PRINCETON — There was a tremendous amount of pressure facing the Princeton High football team on Friday night. Not only were the Tigers playing in front of their fans for Homecoming weekend, but this was their chance to pull even with Trenton for first place in the WJFL’s Valley Division and possibly secure a spot in the South Jersey Group IV state playoffs. Princeton responded emphatically and left no doubt in the outcome of the game by the early part of the third quarter before securing a 38-7 blowout win over Trenton. “This week in practice we were just all together,” senior quarterback Travis Petrone said. “The chemistry was there, the hype was there. All the guys were ready together. It’s like a big family we have going on.” Petrone engineered Princeton (4-4) to about 356 yards of total offense and four touchdown drives capped with two 1-yard sneaks by Petrone, a 9-yard run by Andrew Foreman and a 17-yard run by Ellington Hinds. By the time that Trenton (4-4) turned it over on downs at the Tornadoes’ 17-yard line late in the fourth quarter, Princeton deployed some backups and punched in a fifth touchdown on a 2-yard run by Kyle Carr. Up until the last drive of the game, Princeton’s defense limited Trenton to about only 37 yards of offense in the second half and about 182 total yards. Trenton was also undone by four turnovers including three straight to start the second half. Hinds hauled in two interceptions for Princeton, Carmine Carusone grabbed another and Zyair Mackey-Wright recovered a fumble. “Definitely the turnovers on defense helped a lot, but our offense was very poised tonight,” Petrone said. “We had that one turnover early, but o-line did a great job, receivers did a great job catching the ball, and our running backs, I think we have the best running backs in the CVC. They run hard, they run through people. We got our motto ‘no one man will take me down,’ and they fought. They live by that.” Princeton’s balanced attack opened up through that running game. Foreman and Carusone had several big gains on handoffs and pitches. Petrone had some designed runs and scrambles. And Hinds was a weapon as well on some reverses for the first time this season. In addition to his key plays at running back and defensive back, Carusone kicked five extra points plus a 35-yard field goal that make it 31-7 with 4:10 left in the third quarter. Trenton, which also didn’t help itself early with four false starts in the first half, scored its only touchdown on a 6-yard run by quarterback Keyshawn Warthen to cap an 80-yard drive in the second quarter. Other than that, Princeton played sound in all three phases, won the turnover battle and held up strong around the line of scrimmage despite Trenton’s array of big bodies. “Coming into the game we thought it was gonna be a hard-nosed football game,” Petrone said. “It was gonna be a one-score game if not a one-point game. We thought they were gonna be a very good team. They’ve got a good quarterback over there and a lot of big guys, and we were just ready. We matched their energy. We just came to play them.” With the win, Princeton can now clinch at least a share of the division title if it beats West Windsor-Plainsboro at home next Saturday. Trenton can do the same by beating Robbinsville at home next Friday, and if one team loses, then a solo champion would be crowned. This game was also crucial for Princeton because it came into the week holding the 16th and final postseason spot in South Group IV, and beating a Group V program in Trenton counts for significant power points. “This was a game that we definitely had to win,” Petrone said. “It all starts in practice — guys coming together. Tonight and all this week we put that all together. 38 points, it feels good to score that many.” Trenton (4-4) 0 7 0 0 – 7 Princeton (4-4) 7 14 10 7 – 38 First Quarter P – Petrone 1 run (Carusone kick) Second Quarter P – Foreman 9 run (Carusone kick) T – Warthen 6 run (Godoy kick) P – Hinds 17 run (Carusone kick) Third Quarter P – Petrone 1 run (Carusone kick) P – Carusone 35 field goal Fourth Quarter P – Carr 2 run (Carusone kick)