striking distance, Perry dove deep into his playbook, calling a reverse to Solomon Miller ’26 who ran untouched into the endzone. With 8:39 left in the half, the Bears were finally on the scoreboard.
Despite the promising drive, the Bears’ offense was unable to replicate the same level of success heading into the second half. Though the team had two separate possessions in which they drove over 50 yards, and lost the ball. One, a fumble by Matt Childs ’28; the other, an interception thrown by Willcox (his second of the day). By halftime, the Tigers were up 22–7.
Avoiding turnovers is “something we’re usually good at,” Perry said. “It’s something we take a lot of pride in.” Going forward, “we just have to take better care of the ball — that was unacceptable.”
When play resumed, the Bears’ offensive struggles seemed to persist. Almost going three-and-out, Bruno faced a challenging 4th-and-1 situation on their own 30-yard line. Even deep within their own territory, the Bears refused to be intimidated, and a three-yard pick-up by Stockton Owen ’25 moved the chains. Converting on 4th down was the push the Bears needed, marching 75 yards downfield before a one-yard touchdown rush by Qwentin Brown ’26 capped the drive. With a successful PAT, the Bears had once again made it a one-possession game.
Making their first appearance of the half, the defense played like a completely different squad. On Princeton’s first offensive possession, sacks by Kevin Coss ’24.5 and Owen Clark ’26 forced the Tigers to punt. Though an inefficient drive by Bruno’s offense gave Princeton the ball back, the defense was at its best. This time, however, Princeton drew threateningly close to the endzone, marching all the way down to the two-yard line. Just when they needed a big play, Reed — who started for the first time since getting injured prior to Harvard’s match-up — stepped up, intercepting a pass from Hipa and giving the Bears life.
“I was definitely glad to be back out there with the guys,” Reed wrote. “My mentality is still the same as before the little injury, I was hungry then and I still am now. I love going out and competing with these guys every week, so it was tough to have to just watch the last few games.”
Following the Reed interception, the tides of momentum seemed to turn in Bruno’s favor. After a 65-yard drive, Christopher Maron ’25 kicked a field goal from 33 yards out and brought the Bears to within five points, 22-17. Smelling an upset, Brown’s defense forced a three-and-out on Princeton’s next possession, after which Qwentin Brown blocked the Tigers’ punt attempt with a diving effort.
With possession of the ball at the 49-yard line, Bruno was in position to win the game. Rumbling down to Princeton’s 25 yard line, it appeared the Bears may be able to overcome the 19-point deficit and pull off an improbable comeback. But for the second time of the day, Childs fumbled the ball. Making quick work of the Bears defense, the Tigers scored another touchdown and put the game away.
Despite the loss, Perry expressed pride in his team. “These kids are awesome,” he said. “I have no question we are going to practice great. I have no question we are going to be hungrier. We’re coming back home to play Cornell. I have no doubt they’ll be ready to go and we’ll play our best football next week.”
Under the pressure of a losing record for the first time all season, the Bears will look to build momentum against Cornell next Saturday at home. The game, slated to start at 12 p.m., will be streamed on ESPN+.
“Coming back home next week to protect the den against a good Cornell team is all the fuel we need,” Reed concluded. “We’re gonna take this one on the chin, learn from it and come out swinging next week.”
Lydell Dyer is a Senior Staff Writer for the sports section. A sophomore hailing from Bonn, Germany, Lydell is studying nonfiction English and political science, and if he's not off "making words sound pretty," you can find him lifting heavy circles at the Nelson.
