PROVIDENCE – Senior wide receiver Graham Walker went from possibly costing Brown a chance to tie today’s game against Princeton to winning it for them in overtime.
Walker caught a pass along the Brown sideline and fumbled. Princeton recovered and all seemed lost. Luckily for Walker, the Bears defense got a key stop and gave the offense the ball which allowed them to tie the game. The Bears went on to win the game 28-27 in overtime on the game winning touchdown catch by Walker.
After the game, Walker talked about how he felt after catching the game winning score.
“The most important thing is the lead up to the play. My guys kept me up. The defense picked me up.” Walker added: “It was a full and complete game. I am glad it was me who made the play but I would trust any of the other guys to make the catch.”
Brown opened the scoring at the 8:42 mark of the first quarter when quarterback Jake Willcox hit Solomon Miller on a 10 yard touchdown pass to put the Bears up 7-0. The score capped off a 13-play, 64-yard scoring drive.
Princeton would respond however and tie things up at 7-7 on a 43-yard touchdown run by running back Jiggie Carr right before the end of the opening frame.
The Tigers would the. take the lead in the second quarter when quarterback Blake Stenstrom hit wide receiver AJ Barber on a 45 yard touchdown pass.
Princeton would add to their lead in the third quarter when running back John Volker capped off a 90 yard drive with a one yard touchdown run.
All seemed lost for the Bears but Brown has had a propensity for making things interesting in the fourth quarter the past two seasons and they did that again today. They scored to make it 21-14 with 11:28 left in the fourth quarter when senior running back Stockton Owen took a direct snap and powered his way into the end zone from one-yard out.
With 1:44 left in the game, that is when the Bears offense went to work going on a six play scoring drive that was capped off by Willcox to Mark Mahoney 50 yard touchdown. The juggling catch was part of a career day for the junior tight end from Cohasset who finished with 8 catches for 146 yards and a touchdown.
The Bears ability to come back and tie the game symbolizes just how far this program has come and how they are now able to win games like this.
Bears Head Coach James Perry was proud of his team and how they persevered and kept fighting.
“We faced some real adversity. I thought the guys really rallied around each other, especially the older guys. I’m very proud of them. Princeton is a great football team and we kept fighting. Even when things didn’t go our way, I knew we would keep fighting.”
After Princeton scored on their first possession of overtime, an unlikely hero emerged to make biggest play of the game. Linebacker Caleb Moorhead blocked the extra point. The block now put the Bears in the drivers seat. A touchdown and extra point would win the game for them. After scoring the tying touchdown, Brown won the game on place kicker Christopher Maron’s extra point.
The win over Princeton was the Bears first win in the series in six years. Perry knows how important this win is for his program.
“Beating a team like Princeton means a lot to these kids. I’m really happy we got this one at home. We had tremendous support from the crowd today and they deserved it.”
Brown is 3-2 for the first time since 2015. The Bears travel to Cornell next week.