Crusaders Fell Giardi, Down Gridders, 28-13

There was nowhere to look Saturday afternoon at the Stadium.

Look over here and you saw Harvard quarterback Mike Giardi's uniform lying in a clump behind the Harvard bench.

Look over there, and he was being carted away for X-rays.

Look back on the field, and his teammates were helping Holy Cross extend the nation's longest Division I and IAA winning streak to 13 games, bowing to the Crusaders, 28-13, before 16,215.

"I thought that we played as well as we will ever play this year at Army, and I thought we started the same way against Holy Cross," Harvard Coach Joe Restic said. "Going in we moved the ball well early. Mike threw the ball very, very well."

Giardi helped put the Crimson on the scoreboard first, firing an 11-yard touchdown pass to Robb Hirsch 12 minutes into the game.

The Crusaders came right back to tie the score in the opening minute of the second quarter. Holy Cross free safety Matt Morgan intercepted a Giardi pass intended for Colby Maher and returned it to the 18-yard line.

Two plays later Crusaders' quarterback Tom Ciaccio connected with Fred Givens at the six-yard line. Givens ran the ball in for the score.

From the looks of things, this game was going to be interesting--a passing duel between Giardi and Ciaccio.

Less than 10 minutes later, however, the passing contest was over when Giardi was forced to leave the game with a separated right shoulder, an injury that could sideline him for up to three weeks.

"It happened on a play that we ran, an option flanker," Giardi said. "I kept the ball and I hopped over a defensive end or a defensive back, and when I did, I think I lowered my shoulder and either a linebacker or a safety came in and put his helmet right into my shoulder.

"The next play I threw the ball and I felt a lot of pain. I realized I had nothing on it, but I thought it was something I could just shake off and play with it," Giardi added. "Then the next play after that I threw a deep pass, got hit and spun around, and just landed with my arm extended. It just didn't feel right. I knew I couldn't go on."

With Giardi on the sideline, Restic had to look to his bench, a prospect he did not relish.

"Mike's a talented quarterback," Restic said. You work all week with him, and in one play it just blows up in your face. I thought maybe we could get him back, but we couldn't.

"Then, you have to adjust and do what you can," Restic continued. "But in all fairness to the people who came in there and worked the game, I thought they did as well as they could possibly do based on the work they had."

That is to say, once Giardi left the game, the Crimson was never the same.

"It altered everything we did after that point," Restic said. "We had to change completely. And that was unfortunate."

In the second half, the Holy Cross offense went to work on the Harvard defense. The Holy Cross offensive surge coincided with the explosion of fullback Jerome Fuller. Fuller carried 20 times in the second half for 129 yards, helped set up two touchdowns and scored another.

The Harvard offense, mean-while, struggled under the direction of junior Joel Lamb, who replaced Giardi. At the end of the third quarter, with Harvard trailing, 14-6, Restic replaced Lamb with sophomore Dave Morgan.

Morgan engineered the Crimson's second scoring drive midway through the fourth quarter, a drive that culminated in Matt Johnson's eight yard touchdown run.

The score cut the Holy Cross lead to 21-13 with just under ten minutes to play and it looked like the Crimson might be able to orchestrate a comeback.

But Scott Johnson's extra point attempt hit the left upright and Holy Cross came back to score again and ice the game. CRUSADERS, 28-13 at Soldiers Field Harvard  7  0  0  6--13 Holy Cross  0  7  7  14--28

H--Hirsch 11 pass from Giardi (S. Johnson kick)

HC--Givens 11 pass from Ciaccio (Pignio kick)

HC--Hooey 24 pass from Ciaccio (Pignio kick)

HC--Fuller 18 run (Pignio kick)

H--M. Johnson 8 run (kick failed)

HC--Gallagher 11 pass from Ciaccio (Pignio kick)

Attendance--16,225

Individual Statistics

RUSHING--HC, Fuller 29-168; H, Hirsch 10-46; M. Johnson 7-25.

PASSING--HC, Ciaccio 23-35-1-265; H, Giardi 5-10-1-75.

RECEIVING--HC, Gallagher 4-46; Givens 3-41; Hooey 3-40; Fuller 4-44; H, Hirsch 5-72.

H--Hirsch 11 pass from Giardi (S. Johnson kick)

HC--Givens 11 pass from Ciaccio (Pignio kick)

HC--Hooey 24 pass from Ciaccio (Pignio kick)

HC--Fuller 18 run (Pignio kick)

H--M. Johnson 8 run (kick failed)

HC--Gallagher 11 pass from Ciaccio (Pignio kick)

Attendance--16,225

Individual Statistics

RUSHING--HC, Fuller 29-168; H, Hirsch 10-46; M. Johnson 7-25.

PASSING--HC, Ciaccio 23-35-1-265; H, Giardi 5-10-1-75.

RECEIVING--HC, Gallagher 4-46; Givens 3-41; Hooey 3-40; Fuller 4-44; H, Hirsch 5-72.