Cadets Rumble Through Crimson, 56-28

WEST POINT, N.Y.--Seven minutes into the Harvard-Army football game here at Michie Stadium yesterday the scoreboard read Harvard 14, Army 0.

Army is a Division I-A team. Harvard was soundly defeated by Division I-AA Holy Cross last weekend.

It couldn't be possible.

It was.

It couldn't last.

It didn't.

The Cadets (2-1) stormed back, scoring seven unanswered touch-downs en route to an eventual 56-28 victory in front of 39,115 spectators. It was the most points scored against the Crimson (1-2 overall, 1-0 Ivy) in 29 seasons.

"I think today demonstrated that we're still not good enough to forget about the Ivies," Army Coach Jim Young said. "I think they give us just as good a game as a Syracuse, Washington or Alabama. Of course, [the Ivy teams] are going to be the underdogs. But that doesn't mean they're going to lose the game."

Harvard quarterback Tim Perry threw a career-high number of completions (20) for a career-high total yards (311). It was the fourth-best passing game in Crimson history. And it wasn't even close to enough.

The Cadets threw the ball a mere three times. Two of those passes were good for touchdowns.

Starting quarterback Bryan McWilliams connected with split end Sean Jordan for a 44-yard touchdown pass 8:21 into the first quarter to put the Cadets on the scoreboard. And QB number-two, Willie McMillian, hit Calvin Cass with a 25-yd. pop just 23 seconds into the fourth quarter to close Army's solo scoring stretch.

In between, the Cadets ran. And ran. And ran. Fourteen Army men combined for 412 total yards on the ground.

Before the onslaught, though, came the scare. An Army flub and a Crimson fumble in the first eight minutes of the game gave Harvard a pair of touchdowns and a 14-0 lead.

After the Cadets were called for illegal participation on a Harvard punt, the Crimson took possession at the Army 32 and scored six plays later on a five-yd. pass from Perry to fullback Art McMahon at the 3:21 mark of the first quarter.

Harvard, who had a season-low three fumbles, came out ahead on its first loose ball of the game. Perry found Dave Haller open in the seam for a 13-yard reception, but the ball popped loose as Haller hit the turf. Senior Mark Bianchi grabbed the free ball and ran it into the end zone for the first of his three touchdowns.

"Unfortunately we were not able to keep the pace we had in the first quarter," Bianchi said. "What our offense is capable of doing is what we showed in the first quarter."

At halftime it still didn't look too bad for Harvard. The score was 28-14, Army, and the Crimson had been seeing its share of the football.

Then came the third quarter.

Nine plays, 67 yards, touchdown. Sixteen plays, 58 yards, touchdown.

Together, the two Army drives took nearly 11 minutes. Total possession time for the quarter: Army 12:29, Harvard 2:31.

No chance for an interception. The Cadets didn't bother to throw the ball. All they did was run, run, run. The Crimson's only hope was to hold Army at the line. But that was like trying to hold back a tank.

"[Army] had two long drives in the third quarter and we couldn't take the ball away from them," Harvard Coach Joe Restic said. "If we were going tohave a chance, we had to get back in then."

At the line of scrimmage, Harvard Captain GregGicewicz planted himself down so low that hisstomach nearly rubbed the astroturf. Down, up.Down, up. He was playing against the wishbone. Itfelt like punishment.

"[The Cadets are] so steady; they don't getflustered," Gicewicz said. "They're happy withfour yards a pop. That can wear you down."

The Crimson's offense, which collected only 94yards rushing, was limited by the absence ofinjured halfback Jim Reidy, the team's top rusher.Without Reidy, Perry was forced to throw.

He hit Bianchi with a 22-yd. touchdown pass3:07 into the fourth quarter to prove Harvardwasn't throwing in the towel. Bianchi then ran theball six yards for a fourth Crimson touchdownthree-and-a-half minutes later.

"We showed that we can move the ball prettyeffectively," Bianchi said. "That bodes well forthe future."

THE NOTEBOOK: Haller and senior safetyBobby Frame left the game with injuries and arequestionable for next weekend's game with Lehigh.Cadets 56, Crimson 28 at West Point. N.Y.

Team  1  2  3  4  FHARVARD  14  0  0  14  28Army  7  21  14  14  56

First Quarter

H--McMahon 5-yd. pass from Perry (Kotz PAT)3:21.

H--Bianchi 13-yd. pass from Perry (Kotz PAT)6:15.

A--Jordan 44-yd. pass from McWilliams(Havenstrite PAT) 8:21.

Second Quarter

A--Barnett 23-yd. run (Havenstrite PAT) 0:05.

A--Cass 6-yd. run (Havenstrite PAT) 6:32.

A--McWilliams 6-yd. run (Havenstrite PAT) 9:20.

Third Quarter

A--Mayweather 4-yd. run (Havenstrite PAT) 3:10.

A--Barnett 1-yd. run (Havenstrite PAT) 12:21.

Fourth Quarter

A--Cass 25-yd. pass from McMillian (HavenstritePAT) 0:23.

H--Bianchi 22-yd. pass from Perry (Kotz PAT)3:07.

H--Bianchi 6-yd. run (Kotz PAT) 6:39.

A--Savoy 7-yd. run (Havenstrite PAT) 13:38.

Passing: H--Perry 20-41-2-311:A--McWilliams 1-3-0-44, McMillian 1-2-0-25. Savoy0-1-0-0.

Rushing: H--Myers 6-13, McMahon 6-27,Perry 21-(-1), Haller 1-8, Cutone 3-7, Bianchi3-14, Lazarre-White 4-14, Smyers 1-6, Fletcher1-6; A--McWilliams 10-24, Mayweather 20-96,Barnett 15-72, Cass 10-69, Oliver 5-19, McMillian7-54, Thomas 4-34, Savoy 3-26, Foye 1-3, Mangin3-8, Williams 1-1, Gray 1-3, Leatherwood 1-5,Smith 1-(-2).

Receiving: H--McMahon 5-40, Collins3-57, Bianchi 5-89, Haller 1-27, Mann 1-16,Boultinghouse 1-17, Lazarre-White 2-45, Cutone1-9, Fletcher 1-11: A--Jordan 1-44, Cass, 1-25.

Att: 39,115PhotoTim MorseHarvard Captain GREG GICEWICZ (68), DAVIDWEISS (45) and SEAN KOSCHO (10) block on an Armyrun. The Cadets defeated Harvard, 56-28, Saturdayat West Point, N.Y.