A Bitter End

In the end, you knew they deserved better.

They had contributed to two straight Ivy championships. They had beaten Dartmouth for the first time since 1978.

And just two weeks ago they were on schedule to become Harvard's first outright titlist since 1974. Then came Penn. Then came Yale.

"It's not a good feeling," said junior Brent Wilkinson, who started his career with the Class of '85. "I feel bad for all the guys I came in with. They're not used to losing to Yale. It's a tough way for those guys to go out."

The seniors had never lost to Yale before, not on the freshman team, not on the varsity. It hadn't even been close. Until Saturday.

"This game was really exciting," said tailback Mark Vignali of the 30-27 thriller. "I'll remember this one. You always remember the ones you lose for some reason."

After so much success, such great careers, what will these seniors think about?

"Probably for a long, long time the last two losses," said guard Mike Pascucci. "But I guess after awhile I'll remember the guys, a great group of friends."

Last Party

"I've got to find something less destructive to do with myself," noseguard Dave Fanikos said only half jokingly. "This is the last party or whatever.

"I think the record shows that this team has a lot of heart," Fanikos added. "Even when we were getting wailed on last week [in the 38-7 loss at Penn] we were still cracking heads out there. It's easy to play well when you win; it's a different thing when you're down."

And once again Saturday, the Crimson kept playing well.

You saw it in the goalline stands, the heart, the determination, the strength of this team.

"We had some great play out there," said Fanikos. "You've got to keep your nose to the ground and just go. There's no finesse involved at all. It's a war."

This wasn't a talent-laden bunch, a group that won on natural ability. It was "the team that wasn't supposed to go anywhere," said offensive tackle Roger Caron.

"I don't know about the talent, but I never met a bunch of harder working guys," said defensive end Brent Clapacs.

Frustration

But it all ended in frustration, frustration made possible by success and the expectations that come with it. "I hate to go out like this," said Vignali. "I was ready to go pop champagne."

Defensive tackle Barry Ford summed things up: "It's a tough way to end a career."

"The worst way," said Pascucci.