Jumbo Footballers Nip Freshmen; Harvard Stopped Inch From Goal

There's never been so much excitement in Jumboland.

In a remarkable upset, the Tufts freshman team edged out Harvard yesterday, 15-9, when Crimson halfback Neil Hurley was stopped an inch from the goal line on the last play of the game.

The Jumbos made an amazing comeback in the fourth quarter, piling up 13 points after trailing 9-0 at the half. Harvard defensive halfbacks couldn't stop Jumbo quarterback Pete Cohen's bullet short passes.

Cohen brought the Tuftsmen 61 yards in 14 plays after Harvard's Dave Smith fumbled a punt. The drive was kept alive with a pass interference call at the Harvard 15. Two plays later with just 2 minutes to go Cohen connected with rangy end Dick Giachetti at the goal line. The extra point gave Tufts a 15-9 lead.

Harvard lost the ball on downs to Tufts at the Crimson 40, and it looked as though the game was over. But a gang of tacklers led by Dale Neal jarred the ball out of Cohen's hands and Harvard recovered 40 yards from paydirt with 1:10 to play.

Three plays lost five yards. And with less than 30 seconds to play, Coach Henry Lamar called pint-sized halfback John Ballantine off the bench and put him in the quarterbacking slot. With fourth and 15, Ballantine amazed everyone by squirming around left end and slithering up the middle to the Jumbo 13.

Just an Inch

There with only one play to go Ballantine rifled a pass to Hurley who caught it on the one yard-line. Hurley had only one man between him and victory -- Tufts linebacker Mark Haseltine. Hurley stopped. He tried to fake out Haseltine by shifting right. Then he dove left and Haseltine halted him. Hurley's out-stretched arms held the ball only an inch short of the chalkline.

The game started slowly. Both teams were jittery and no blood was drawn until hefty Rick Berne, who was a standout all day for the Crimson, hauled Cohen down in the Tufts end zone for a safety. Two plays before, Crimson punter Gary Singleterry had booted one nearly 50 yards to put the Jumbos back on their own 3.

Harvard took the ensuing kickoff and Jim Reynolds led the team from the Jumbos 2, where Dave Smith replaced him as quarterback. Smith whipped a sharp pass to Ray Hornblower, who caught it over his shoulder and fell into the end zone.

The third quarter was a stalemate until Tufts halfback Hershell Norwood pulled off an incredible quick kick that traveled--get this--86 yards to the Harvard two yard-line.

It only took the Jumbos two plays to get their own safety, as Frank Forster tackled Crimson halfback Bill Mahoney behind the goal line. Cohen then led his

It looked as though Harvard had Tufts stopped when the Jumbos missed a 42-yard field goal with fourth and eight. But a Crimson offside gave the Tuftsmen another chance, and on the first play of the fourth quarter the Jumbos scored.

Don't let Tufts fool you. The varsity teams they've fielded in the past several years have been pushovers (witness this year's mauling by Harvard, 45-0). But new coach Rocky Carzo has been brought to Medford from Cal. at Berkeley, and this year's freshman team is the product of Carzo's campaign. The Tufts varsity will get better and better in the future. Maybe the HAA will have to take them off the Crimson schedule.