Football, Freshman Quarterback Show Potential

1996

Sports Statistics

Record: 4-6, 2-5 Ivy

Ivy Finish: Sixth

Coach: Tim Murphy

Key Players: Captain Sean Riley; Senior Eion Hu; Junior Colby Skelton; Freshmen Isaiah Kacyvenski and Rich Linden

1997

Harvard football fans have gotten used to the concept of patience. This season may be an indication that the Crimson program is on its way up after all.

The team had another sub-.500 season, finishing with a 4-6 record, but Harvard did win its first Big Three title since 1987.

There were too many frustrating losses such as the 6-3 loss to Dartmouth, or the 20-13 loss to Cornell, when Harvard fumbled on its first play after forcing a turnover at the Big Red 13-yard line.

But the highs indicate that good times may be coming. In its last visit to Palmer Stadium on Oct. 25, Harvard posted an historic 24-0 blanking of Princeton. The Crimson also held off a furious Yale rally to win the 113th rendition of The Game, 26-21.

The best thing to come out of this season was the discovery that Harvard had a defense. A defense meaning not just 11 guys trying to stop the other team, but an aggressive unit that could shut the run down cold and keep Harvard in games even when its offense took a hiatus.

After ranking 99th last year and 109th the year before, the Harvard defense ended up third best against the run (91 yards per game), 17th best overall (274 yards per game) and 19th best in scoring defense (16.4 points per game). And every starter--along with 10 of the second-teamers--is back next year.

"I think that two things went into our turnaround this year," coach Tim Murphy said. "One, the kids who played as freshmen and sophomores came of age. And two, we played an attacking style."

The defense was anchored by its junior defensive line--which has great depth--so fresh legs are always on the field. Next year's captain Brendan Bibro was joined by fellow juniors Chris Smith, Jason Hughes, Tim Fleiszer and Chris Schaefer.

But youth was mixed in with the veteran experience as well. Middle linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski won Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors, and strong safety Aron Natale finished second.

"The thing we decided to do this year was play with intensity," Kacyvenski said. "It doesn't matter what defense you play if you don't do that."

Defense against the pass was the aspect of the defense most susceptible to criticism, it was a sacrifice Harvard was willing to make in order to enforce its defensive philosophy--stop the run first.

"Coach keeps telling us that if they can run on you, they'll kill you," Kacyvenski said. "Sometimes we'd even put nine guys up on the ball. Nobody can run on us, so that's why we may have been vulnerable against the pass."

Offensively, the picture was not always as pretty. The man who had carried the load for the past two years, senior tailback Eion Hu, battled multiple knee injuries the entire year. Although he started off and finished the season strong, he lacked some of the explosiveness he had in previous years.

Hu broke Harvard's record for career rushing yards in the first game of the season against Columbia. He ended his career by breaking his own record for yards in a Harvard-Yale game, rushing 40 times for 177 yards and a score.

Harvard is losing not only Hu, but also its only Ivy first-teamer--captain and right tackle Sean Riley.

"They are two of the greatest I have ever coached," Murphy said, commenting on Riley and Hu. "Sean's a tremendous leader who loved to play and improved as much over his four years as anyone I've ever seen. Eion's records and character are phenomenal; he'll be the biggest hurdle to replace."

To pick up the slack in the running game, Murphy plans to rely on the three-headed monster of Chris Menick, Troy Jones and Damon Jones.

But the offense showed signs of diversification, which meant that Murphy may have acquired the personnel for a more wide-open approach.

Junior flanker Colby Skelton moved into first place all-time for Harvard career receiving yards, surpassing Pat McInally '75. Skelton posted three 100-yard plus games this season, including a career-best 152-yard effort against Cornell. However, he suffered a severe knee injury against Yale which could prove to be a major setback.

"Colby's rehab is going great," Murphy said. "But it was a very serious injury, and we're looking for him to get back right around the beginning of the season. We're cautiously optimistic."

Moreover, Rich Linden became the first freshman ever to start at quarterback for Harvard. He took over for junior Jay Snowden--who was nursing a shoulder injury suffered against Holy Cross--and never let go of the reins.

"We were much better at the end of the year offensively because we were better skilled at throwing," Murphy said. "Linden did as much as a freshman can do. And we'll have a veteran offensive line next year."

The weakest area of the team was the special teams. The placekicking and punting units might have cost the team some close games. In the three-point loss to Dartmouth, for instance, sophomore Ryan Korinke missed three field goals of 37, 39 and 44 yards, including one that hit off the upright.

"The kicking game was not a strength this year," Murphy said. "I think it will be as improved next year as any other area. We have big-skill kids coming back.

"But the specialists have to do a better job. I think it will be improved next year simply because we'll have some competition."

The season was a roller coaster, starting with the very first game at Columbia. Harvard jumped out to a 13-0 halftime lead but was intercepted four times in the second half. The Crimson went on to lose its first regular-season overtime game under the new Division I overtime rules, 20-13.

The team recovered by thrashing Bucknell 30-7 as the defense allowed an infinitesimal -4 yards rushing. Hu had 113 yards and two touchdowns.

But two home losses followed, and the offense sputtered both times. Lafayette beat the Crimson 17-7, then came the 20-13 heartbreaker to Cornell. In that game, Big Red tailback Chad Levitt tallied 139 yards and three touchdowns.

The team then won 28-25 at Holy Cross in Linden's first game as quarterback. He found Skelton for a 46-yard bomb into the wind that proved to be the game-winner.

Harvard whipped Princeton next, as Hu had 127 yards and safety Derek Yankoff returned an interception 63 yards for a touchdown. Even the Dartmouth loss was encouraging, since the Big Green carried a 14-game winning streak into the game.

But Brown came in to town next and handed Harvard a 31-7 thrashing as quarterback Jason McCullough threw three first-half touchdowns and passed for 255 yards on the day.

"That game really hurt because we had some momentum going," Kacyvenski said of the Brown game.

Harvard suffered another close defeat a week later, 17-12 at Penn. The Quakers had 15 more minutes of possession, and running back Jasen Scott torched the Crimson defense for 149 yards.

But all was forgiven as Harvard sent Yale's coach of 32 years, Carm Cozza, into retirement with a loss. Hu had a tremendous final game, and junior Jared Chupaila stepped up after Skelton's injury with eight catches for 100 yards.

Do Harvard's victories over Princeton and Yale signify a general turnaround for Crimson football? Possibly, simply because Harvard does most of its recruiting against those two schools.

Harvard has more talent than it has had in recent seasons. It is losing some great seniors, but the sign of a good program is that it doesn't rebuild, it reloads.

Next year the team needs to start winning close games. If it does, the rebuilding period may be over.