Early TDs Hurt Harvard; UMass Takes First Win

Yogi Berra might say it ain't over till it's over, but this football game was over a little earlier than that.

"We slept the first quarter and it killed us," Crimson Captain Joe Azelby said. And when the home team finally awoke, string by three quick UMass touchdowns, the 12,500 fans on hand could have dozed off themselves, as Harvard repeatedly squandered its chances for a rally over the next 45 minutes of play.

The Minutemen left the Stadium with their first win, a big 21-7 boost before they start their Yankee Conference schedule, and signs of real life from their previously moribund running game. Harvard had for its troubles the first loss of its season and the worst at home in nearly two years, two worrisome injuries, and a quarterback situation once again in confusion.

UMass effectively put the Crimson away in a roughly 10-minute span of the first quarter, looking nothing like a team that had lost its previous two games by a combined score of 62-13. Minuteman quarterback Jim Simcone capped his first offensive series with a 35-yard bomb to older brother and split end Bob. With Harvard cornerback John Dailey caught turning the wrong way, Simcone hauled it in and sauntered across the line for six.

Shay's Rebellion

The visitors took control again after safety Jack Shay stopped a Crimson drive by knocking down a Chuck Colombo pass at midfield--the first of several times the UMass secondary swatted away Harvard passes. As the Minuteman offensive line proceeded to blast sizeable holes through the defense, running backs Frank Fay and Richard Jenkins took turns with the ball, until Fay took a pitch from Simcone for a one-yard touchdown run with 4:04 left in the period.

Cornerback Troy Turner capped the uplifts 47 seconds later. Colombo just a week earlier against Columbia had thrown several risky passes for short gains to receivers near the sidelines without being burned. But on a third-and-10 toss to halfback Mark Vignali, standing just in-bounds. Turner stepped in the way and dashed an unobstructed 25 yards to make it 20-0.

"I looked at the game as it unfolded," Crimson Coach Joe Restic said in his postmortem, "a big pass play, an interception, and the rest was a struggle."

It's true that the game plodded glacially to its conclusion after UMass seized control. Harvard provided the illusion of a comeback in the second half, out gaining the Minutemen, 190 total yards to 66. But the Crimson penetrated the UMass 30 just twice, wasting its other chances with two interceptions and two lost fumbles.

But there were three other plays Restic undoubtedly had on his mind. None changed the score of the game, but all may affect the Crimson lineup that plays against Army next Saturday. Two were the plays on which linebacker Azelby and defensive tackle Barry Ford came off the field with injuries. Whether they will miss any action isn't clear yet; Azelby was playing hurt already. Also, linebacker Andy Nolan and cornerback Chris Myers missed Saturday's Saturday's game with injuries.

Angst

The play Restic may have mulled over most came in the third quarter; on Harvard's first deep drive of the day, its best chance to start an early rally. QB Colombo had guided his team 60 yards before stalling on the UMass five. On third and goal he overthrew his receiver in the end zone. And on fourth down, on a play sent in from the sidelines. Colombo rolled left, couldn't find an open man, ran for it and was tackled on the three-yard line.

The next time the Crimson had the ball, sophomore back-up Brian White did the signal-calling. He gained no passing yardage on the series, but conducted a 49-yard march for Harvard's only score of the day, a five-yard carry by Vignali with 29 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Crimson coach was left with a dilemma for next week--whether to stick with Colombo, who beat out eight other candidates for the starting job and had a strong game in the previous week's 43-14 pounding of Columbia, or to go with White, who performed respectably in the fourth quarter despite occasionally non-existent pass protection.

Refusing to be pinned down one way or the other, Restic simply said "I'll look at the film and I'll make judgements."

THE NOTEBOOK: Having lost the game in the first quarter. Harvard's first-half states were awful: one out of nine on third-down conversions, 91 yards gained compared to UMass '207. At the Stadium Massachusetts  21  0  0  0--21 Harvard  0  0  7  0--7

M--Bob Simeone 38 pass from Jim Simeone (Chris Papoutidis kick)

M--Frank lay 4 run (Papoutidis kick)

M--Troy Tumer 21 pass interception (Papoutidis kick)

H--Mark Vignali 5 run (Jim Villanueva kick)

Att.--12,500

M--Bob Simeone 38 pass from Jim Simeone (Chris Papoutidis kick)

M--Frank lay 4 run (Papoutidis kick)

M--Troy Tumer 21 pass interception (Papoutidis kick)

H--Mark Vignali 5 run (Jim Villanueva kick)

Att.--12,500