Crimson Marches On Without Rose

Two months ago the Harvard football team probably pegged this tomorrow’s showdown in the Stadium with Dartmouth as a break from tough competition.

After challenging games against two of last year’s better teams—Princeton and Cornell—the Crimson (5-0, 3-0 Ivy) would have been looking for a little rest and fine-tuning against perennial push-over Dartmouth (1-4, 1-2 Ivy).

All that complacency disappeared in the blink of an eye last Saturday at the Stadium. Down 14-10 to Princeton, Harvard was pinned in its own territory when senior quarterback Neil Rose was drilled attempting to complete a pass to senior wide out Dan Farley. Rose lay motionless on the ground for a moment as the crowd held its collective breath.

Rose was pulled for a series after the crushing hit and would left the game permanently in the third quarter after further hurting himself on a touchdown run.

With Rose out of commission, Harvard is now being forced to see the Big Green as more of a challenge. Rose had not taken any snaps in practice before yesterday and for that matter, didn’t even dress.

As Harvard looks down its bench at the quarterback position, not many people remain. Three back-up quarterbacks have left the team in the last 12 months. Conor Black departed before the Brown game, J.C. Harrington left the team before the season began and Barry Wahlberg left after deciding after last season to concentrate exclusively on baseball.

These departures have shifted pressure squarely onto the shoulders of freshman quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick, from Highland High School in Gilbert, Ariz., has had big game experience as a high school quarterback. His high school team made the state playoffs every year from 1998 to 2000. Fitzpatrick set 12 school records and one state record en route to earning Arizona High School All-Star honors.

“Fitz is a great athlete,” said sophomore tight end Matt Fratto. “As one could see last week, he came in for most of the second half and did a great job.”

Fitzpatrick was 5-of-6 for 61 yards passing with a touchdown and rushed for an additional 33 yards.

“We have confidence he’ll do a fine job,” Fratto said.

Fratto, who has 73 total yards and a score to his name, is just one of many Harvard receivers who could have a huge game against a Dartmouth defense that ranks second to last in the Ivy League. The Big Green has given up over 230 yards passing in each of its last two games.

Despite a different quarterback, the Harvard receiving corps, led by junior standout Carl Morris, has the potential to put up some very big numbers against a Dartmouth secondary that was embarrassed by Columbia last week.

Along with Morris, seniors Sam Taylor and Farley have both played huge roles in the 2001 campaign. With junior Sean Meeker adding depth, Harvard potentially has the best group of hands in the league. And the ability of Harvard’s receivers to create plays will make the transition for a freshman quarterback much easier.

Unfortunately for the Crimson, the running game is hurting. Senior Josh Staph is not likely to play after reaggravating his ankle injury, first suffered in the season opener against Brown.

Junior tailback Nick Palazzo, who missed the last game with a hamstring injury, is uncertain as to whether or not he will see action tomorrow.

With its two leading running backs possibly on the sideline, the bulk of the Crimson carries will likely fall into the hands of senior tailback Rodney Thomas.

Thomas is spending his first year in the offensive backfield after moving from the defensive safety position during spring practices. Thomas has racked up 177 yards on 50 carries this year for the Crimson.

With the running game and quarterback situation not optimal, the defense will need to step up the intensity.

“I think it does put a little bit more pressure on the defense,” said sophomore linebacker Dante Balestracci. “The offense may not be clicking on all cylinders right off the bat and we are going to have to play a very good game to keep Dartmouth under wraps.”

Luckily for Harvard, its opponent this weekend is not among the elite of the Ivy League.

Despite its record, Dartmouth has shown signs of brilliance at times this season. The Big Green started the year on a tear, losing to reigning Ivy Champion Penn (5-0, 3-0) by one point, after a PAT was blocked with just over a minute to go. Then, one week later, Dartmouth came through in the spoiler role by upending Yale, 32-27.

Big Green senior quarterback Greg Smith was third in Division I-AA for passing yardage, averaging 346 yards a game. Unfortunately for Dartmouth, Smith broke a finger on his throwing hand against Holy Cross. Freshman quarterback Evan Love has taken over in Smith’s absence.

Dartmouth lost to Holy Cross 49-17 that afternoon and then lost to traditional Ivy basement dweller Columbia, 27-20, last week.

Since Smith’s injury, Dartmouth has been led by running back Michael Gratch. Gratch is currently fourth in the Ivy League in yards per game, averaging 89 yards a contest.

“Gratch is an excellent player,” Balestracci said. “He is having a great year.”

One of the keys to the Harvard game plan will be shutting down Gratch, similar to the way the Crimson attempted to shut down Cam Atkinson of Princeton.

“[Gratch] runs the ball real hard,” Balestracci said. “Kind of similar to Atkinson.”

Gratch has rushed for over 100 yards in each of the Big Green’s last two games.

The passing game, engineered by Love, has yet to work out its kinks. Last week against Columbia, Love managed just 104 yards passing while throwing two interceptions.

Love’s favorite targets are running back Gratch and wide receiver Dan Anderson. Both Gratch and Anderson had three completions last week for a combined 54 yards.

“I think every week we basically go into the game doing the same things,” Balestracci said. “Our biggest goal is trying to shut down the run, we have to be physical and try to do that, hopefully it’ll carry over to our passing game and we can will have a good defensive effort on the whole.”

Kickoff for tomorrow’s game is slated for 1 p.m. at the Stadium.