New Era Begins With Win

Harvard kicked off head coach Tim Murphy's first season in dramatic fashion Saturday afternoon at Columbia. After watching an 18-point lead dissolve in the solvent of a strong Lion running game, the Crimson mounted a heroic, 12-play fourth quarter drive to win the game, 39-32.

It was the first time a Harvard coach has won his inaugural outing in over forty years and the first time in about as long that a Harvard team has staved off a furious comback: the Crimson dropped games to Princeton, Dartmouth and Pennsylvania last season after leading at halftime.

"Last season it seemed we'd be ahead late in the game and just run out of gas," center Toby we were determined not to."

"At the end of the game it was all about poise," a breathless Harvard quarterback Vin Ferrara said. "We kept our cool and it paid off."

Down 32-31 with only 4:50 left in the game, the Crimson received the ball on its own 23-yard line. Running its new multiple pro-set offense to a T--using passing and running to nibble away at the Lion perimeter defense--it battled down to the Columbia 31, where it faced third and three. There, tailback Kweli Thompson ran around the right end for a 24-yard gain. Two play later, Ferarra kept the ball on a left option and scored the game-winning touch-down run with only 21 seconds left on the clock.

"It was a classic barnburner," Murphty said. "We had some tough spots--there is tons of room for improvement, but I'm extremely proud of the players. They fought hard and hung with it. That sort of mindset is what is needed to turn a program around."

Murphy was particularly proud of the play of his offense. Coming into the game, offense was his team's biggest question mark. Murphy had junked the complicated, multi-flex of his predecessor Joe Restic, in favor of a simpler, two-back formation designed to present a more balanced attack.

The change in offense was Murphy's most radical departure from the previous coaching administration and, by all accounts, it seemed to pay off: Harvard's offense rolled up 27 first downs and 424 yards total offense.

Quarterback Vin Ferrara and tailbacks Eion Hu and Kweli Thompson led the way. Ferrara was 22-32 for 245 yards passing. Hu rushed for 73 yards on 18 carries. And Thompson caught seven passes for 89 yards.

"We have ten new starters on offense--you're not going to run an offense like clockwork with that many new people this early in the season," Murphy said. "But by all relative standards, our offense did a very good job."

The team's defense, though, was another matter. Harvard gave up 397 yards total offense after allowing only 220 in last year's game. The Lions, paced by 255-pound junior fullback John Harper (17-77) and 245-pound junior tailback Marcellus Wiley (9-49), mustered 223 yards on the ground alone.

"They have some big strong backs and they executed well, and we're young and small up front." Murphy said. "It's that simple. We have a lot to work on.,"

The Crimson got off to a slow start in the game. On the very first Harvard snap of the Murphy coaching era, Ferrara was sacked and fumbled, giving the ball to the Lions. And on the team's second possession, Columbia stopped the Crimson in three downs.

But Harvard rebounded in high fashion. Beginning with its third series, it scored on four straight possessions.

It mounted its first drive after receiving the ball on its own 28-yard line with 5:48 left in the first quarter. Using a powerful one-two combination of down-and-out swing passes and hard off-tackle running, Harvard pecked its way to the Lion four-yard line. There, tailback Eion Hu took a hand-off off left tackle for the game's first score.

After stopping Columbia on four downs, Harvard mounted another long, steady drive. Beginning from the Crimson 33, Ferrara hit on passes of 6, 12, 5 and seven yards, and Hu made runs of 12 and three yards to take the ball to the Columbia three. There, on third and three, Murphy and Co. went to the pass: Ferrara hit big tight end Matt Gargulinski to put tight to put Harvard up 14-0.

Columbia roared back, mounting a 14-play drive to halve the score with a touchdown, but, unfazed, Harvard matched the Lion challenge. After a Columbia pass interference penalty erased a Crimson third-and-ten, Ferrara completed passes of eight, five and 18 yards, consecutively, to march the ball to the Columbia 38. There, Thompson took a screen pass from the big quarterback on the right side of the field and danced 38 yards for the score.

A late Lion field goal put the score at 21-10 going into the half.

"We knew going into the half that we had the momentum going," Murphy said. "We just had to hold on."

Harvard did, but barely.

Receiving the second-half kickoff on its own 33-yards line, the Crimson offense engineered its fourth-straight touchdown drive. Ferrara completed five of six short passes to take the team to the Lion 31, and Hu took over from there. The junior tailback made four consecutive runs, the last of which was a three-yard touchdown run.

Down 28-10, Columbia put its foot down. The Lion perimeter defense toughened up, stuffing the Crimson's deadly short-yardage passing game and allowing only one field goal in the next quarter-and-a half. And its offense broke wide open, using a solid offense line and a corps of husky, fleet-footed running backs to shred a young Crimson defensive front.

Beginning with 4:35 left in the third quarter, Columbia scored on three consecutive possessions. The last tally, an off-tackle one-yard run by Wiley with 4:50 left in the game, gave it the 32-31 lead that the Crimson would erase with its late-game heroics.

"This game was a beginning--nothing more," Murphy said. "It was a game that was very important to win for the sake of confidence, but I don't think we are about to get overconfident. We have a long season ahead of us.

"They have some big strong backs and they executed well, and we're young and small up front." Murphy said. "It's that simple. We have a lot to work on.,"

The Crimson got off to a slow start in the game. On the very first Harvard snap of the Murphy coaching era, Ferrara was sacked and fumbled, giving the ball to the Lions. And on the team's second possession, Columbia stopped the Crimson in three downs.

But Harvard rebounded in high fashion. Beginning with its third series, it scored on four straight possessions.

It mounted its first drive after receiving the ball on its own 28-yard line with 5:48 left in the first quarter. Using a powerful one-two combination of down-and-out swing passes and hard off-tackle running, Harvard pecked its way to the Lion four-yard line. There, tailback Eion Hu took a hand-off off left tackle for the game's first score.

After stopping Columbia on four downs, Harvard mounted another long, steady drive. Beginning from the Crimson 33, Ferrara hit on passes of 6, 12, 5 and seven yards, and Hu made runs of 12 and three yards to take the ball to the Columbia three. There, on third and three, Murphy and Co. went to the pass: Ferrara hit big tight end Matt Gargulinski to put tight to put Harvard up 14-0.

Columbia roared back, mounting a 14-play drive to halve the score with a touchdown, but, unfazed, Harvard matched the Lion challenge. After a Columbia pass interference penalty erased a Crimson third-and-ten, Ferrara completed passes of eight, five and 18 yards, consecutively, to march the ball to the Columbia 38. There, Thompson took a screen pass from the big quarterback on the right side of the field and danced 38 yards for the score.

A late Lion field goal put the score at 21-10 going into the half.

"We knew going into the half that we had the momentum going," Murphy said. "We just had to hold on."

Harvard did, but barely.

Receiving the second-half kickoff on its own 33-yards line, the Crimson offense engineered its fourth-straight touchdown drive. Ferrara completed five of six short passes to take the team to the Lion 31, and Hu took over from there. The junior tailback made four consecutive runs, the last of which was a three-yard touchdown run.

Down 28-10, Columbia put its foot down. The Lion perimeter defense toughened up, stuffing the Crimson's deadly short-yardage passing game and allowing only one field goal in the next quarter-and-a half. And its offense broke wide open, using a solid offense line and a corps of husky, fleet-footed running backs to shred a young Crimson defensive front.

Beginning with 4:35 left in the third quarter, Columbia scored on three consecutive possessions. The last tally, an off-tackle one-yard run by Wiley with 4:50 left in the game, gave it the 32-31 lead that the Crimson would erase with its late-game heroics.

"This game was a beginning--nothing more," Murphy said. "It was a game that was very important to win for the sake of confidence, but I don't think we are about to get overconfident. We have a long season ahead of us.