Travis Petrone ’25 takes the snap and drops back on the defense’s 45-yard line, fakes the handoff to his running back, and scans the field for open receivers. As the defense starts to close in, time is running out. Right as the linebacker rushes in, he spots a teammate in between two defenders, and places a pass that connects for a 41-yard touchdown to give the Tigers the lead.

Starting from flag football in seventh grade, Petrone was a wide receiver on the junior varisty team his freshman year, and became varsity team’s quarterback the next year. When asked about his transition to quarterback, he attributed it to his grit.

“I wanted to be a leader ... As a quarterback, I analyze a lot — reading defenses, seeing what other teams do, and what their strengths and weaknesses are,” Petrone said.

Petrone saw a huge improvement for Princeton’s football team last season, and despite the tough loss against Allentown, the Tigers showed some potential of what this team could achieve. One of the highlights on the team was when Petrone scored a rushing touchdown and a pick-six. An athlete on both sides of the ball, he contributes to the football team as both a quarterback and a strong safety. Petrone has shown steady improvement these last two seasons with the starting quarterback job, and he’s looking to end on a high note this season. He believes the team has what it takes to become division champs this season.

“My goal for this season is to become division champs and to have a good season with my guys and our family that we created,” Petrone said.

As a senior, Petrone is expected to take on a bigger leadership role within the football program. He is hoping to become someone that his teammates can rely on and learn from.

“Travis is a leader by example. He’s shown up every day,” said Sean Wilton ’25, Petrone’s teammate. “He watches the film, puts in the work, he’s there every practice, and he shows everybody the type of work that the team needs to put in. He changes the mindset and shows us what we need to be doing.” Petrone also plays basketball in the winter and baseball in the spring for PHS, so his schedule is often filled with tryouts, practices, and tournaments along with his homework, quizzes, and tests. As a student-athlete, there are days where going home sounds better than going to practice.

“I just buckle down on academics. Academics always come first,” said Petrone. “Three sports can be difficult sometimes, but I’ve made it work over the last couple of years.”

Petrone admits that it’s not an easy lifestyle to juggle, but he feels that he can continue to balance his student athlete life in the future. Following high school, Petrone looks to continue playing sports in college.

“I would love to play football in college at a small school somewhere, but if that’s not in the works, it’s not, but I definitely strive to play college sports,” Petrone said.

Although he looks forward to continuing his football career in college, Petrone is focusing with the current task at hand. The Tigers can still turn this season around, and with Petrone spearheading the offense, you can’t count them out.