Don't It Make Those Brown Guys Blue

PROVIDENCE, R.I.--The Harvard football team took a giant step towards its first Ivy title in four years here today with a hard fought 14-9 victory over the Brown Bruins.

The win, in front of 16,000 fans at Brown Stadium, gave the Crimson an undisputed hold on first place in the Ivy League with a 4-1 league mark (6-1 overall). Brown fell to 3-2 in the Ancient Eight.

Both Cornell and Yale remain in the league race with a single defeat. The teams clash next week in New Haven, and the winner will emerge as Harvard's main competitor for league honors.

The Crimson won the game today with a excellent all-around effort. Leading the way was junior quarterback Tom Yohe, who broke the Harvard single season passing yardage record. Yohe's total of 196 yards (on 18-for-36) gave him 1583 yards on the season, eight more than Larry Brown's 1978 record.

But as important as Yohe's contribution was today, Harvard won this game on the ground. The grinding Crimson runners gained over 200 yards on the day, while holding the vaunted Bruin run game to only 110 yards on 34 carries.

Faced with this imbalance, Brown QB Mark Donovan was forced to go to the air, and was a disappointment, going only 8-for-19 for 126 yards. Overall Harvard had possession of the ball for 37 minutes with their balanced, ball-control offense.

Electing to Kick

Brown won the opening toss and elected to kick off, defending the East goal. Harvard's Tim Perry scooped up a botched kickoff at the 25 yard-line and brought it up to the 28. Wingback Bob Glatz carried for a short gain on first down, before the frequently penalized Crimson was set back 5 yards for having an illegal receiver downfield.

On third and six, Harvard's standout quarterback Yohe--who came out throwing--completed a screen pass over the middle to fullback Tony Hinz, good for 10 yards and a Harvard first down. With Harvard facing a third and seven from its own 45, Yohe scrambled right and avoided heavy pressure before hitting cutting tight end Kent Lucas for another first down.

On third down Yohe picked up six yards on an option call before being taken down by Brown's leading tackler Tyler Wolfram on the Brown 32.

Then, on first and 10, Yohe hit wide-open wide-out Neil Phillips down the middle on the eight yard-line. After Crimson fullback Dave Bunning was stopped for a loss and Yohe overthrew Lucas in the endzone--setting up a third and goal situation--Yohe rolled out looking to pass, but with all of his receivers tightly covered, the junior phenom took it into the endzone himself.

Bruce Jacob's extra point put the Crimson ahead, 7-0, at the 9:44 mark of the opening period.

The remainder of the first quarter saw back and forth action, but no more scoring.

Facing the wind late in the second quarter, Harvard turned almost exclusively to the run. Hinz picked up a first down on an eight-yard third down run.

Yohe rolled out to run on the next play but was dragged down behind the line of scrimmage. On second and 11, Hinz fumbled the ball, and Brown recovered on the Crimson 22.

Brown QB Donovan's first down pass to wide-open Tom Smith was incomplete. On third and eight, tailback Kirk Little took a delayed handoff from Donovann and cut back across the grain to the Crimson 11, keeping the drive alive with a first down.

But with Brown driving the ball inside the Harvard 10, the Harvard defense stiffened. With the Bruins facing a third and six situation, Crimson Captain Kevin Dulsky sacked Donovan back at the 20 yard-line.

Brown placekicker Alex Kos booted a 35-yard field goal to put the Bruins on the board with 2:39 reamining on the half. Neither team scored the rest of the half, and the teams went into the lockerrooms with the Crimson on top, 7-3.

Early in the third quarter, Yohe found Lucas over the middle to put the driving Crimson inside the Brown 10. A handoff to Bunning netted only a few yards, and left Harvard facing a second and goal from the four.

Junior Hinz--Harvard's leading rusher on the season--took a pitch and scooted around end for the necessary yardage and a touchdown. Jacob split the uprights with his point-after kick, to give Harvard a 14-3 lead.

Harvard kicked off and Brown put together a little drive with a number of first downs. The key play came when a Harvard blitz was picked up and Donovan found a receiver down at the Harvard 34.

But there the drive stalled. Donovan handed off to Greg Solomon on first down, who was tackled by Dulsky for no gain. Brown was called for unsports-manlike conduct, and could not score.

Near the end of the quarter, Harvard took over, but on second down Yohe's pass was picked off by Scott McCaleb, who returned the ball to the Harvard 37. Brown looked to have its best scoring opportunitgy of the day when the third quarter expired two plays later, with the hosts on the Harvard 29.

But on third and two, Brown's Little was tackled by Richard Mau half a yard short of the first down. On fourth down, Little's dive into the left side of the line was stopped short by inches, and Harvard took over on its own 27.

On first down, Glatz ran for five yards to the Crimson 32. Yohe stepped up on second down and overthrew Neil Phillips long. On third and five Yohe threw short to Glatz, and Alan Hall came on the field to punt into the wind.

Jamie Simone called for a fair catch at the Brown 40. Two plays netted the Bruins only one yard, but then lightening struck. On third down, flanker Smith burned Crimson safety Bryan Gecsuk, and caught a beautifully thrown Donovan pass for a 60-yard TD pass.

Brown went for a two-point conversion, but Donovan's pass was broken up. Harvard had a 14-9 lead, and a 15-yard misconduct Brown penalty was marked off on the kickoff.

The teams traded possessions, as the clock ran down and Harvard's chances to hold on for the key victory increased. Late in the fourth quarter, Harvard took over on its own 39, needing a long drive to run out the clock.

First down runs by Bunning and Hinz got the Crimson rolling, as Harvard moved down to the Brown 37. On a key third play, Yohe hit reliable receiver Barringer for a nine-yard gain down to the Brown 25. The pick-up was one of the most important plays of the game.

On second down, Yohe hit Lucas across the middle for a gain of 15 to the Brown 10. On that play, Yohe set the school yardage record. But a combination of penalties and sacks pushed Harvard back, and Jacob ended up missing a 35-yard field goal into a stiff wind wide right, and Brown took over on the Harvard 20 for its final possession of the day with 1:46 on the clock.

Donovan dropped back to pass on first down and, pressured by Richard Mau, threw incomplete. On second down, Donovan nearly hit Simone at the Harvard 45, but the pass was just long. On third and 10 from the 20, Donovan hit for a four yard gain.

Brown had to go for the first down on fourth and six. Donovan threw a poor pass behind Little at the 28, and the running back couldn't hold on. The Crimson took over, and was able to run out the clock with the victory secured.