Brown Looks to Trick Gridders

Brown football Coach John Rosenberg misses his Snickers bars.

"It's Halloween weekend and I can't go trick-or-treating," the 1967 Harvard graduate said.

Rosenberg, however, is hoping to trick Harvard and treat his long suffering Bruins with their first victory over the Crimson this decade.

Brown (3-3 overall, 2-2 Ivy) is possessed by the thought. "There's extra incentive if you haven't beaten a team and you love to beat them," Rosenberg said.

The winner this afternoon (1:30 p.m., the Stadium) will have about a one-in-a-million chance at the Ivy crown, while the loser will be mathematically eliminated. Harvard (2-4 overall, 2-2 Ivy) hopes to avoid such a fate.

But it will be tough. Brown lost a close game last week to nationally ranked Holy Cross, 22-7. The Crusaders, you'll remember, demolished the Crimson, 41-0, earlier this season. But the Bruins took an early 7-0 lead over Holy Cross, and were behind 9-7 midway through the third period before the Crusaders took control.

The inconsistent Bruins have also had some very long afternoons--like the time they were crushed by the Penn steamroller last month, 34-0. The Red and Blue debacle touched off Brown's current three-game losing skein, which included a 27-9 drubbing at the hands of Cornell.

The key for Brown today will be quarterback Mark Donovan, who has passed for more than 1100 yards this year. "We're always looking to progress the football passing," Rosenberg said. Donovan has a pair of capable receivers in Dave Fielding and the versatile Keiron Bigby.

Tailback Lane Wood has been the workhorse for the Bruin running game, along with Jamie Simone, who gave the Crimson problems last year.

On the defensive side of the ball, Brown stacks up lots of size in 247-lb. middle guard Pat Murphy and 254-lb. tackle Bill Perry. Linebacker Brian Murphy is tough against the pass, and cornerback Tom Dugan has snagged a couple of interceptions.

Harvard will need all its guns to shoot down the Bears, but injuries will hamper some of the Crimson's best marksmen. Quarterback Tom Yohe (pulled groin) is questionable today, while tight end Jim Morris (separated shoulder) and offensive guard Hal Watson (ankle injury) will probably miss the contest.

Most damaging of all, perhaps, is the loss of receiver Joe Connolly, who injured his kidney last week. Connolly, who has caught more passes this season than any Harvard receiver since 1983, may return to action next week.

The M*A*S*H-style injury report won't help the Crimson offense, which has failed to score a touchdown in four of six games this year. Nonetheless, last week's showing against Princeton wasn't quite as bad as the score indicated. "I thought they were very productive offensively against Princeton last week, except for the turnovers," Rosenberg said.

The Crimson amassed its best passing day since its 1984 game against Army, and racked up over 350 total yards. On the season, Harvard has more first downs than its opponents and far more rushing yardage--despite having no single rusher averaging more than 35 rushing yards per game.

With some notable exceptions, the Crimson defense has looked impressive this season. Scott Collins led a fierce attack last week, which held the Tigers in check except for two early scores. Hard-hitters Rick Patton and Cliff Tidwell have provided heart for the Crimson D, and Dan Steere leads the squad with four sacks.

A win this afternoon will require a great effort from all of them--along the same luck and heroism Harvard showed last year against Brown in its dramatic 25-17 come-from-behind victory.

Otherwise, it may be scary.