Anyone Got a Match?

In three games this year, the Harvard football team (2-1 overall, 1-0 Ivy) has scored 73 points.

Only 10 of those have come in the first half. And all 10 of those came in the same game.

No wonder senior quarterback Brian White said after Saturday's 21-14 loss to William & Mary that someone's got to "put a firecracker under our ass in the first half."

Anyone got a match?

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William & Mary took Army's place on this year's Harvard football schedule, and that might have been the shrewdest scheduling move in a long time.

Never mind that William & Mary is the nation's fifth-ranked team in Division I-AA.

In its last two games against Ivy squads Army has scored 100 points, and the Black Knights have tallied an average of 45 points in their last four games against Ancient Eight clubs.

And keep in mind that the 100 points came in the last two weeks against Penn and Yale--the two teams named by many as the best in the Ivies.

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From this week's Saint's File--back by popular demand--comes the following: senior fullback Robert Santiago's 98 yards on 11 carries last weekend was the Saint's third best game rushing ever.

With his effort--which included a 45-yd. dash--the San Antonio, Tex. native regained the top spot among Harvard rushers. Santiago now has picked up 180 yards on 33 carries, moving him within 525 yards of number five on the all-time Harvard career rushing list.

Santiago's 822 yards a year ago put him at number four on the all-time single-season rushing list, and the Saint now needs just 498 yards to garner the number 10 position on that list.

If he accomplishes that feat, he'll join the legendary Vic Gatto as the only other Harvard player to appear on that list twice. And if Santiago does it, he'll knock Gatto out of the number 10 position.

Don't worry, though. Gatto's currently on the list three times--in the number six, nine and 10 positions.

Elsewhere in the record books, Santiago needs 656 yards to crack the number five position on the all-time career total offense list.

Look for a big game from the Saint this weekend. Last time out against Cornell, Santiago picked up 168 yards on 21 carries for his second best day ever. And the first time last year's Ivy League rushing champion touched the ball against the Big Red a year ago--on the game's second play from scrimmage--he bolted around left tackle for a 73-yd. touchdown that is his all-time longest run.

***

If Santiago ever gets the itch to switch positions, he might want to consider quarterback.

Oh, sure, before last Saturday's contest, Santiago's career passing statistics made him an oafer, as in "o for five" with two interceptions.

But the Saint's fortunes changed late in the game Saturday, when he completed a 10-yd. pass. It was his first completion ever, and it was a first for his receiver, too.

White, who usually throws them, had never before caught one.

***

Despite his acrobatic catch and an acrobatic two-pt. conversion that tied the score at 14, and despite a 51-yd. touchdown toss to Rufus Jones, White's statistics continue to take a nosedive.

The senior sinal caller, who attempted more passes Saturday (26) than he had in the first two games combined (25), has completed just 17 of 51 for 367 yards.

His .333 completion percentage is the lowest after three games of any Harvard starter in at least the last five years.

And it's well below his stats after three a year ago, when the Massachusetts native had completed 35 of 50 for a whopping .700 clip.

For his career, White now has completed exactly half his passes (90-180) for a .500 percentage and needs just 371 yards to become the fifth leading passer in Harvard history.

***

Not that it means anything, but the five times since 1940 that the Crimson has won its first two games of the season and lost its third, it's gone on to win its fourth.

And the last two times it followed that pattern--in 1982 and 1970--its victory in that fourth game of the year came against Cornell.

***

Harvard--winner of its first two this year and a loser in its third--travels to Cornell (0-3) Saturday for its fourth contest of the season, and the first of four straight league games.

The Cantabs haven't loss to the Ithacans since 1979, when Cornell posted one of the series' most lopsided wins--a 41-14 triumph.

But the last time Harvard visited Ithaca, N.Y., the Crimson escaped with a 3-3 tie thanks to a 44-yd. field goal on the next-to-last play of the game.

A year ago, Harvard grabbed an early lead--thanks to Santiago's long dash--but had to hold on for a extremely close victory, 24-18.

The game was in doubt until the Big Red failed by inches on a fourth down attempt deep in Harvard territory with less than two minutes to play.

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From this week's trivia file: name the Cornell running back who set school records with 281 yards rushing and five rushing touchdowns in a 41-24 Cornell victory over Harvard in 1969. Hint: he went on to star on the Hill. Answer below.

***

Don't be fooled by the Big Red's o-3 record. Cornell has lost the three games by a total of 19 points, and has lost two of those by a total of five.

On the first weekend of the year, Cornell dropped a 10-6 loss at Penn. A week later, the Ithacans bowed to Colgate, 21-20.

***

Only 6500 fans made their way to the Stadium Saturday, marking the smallest crowd the Crimson had played in front of since 4745 showed up in New York City for the 1981 meeting between Harvard and Columbia.

It was the smallest home crowd since Oct. 14, 1978, when 6000 watched Cornell topple Harvard, 25-20.

***

Senior kicker Rob Steinberg didn't enjoy one of his most memorable days Saturday.

Before the showdown with William & Mary, the Los Angeles native never had suffered a blocked punt.

Saturday he suffered two.

Steinberg, who has already punted half as many times as he did all last year, kicked 10 times for a 28.8 average against the Tribe.

To compound matters, the 5-ft., 8-in. kicker missed his only extra point attempt. As a result, Saturday's game marked the first time in his 14 game career that Steinberg failed to score a point.

The missed PAT also brought to an end a streak of eight straight conversions.

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Answer to this week's trivia quiz: Hill St. Blues star Ed Marinaro single-handedly crushed the Crimson on that day back in 1969.

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In Ivy League action this weekend, Penn will put a 10-game Ancient Eight winning streak on the line when it hosts an improving Brown squad.

The last Ivy loss for the Quakers was a 28-0 drubbing at the hands of Harvard two years ago.

In the only other all-Ivy game, Columbia travels to Princeton. Elsewhere, Yale will host Holy Cross.

Also, Dartmouth Coach Joe Yucika will pit his 0-20-1 record against non-Ivy opponents against Colgate.

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THE NOTEBOOK'S NOTEBOOK: Harvard will play on artificial turf Saturday for the only time this year...Harvard has not scored first in any game this year...The Crimson's two-pt. conversion Saturday was its first two-pointer in exactly one year...Harvard has converted one-third (16 of 48) of its third downs attempts...Senior Chuck Shirey needs three punt returns to set a school record...No Harvard wide receiver currently on the squad has ever caught a pass in a varsity game...A Harvard wide receiver hasn't caught a touchdown pass in more than three years...This will be the 50th meeting between Harvard and Cornell...Harvard leads the series, 29-18-2...William & Mary's 21 points Saturday set a school record for the series...The win was the Tribe's first over Harvard in seven tries...The Crimson has yet to score in the first quarter this year...Harvard has given up just seven points in the fourth quarter this year.

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THE PICKS: Harvard over Cornell, Colgate over Dartmouth, Yale over Holy Cross, Princeton over Columbia, Colgate over Dartmouth.

Last Week: A masterful, wonderful, superlative 6-0. Season to Date: 14-3.