PRINCEVILLE — Princeville won the big moments Friday to complete a fourth-quarter comeback for a 21-20 victory over Abingdon-Avon.
That’s pretty much the script for what has been one of the best small-school football programs in the area under coach Jon Carruthers.
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“We have a saying this year: ‘Win the Day,’ ” Carruthers said. “It’s what I’m preaching to these kids, either win the day or lose it, every day, every practice, every game, every moment. We’re small and out of the way. We have to win more than we lose if we want to be considered a good football team.
“I don’t know what other teams are doing. I don’t care. I just want to win each week at what we’re working on.”
On Friday, they were working on stopping Abingdon-Avon quarterback Jamil Johnson, who for at least half of a Lincoln Trail-Prairieland (Small) battle looked like the best player on the field.
Johnson threw for 128 yards and TD in the first half, also adding a rushing TD. He led the Tornadoes to three straight touchdowns and a lead deep into the fourth quarter, but Princeville won the big moments to shut him down with pressure and big plays over the final 17 minutes.
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Senior running back Eli Christianson notched the winning points on an 18-yard TD run with 4:16 left in the fourth quarter.
Princeville’s Noah Geiger (44) tries to escape Abingdon-Avon’s Carson Stenger in the first half of their high school football game Friday, Sept. 26, 2025 at Princeville High School. The Princes defeated the Tornadoes 21-20.
A tradition of excellence
Princeville now is 4-1 overall and 3-1 in conference play, positioned well for another IHSA playoff run.
That’s nothing new for the Princes. Carruthers is in his 15th season at the helm, and in the previous 14 years Princeville has made nine playoff appearances.
“I think a lot of it is our coaching,” said Princeville senior Wyatt Giffin, a 6-foot, 300-pound two-way lineman. “He’s such an inspiration for all of us, especially me. I had never played football before. He dragged me into football and here I am.”
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Carruthers first met Giffin in his freshman homeroom.
“I said, ‘You look like a football player to me,’ ” Carruthers said, laughing. “He came out late his freshman year and was playing by Week 3. It just took off for him.”
Giffin has a lot invested in what he expects to be his final season with the game.
“Four years ago, it hurt to hold the (weight) bar on my back,” he said. “Now I can squat 475. The big goal for us is to go all the way. It’s a game I’ll love, it’ll be sad to let go of it. But it’s been a journey, one I think everyone should experience.”
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That experience has been profound at Princeville, where the team is 79-56 over the last 14 seasons under Carruthers. In the last 11 seasons, they are 68-39 (.636) with eight postseason appearances.
How 21-20 happened
The Princes built a 14-0 lead on two quick scores early in the first quarter. They opened with a 47-yard TD run by Noah Geiger 90 seconds after kickoff. Then came a 19-yard TD pass from senior quarterback Kaiden Sarnes to senior receiver Hunter Johnson with 6:52 still left in the quarter.
Abingdon-Avon countered with three unanswered scores. Johnson hit sophomore receiver Tre Kennon with a 25-yard TD pass to get on the board with 3:04 left in the first quarter.
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Then Johnson surged across on fourth-and-goal from the 1 with a keeper for a 14-14 tie to cap an 11-play possession with 6:34 left in the second quarter. He put the Tornadoes up 20-14 (PAT was missed) with 5:03 left in the third quarter on a drive aided by two 15-yard facemask penalties.
“We’re gritty,” Carruthers said. “After halftime, we got everyone calmed down, didn’t panic. Came together and no one quit. Good teams sometimes have to win this way. Our defense played well and was on the field a lot.”
Sarnes and fellow linebacker Collin Carruthers both had double-digit tackles. And Princeville delivered big moments to get into the win column.
â—¼ Jett Benningfield blocked an Abingdon PAT that proved to be the margin in the game. Princeville kicker Travon Richison was 3-for-3 on PATs.
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â—¼ Abingdon-Avon completed a 34-yard pass out of punt formation on fourth-and-13 to extend a series after recovering an onsides kick late in the third quarter. Princeville pressured Johnson into two incomplete passes and sacked him on fourth down to kill the drive.
â—¼ The Princes defense stuffed Johnson for a loss of 3 on a fourth-and-1 keeper at their 23 with 7:30 left in the fourth quarter.
â—¼ Princeville got a 55-yard punt from junior Coley Palmer to flip the field midway through the fourth quarter. The Princes defense stuffed Johnson for a loss, deflected a third-down pass at the line (Eli Christianson) and cashed in on a shanked punt that followed. That left them with possession on the Avon 21, with the winning touchdown drive to follow.
â—¼ With 2:15 left, Johnson was sacked by Sarnes on a third-and-17, forcing a fumble near midfield that Carruthers recovered.
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“We survived,” Carruthers said. “We found a way.”
Geiger had 15 carries for 160 yards and a TD for Princeville, while quarterback Kaiden Sarnes was 4 of 11 for 94 yards and a TD. Hunter Johnson had 2 catches for 69 yards and a TD.
“We’re aware everyone wants to beat us,” Geiger said. “We have a target on our backs. We love everyone throwing everything they have at us.”
Sarnes had 12 tackles, a sack, forced a fumble and had four tackles for loss. Carruthers had 11 tackles, a sack, a fumble recovery and three tackles for loss.
Abingdon-Avon (1-4, 1-3) got 126 yards passing on 9-of-22 and a TD from Johnson, who also added two touchdowns on 19 carries for 33 yards.
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“We rally behind our coach,” Giffin said. “I think our success is a point of pride for us, knowing that other teams see our program this way.”
What is the Princeville Way?
The answer starts in the weight room, according to senior running back Geiger.
“Honestly, strength up front,” he said. “We drive the ball a lot better than most teams. We’re in the weight room at 6 a.m., we started in November, an early start. I’m a running back and can squat 425, that’s in our top three. We can see the difference and we push each other.
“I just tuck in behind those big guys.”
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But the Princeville Way is also created through heroes past, many of them still contributing to the program in the present.
“I started going to games as a kid,” Geiger said. “I was ready to play in eighth grade. Before we got the renovations to our stadium, as kids we could line up right against the fence.
“I remember watching Adam Snedden (2018 Journal Star Player of the Year), I think he’s the best running back who has ever touched the ball in Princeville. His numbers were ridiculous.”
Jack Arnett played at Princeville and Eureka College. He has presided over the weight room since it was renovated two years ago.
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“I can tell you the teams I have each year, whether they are going to be good or bad, by how they attack the weight room,” Carruthers said. “We started early this year, in November, because the players wanted to. We’ve averaged over 40 kids in the weight room every day.”
Eli Wieland, a former Princeville linebacker, is now helping on the coaching staff. So is Matthew Butterfield, a Princes starting QB. And Justin Janssen, a LB/FB in 2018.
“They are still kids to me, and some of my favorite ones,” Carruthers said. “They were brought up in my system and it doesn’t take them long to remember what to do. These kids we have now, they grew up watching these guys. They have idolized them. They want to contribute to that history.
“We don’t have JFL program. A lot of our kids arrive as freshman and have to be taught how to be in a stance. They’ve never played. We have 182 kids in our school enrollment. That’s about 90 boys, and 58 of those are on our football team.
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“Everyone gets involved, and we’re proud of that.”
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men’s basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA football scores: Tiny Princeville rallies for one-point win
