Take Care of the Hands That Get You Sacked 12 Times

Harvard quarterback Adam Lazarre-White must have a great appreciation for Miami Dolphins QB Dan Marino's Isotoner gloves commercial--the one where Marino buys Isotoners for his offensive linemen to "take care of the hands that take care of you."

Don't be surprised if you see Lazarre-White in a department store this week sifting through the gloves section.

Missing right guard Mike Zweber and right tackle Tom Callahan because of injuries, the Harvard offensive line did very little to take care of Lazarre-White in Saturday's 35-14 loss to Holy Cross. Harvard's QB, in only the second start of his career, rarely had time to throw, and was dumped 12 times by the ferocious Crusaders front line.

Every time Lazarre-White dropped back to pass, there seemed to be at least two Purple People Eaters waiting for him, prompting Harvard Coach Joe Restic to label the Holy Cross pressure the fiercest his teams have faced, "anytime, anywhere."

But the Crimson's flustered QB did little to help his team's cause, continuously turning what seemed to be short losses into major 10-to-20-yard sacks by running backwards away from the pressure, rather than around the pressure.

With Harvard driving at the Holy Cross 14-yard line early in the second quarter, Lazarre-White was rolled under by Corey Vincent for a eight-yard loss. On the next play, Matt Fras pushed the Crimson out of field goal range, sacking the Lazarre-White back at the 35-yard line.

Although Mike Mohlman and Milan Lesanovich were holding up the right side of the line well, especially when Harvard was running the ball, Harvard was missing Zweber and Callahan--badly.

"Callahan and Zweber sitting on the sideline--I can't kid myself about that," Restic said. "We put people in and we can't put it all on them because they don't get as much work. Once [Holy Cross] saw what was happening, we got pressure."

With the Crimson struggling to come from behind in the second half, it was much the same for Lazarre-White. In six passing attempts in the third quarter, Holy Cross recorded three sacks for a total loss of 39 yards.

Gamebreaker: Restic will be one of the most ardent fans cheering at graduation ceremonies for Holy Cross flanker Mark Gallagher next spring. Restic has endured more than his share of Gallagher, who needs only 13 more receptions to pass the great Gordie Lockbaum and become the Crusaders' all-time leading receiver.

Saturday, Gallagher pulled in seven Tom Ciaccio passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns. It was nothing new for the 5-foot, 9-inch, senior, who has caught 17 passes for 364 yards in his three games against the Crimson.

And Harvard defensive backs will be right behind Restic in cheering the end of Gallagher's collegiate eligibility after having chased after him for three years.

The Holy Cross wide receiver has caught five touchdown passes against Harvard, the shortest of which was 34 yards. Two years ago, Gallagher grabbed 57- and 34-yard scoring passes from QB Jeff Wiley. Last year, he clinched the Crusaders' 31-17 with a 40-yard bomb in the final quarter. And this year, it was all Gallagher in the fourth quarter, as he got behind the Harvard secondary for 59-yard and 54-yard TD receptions.

TV Stars: Saturday's game was the Crimson's second consecutive television appearance, following last week's embarassment of Northeastern in front of a national ESPN audience. Saturday, it was Harvard's turn to get roasted underneath the spotlight of the cameras. This time, it was Sports-channel New England, with Lockbaum at the mike.

You can be sure that the Crimson will be happy to be back in the relative obscurity and anonymity of Ivy League football this week, with Cornell visiting The Stadium.

"We're definitely sitting well and we've got a lot of confidence," Harvard linebacker Joe Gordian said. "We just have to bounce back for the Ivy game next week."

No TV cameras, no "Hi, Mom!" and no television station banners on the sidelines this week. Just two teams with undefeated league records and first place at stake. *  *  *

You Were Right, John: Kudos to Harvard Sports Information Director John Veneziano, who was right on with his Ivy League predictions this week. "The Ivy teams might not win a game tomorrow," Veneziano said Friday.

Sure enough, while Dartmouth did give number-three New Hampshire a scare, running up a 14-0 first quarter lead, the Big Green had to hold on for a 21-21 tie to be the only Ivy team not to lose in action last week.

Hapless Columbia and Brown fell to Lehigh and Fordham, respectively. Princeton got thumped by Ivy-killer Colgate, and Penn lost to Lafayette.

Even the league favorites were pummelled. Yale, playing without QB Darin Kehler, got crushed by previously winless UConn, 44-7, and Cornell was spiked by the Bucknell Bison.

Aside from the Harvard-Cornell game for the league lead, the only other Ivy Leagueaction this week is a last-place battle betweenBrown and Princeton in New Jersey. The entireleague returns to Ivy-only action in two weeks,when the Crimson travels to Princeton on Head ofthe Charles weekend.

Lawbreakers: The entrance to the FittonField parking lot clearly stated, "No kegsallowed."

Of course, those round silver things with tapsattached to them and with beer flowing out of themwere not kegs.

Would you believe...they were beer cansbombarded with an accidental dose of radiation?

No. Well then, would you believe...they wereactually misplaced water coolers with Gatorade inthem for the football players?

No. Well then, would you believe...that Harvardhas a lot to learn from Holy Cross in terms oftailgating prowess