Don't Forget Galoshes

As the Harvard football team watched its 6-2 halftime lead dissolve in the first five-and-a-half minutes of the third period, it became increasingly clear that Brown Stadium was more fit for a duck crossing than a gridiron on Saturday. As Brown coach John Anderson said after the game, "It was a quagmire before we even started."

All references to Halberstam and indigenous civil wars in Asia aside, Harvard coach Joe Restic voiced even stronger feelings. "I don't think games should be played under these conditions," he said. "It's unfair to those who are playing and it's unfair to the fans."

Certainly the 6500 souls who braved the southwester would attest to this as would the rest of the 20,000 that bought tickets but chose to stay dry on Brown's Homecoming weekend.

While rain and mud may hold back a ground and cause fumbles, the usual fear of an offense under such conditions is interceptions. For Harvard, the ground game never got cranked up and quarterback Burke St. John was forced to go to the air.

St. John's three-for-ten showing in the first half was commendable in view of the conditions especially considering that he threw no interceptions. A 15-yard bullet to Rich Horner brought the Crimson to within the field goal range for Dave Cody's 41-yarder and another pass to Bill McGlone took the Crimson deep into Brown territory at the 15 to set up Cody's second three-pointer.

But the bubble burst in the second half in a disastrous stretch that saw the Bruins thoroughly humiliate the Crimson with three touchdowns. "They had some big plays," Restic said.

But the lightning scoring barrage has to be attributed as much to the weather as to the offensive prowess of Brown. An interception on Harvard's third play of the half gave the Bruins the ball at the Crimson 36, setting up a 36-yard touchdown run by Rick Villella.

On Harvard's next play from scrimmage, a fumble at the 28 also brought Brown knocking at the door again.

"It was tough to grip the ball," St. John understated afterward. "Under those conditions, you sort of have to sling-shot it."

The surprising lack of turnovers in the first half was more than made up for in the final two periods when the teams combined for five interceptions and three fumbles. Of these eight miscues, the Bruins wound up with the ball seven times.