The Princeton High School football team is off to an amazing start, boasting an impressive record of 2-1 to kick their season off. The team already has two shutouts under their belt heading into their fourth game, an achievement that hasn’t been reached in over ten years. With dominant performances over opponents Lawrence and Haddon Township, the Little Tigers have proven that they mean business and are ready to play.

The team’s sudden change in momentum in comparison to previous seasons can be attributed to a handful of different factors, one of which being the turnout of athletes heading into the summer pre-season and fall regular season.

“It really is about the sheer number of kids that we have here,” said Head varsity football Coach Charles Gallagher. “Last year we had 42 kids altogether . . . This year, we're sitting right now at about 63. All those kids I feel like have embraced what we're trying to do.”

While sheer numbers may seem to make the biggest impact, the hard work, motivation, and — most importantly — dedication of these athletes during and before the season cannot be overlooked. The preparation for this season began last December, and for some carried on towards the end of the summer. Gym sessions, team scrimmages, and team bonding have all been the core of this team’s exciting start so far.

“We've had a couple informal practices in June, which helped to get the freshmen going so we could focus more on the varsity during the summer,” says Joseph George ’25, a fullback on offense and middle linebacker on defense on varsity. “Throughout the whole summer we spent everyday with each other [and the] chemistry is definitely there . . . we all work well together, we all talk and that's played a big factor so far this season, and hopefully we'll continue on.”

Compared to previous years, this year’s team is much more experienced as many veterans returned to play their third or fourth years and a strong class of freshman and sophomores joined the team. The upperclassmen, with more game time and experience from previous years, are now able to guide the new members of the team. As for the underclassmen, there could not be a more suitable time for them to grow, develop, and eventually lead the team themselves.

“We had to start a lot of sophomores and juniors last year, just because we didn't have the numbers of the senior class,” said Sean Wilton ’25, a left tackle for the varsity team. “Now that we all have one [more] year of experience, we're a lot better.”

While the off-season work for the Little Tigers has immensely improved their performance so far, the mindset and mentality that the team carried entering the season has played a prominent role in establishing a precedent for upcoming games.

“I have high expectations for the guys, so I expect us to win the division,” said Co-Captain Tyler Goldberg ’24. “I set the highest expectations for everyone on the team, so we should get there.”

This high bar is set by not only the captains, but also the team themselves. As a result, the change in mentality and approach heading into their games has had significant impacts on the results that the team can achieve.

“For this year, in particular, our goal, and something I really never talked about at all in my 11 years, is, at the end of the week, we want to be 1-0. That's it,” said Gallagher. “For high school kids, right, short term success is important, they're not thinking long term . . . let's not think about a 7-3 record, let's not think about 2-9. Let's just think about being 1-0 at the end of the week.”

The team has demonstrated that it will take more than just brute strength to beat them, as they continue their season with high morale and unbreakable drive. The little tigers came ready to play this season, and are keen on finishing what they started.

“We [have] the heart . . . we care more, we want to win, we know that we can win,” said Wilton. “So let's do it.”