Santos Makes Day

In his three years as a key member of Harvard's secondary, senior Rob Santos has seen his share of tragedies. From the lost Games to the mediocre seasons, Santos couldn't have too many reasons to look back fondly on his collegiate career.

But today at the Stadium, in one quarter of football, Santos turned his moth-like season into a multi-colored, full-flying butterfly of a dream. He floated and soared ever so daintily and gloriously in the end zone on two occasions and crushed Yale's only chances of coming close in the contest.

With 18 seconds remaining in the third quarter and Harvard up 14-0, Yale's only weapon, tall junior tailback Keith Price, looked ready to jump-start the Eli's broken-down wishbone. He tore up the massive hole in the left side and drove up. Price pumped his long, lean legs, while Harvard junior James Ellis did what he's done all season: played catch-up and won. He clipped Price's knees and the junior stumbled onto the four yard line.

As the quarters changed, Yale looked prepared to break through, to finally score its first touchdown in 15 quarters. Santos, the soft-spoken kid from Southern California, wasn't prepared to let that happen.

After Ellis and Ramer dropped quarterback Steve Mills on first down, Santos made the play of the game. Tearing across the middle of the end zone, as Mills fired a pass to junior Dave Iwan--free and open in front of the posts--Santos slipped his hands up and pulled the pass into his chest.

The sidelines exploded. Santos got crushed by his teammates. Big Play #1.

"It's all kind of blurry. I just kept moving over. I went over to block the ball, it was soft and stuck in my hands. That was it," Santos said after the game.

Ten minutes later, the kid from California made the Crimson proud again. This time improbably. With third down on the two yard line, needling only one inch for a first down, the Bulldogs were forced to pay the price. Price drove up the middle, rocketed up off his lanky legs and raised the ball high with his hands. Santos, on the opposing side, dove his somewhat shorter body up and connected with the ball--with his helmet.

The ball floated up and back to the five yard line and Harvard's Brian Ramer smothered it like a blanket. Big Play #2.

"Coach always told us number 22 was a leaper. He came over with the ball. I just stuck my hands up and punched the ball," Santos said. "Luckily, someone recovered it."

Harvard recorded its first shutout in The Game since 1966. The win banished Yale to a seventh-place tie with Columbia and moved the Crimson into fourth. A depressing, humdrum season of blowouts and shellackings faded into memory as crazed Harvard students frantically mobbed the Crimson football players and desperately tried to bring down the goalposts.

After the game, Coach Joe Restic couldn't hold back the crowds of admirers, alums and friends who streamed into his office, when only three weeks ago he couldn't find a soul other than his wife to talk to.

The shutout, the season-saving win, the fans' (and Restic's) ecstasy--that's what The Game was about. Thank Rob Santos.

"I can't tell you how happy I feel right now," Santos said. "You can throw out the rest of the season.."