Late Rally Sparks Rutgers Over Crimson, 24-21

Everything is under control.

It's early in the fourth quarter. Just minutes ago, Harvard's spectacular end Pat McInally snared his record-setting third touchdown pass of the game, sending the Crimson in front, 21-17.

Now, on the first play of the final quarter, Harvard linebacker Eric Kurzweil has delivered the back-breaker. The Crimson defensive standout has intercepted a pass at the Rutgers 43-yard line, and returned it to the 39.

As the Harvard offensive unit comes on the field, there is little doubt. In a few minutes, the Crimson lead will be increased to 11 points. At worst, it will be bolstered to seven. Harvard will then pull away, capturing its second win of the season against no losses.

Not Harvard's Day

Unfortunately for coach Joe Restic and his football players, that is not exactly the way things turned out. In fact, the outcome could not have been worse.

About eight minutes later at the other end of the field, Rutgers quarterback Bert Kosup punched over a one-yard touchdown, completing the game scoring and making the Scarlet Knights 24-21 victors.

In a game that seemed to be dominated by the Crimson offense and defense from start to near-finish, that saw a few Harvard records rewritten, the final score came as quite a shock to many people.

Harvard created the first big break of the game with about four minutes gone in the initial quarter. A furious rush on Rutgers punter Steve Simek resulted in a blocked kick, putting the Crimson in business on the Knights two-yard line. John Friar was the man who stuffed the kick, and Paul Hartnett fell on it.

A missed handoff between Crimson quarterback Milt Holt and sophomore running back Tom Winn, however, turned into a lost fumble which snuffed out the early scoring attempt.

Following a correctly executed kick by Rutgers after three unsuccessful plays inside their own five-yard line, Harvard took over at midfield and marched 52 yards in ten plays, moving in front 7-0.

McInally highlighted the drive with three catches, the last of which was good for seven yards and the touchdown. Mac nabbed seven passes in the game, six in the first half, breaking a long-standing Crimson record on the way.

The Irrepressible McInally

McInally's three touchdown catches in one game established a new mark for Harvard football, while his sixth reception of the contest, coming at the close of the first half, made him the second man in Crimson history to exceed 1,000-yards worth of catches.

A weak McInally punt in the first quarter, however, covering only 20 yards after a bad snap from center, set Rutgers up for its first score of the game.

In position at the Crimson 30, the Knights uncorked a reverse good for 25 yards. Fullback Curt Edwards, who was the game's leading ground gainer with 72 yards, then cracked over from the three to pull the Knights into a tie.

Five minutes later, Harvard was back on the scoreboard, travelling 64 yards in 10 plays. Quarterback Holt, who hit on 13 of 20 passes in the first half, found McInally wide open in the end zone, capping the impressive offensive drive.

Safety Last

Rutgers closed out the scoring in the first half as Paul Krasnavage pulled down Harvard's Tom Winn in the Crimson end zone for a safety, making the score 14-9.

A five-point deficit can easily be overcome, and Rutgers did so after only five minutes of the third period. Recovering a Holt fumble on the Crimson 19, the Knights moved in to score on an aerial from Kosup to his tight end Mark Debes. A two-point conversion pass to Jeff Greczyn sent the Knights ahead, 17-14, for the first time in the game.

Harvard, meanwhile, found its formerly potent offense sputtering. The second half saw McInally pick up only one reception, and Holt complete just 4 of 12 passes for 42 yards.

Kurzweil Swallows Fumble

The breaks evened themselves out, though, and a Kosup fumble on his own 18-yard line was pounced on by Kurzweil. Two plays later, Holt spotted Mac alone in the end zone once again and speared the All-American candidate for the third time.

The contest was decided, it seemed, when Kurzweil made his big interception, and the Crimson forces moved to a first down on the Rutgers 14.

Alky Tsitsos, who rushed for 39 yards in the game, was then stopped for a one-yard gain, Holt mis-fired to sophomore tight end Bob McDermott, and finally the Rutgers defensive line toppled the signal-caller for a six yard loss.

The Knights sealed Harvard's fate when a 36-yard field goal attempt by Tsitsos carried wide, and Rutgers took over on their own 20.

What followed was an amazing 80-yard drive for a touchdown, sparked by a 36-yard pass play from Kosup to halfback Mark Twitty. The first powerful offensive display by Rutgers was also its last, but it was all that was needed. The Scarlet Knights left Cambridge with a record of 2-0-1, while the Crimson suffered its first defeat of the season.