Practice for the first-ever season of 8-man varsity football at Princeton High School started on Monday, with the Tiger program, entering the Grand River West in 2023, seeing an increase of interest “in the hallways”, as 22 young men, including two from Newtown-Harris and one from Mercer, going out for the Tiger gridiron team this fall.
The continuing trend of small numbers in Princeton, both in overall enrollment and available bodies on the football team, led to the much-discussed decision to join the ranks of 8-man football, where the Tigers biggest conference rival games will flip from South Harrison, Trenton, Gallatin, and Milan to North Andrew, Pattonsburg, Stanberry, Albany and King City. Head coach Nathan Powell updated the transition to the eight-man game, showing enthusiasm over the early increase in numbers:
The Tigers will travel to Keytesville on Friday, August 18th for jamboree action, with the season opener at Eddie Allen Field against South Holt to follow on August 25th. A three-game road trip follows, with the Tigers traveling to South Nodaway High School to play Platte Valley on September 2nd on KTTN FM 92.3. The following week, the Tigers battle Pattonsburg, with a test at King City on KTTN on September 16th.
The final five weeks of the regular season will see Princeton bounce back-and-forth between home and away games, all against fellow GRC West members. On September 22nd, in a KTTN broadcast, Princeton will host Stanberry, followed by a September 29th road trip to Albany. On October 6th, back on the 92.3 FM airwaves, Princeton hosts North Andrew, with a trip to St. Joseph on October 13th to play the Christian Lions. On October 20th, the Worth County Tigers travel to Eddie Allen Field to play the Tigers, back on 92.3 FM KTTN.
