Crimson Eleven Overtake Penn in Thriller, 34-30

PHILADELPHIA--The two best receivers in the Ivy League--and possibly, the entire East--displayed their wares Saturday as an aroused Harvard football team downed high flying Penn.

Don Clune gained 56 more yards, but Pat McInally stole the show with a one-handed catch of a 30-yard touchdown pass with only 86 seconds remaining, giving Harvard a 34-30 breathtaking victory and a choice piece of the Ivy lead.

Jim Stoeckel broke his own Harvard records for completions (20) and attempts (37)--both set in 1971 against Dartmouth--with a 27 for 48 performance, and hard-running fullback Neil Miller gained 130 yards in 25 attempts as Harvard came from behind twice in the second half.

Plunges for Inside Yardage

Down 14 points late in the second quarter, Stoeckel worked the short side of the field masterfully in drive after drive. Sending Miller plunging into the line for tough inside yardage. Stoeckel opened up the outside for the option and short passes to McInally and tight end Pete Curtin.

McInally--hit at the line and drawing double coverage in the secondary--broke loose in the first quarter for an 80-yard touchdown, only to have it called back by an offsides penalty.

After that, wherever his 6 ft. 4 in. frame went, a swarm of Penn defenders, led by their star defensive back Ken Bald, diligently followed. And Stoeckel repeatedly hit Curtin, Miller or Steve Dart in the hole in the secondary that was left.

Methodically wearing down the Penn defenders--Harvard ran 19 more plays than Penn--Stoeckel put three points on the board with a 20-yard Bruce Tetirick field goal. The field goal made Tetirick the leading scoring kicker in Harvard history.

In the third period, Harvard scored quickly from 45 yards out in two plays. Miller ran for 34 yards up the middle on the first, and then Stoeckel faked to him, faked the pitch to Dart, and cut back sharply, scoring standing up. Another Tetirick field goal--this one from 33 yards--narrowed the Penn lead to one point.

Penn gave up the go ahead touchdown when Bald fumbled a Stoeckel punt at the seven with three minutes still remaining in the third period. Having learned the lessons of the Dartmouth debacle, Stoeckel handed the ball three straight times to Miller, who punched it over from the two.

Penn then began playing as if their scholarships depended on it--last week, a temporary decision was announced to continue high funding for Penn athletics, and this game was supposed to prove the value of the investment.

Lofted Pass to Goal Line

Quarterback Marty Vaughn began to pick apart the Harvard zone. Four straight Don Clune receptions moved the ball to the Harvard 23, where the defense stiffened. On fourth down, Vaughn faked into the line, and as Harvard's secondary came up to stop fullback Glenn Casey, Vaughn dropped back and lofted a perfect pass to Ron Wixted, all alone at the goal line.

The final Harvard drive featured a heart-stopping fourth and 13 pass to McInally for a first down at midfield, setting up his sensational touchdown grab.

Incredibly, the fireworks were not over. Penn came charging back on Vaughn passes to Bellizeare, reaching the Harvard 40 before junior John Clark--who also blocked a punt in the second quarter--intercepted a deflected pass at the 9.

Touchback Time

On fourth down, Restic pulled off a brilliant maneuver, sending Stoeckel scrambling into the end zone for a safety with one second left, thus preventing any Penn back from touching the ball. McInally punted a dribbler to Penn center Andy Pettit to end the game.

Harvard's defense--formerly, number one in the nation--took another statistical beating, giving up 533 yards to Penn's explosive Veer offense. Unable to key on Clune because of Bellizeare, the defense gave up its yardage in huge gobs.

Seven plays netted Penn 306 of its yards, and Penn's three first-half touchdowns came in only eight minutes and 12 seconds. Clune set a Penn record for career receptions and Bellizeare became the first Penn back to gain 100 yards in four consecutive games.

Harvard hit hard, however, and caused three fumbles in the first half. Halftime adjustments shut off Bellizeare's wide trap, where he gets the ball deep in his backfield and "veers" to daylight. In the third period, Bellizeare carried three times for a net loss of one yard.

Hit Hard and Deep

Harvard's other pair of ends--Mitch Berger and Joe Mackey--shut down any semblance of a ground game with awesome play. Penn tried to take Dartmouth's cue and run the option, but both Berger and Mackey met Vaughn deep in the backfield. "That's the only way to play it--hit him," Berger said after the game. "That way, he'll hesitate a bit before he considers coming my way again." With his brand of friendly persuasion, Berger caused two fumbles, one of which was recovered by Mackey.

Hard-hitting Joe Sciolla was given the unpleasant task of covering Clune man to man whenever Harvard blitzed, and, except for a pair of lapses in the second quarter, did a good job until he sprained an ankle knocking away a pass in the fourth quarter.

"Clune's pretty fast, got good moves, and incredible hands," Sciolla said. "The astroturf works to his advantage--it's so easy to cut on that stuff."

Asked who was the better receiver, McInally or Clune, Sciolla said, "I'd have to say Mac. Definitely."

Sciolla was often left one on one with Clune after Harvard discovered that blitzing linebackers had little trouble getting through Penn's offensive line. In the second half, linebackers Sandy Tennant and Bob Kristoff and adjustor George Newhouse came often and came hard.

The second half was also marked by the re-emergence of Stoeckel as a first class punter, after a disappointing Dartmouth game.

The scene in Harvard's locker room after the game was one of unrestrained joy. McInally opened his arms to tight end Curtin and screamed, "Peter! Goddammit! Do you believe it? Goddammit!"Quarterback JIM STOECKEL shattered his own single game passing records by completing 27 of 48 attempts. Stoeckel ran 11 yards for one touchdown and hit Pat McInally with the game winner with only 84 seconds left in the game.