Football Tries To Remain Perfect

The Harvard football team (2-0, 1-0 Ivy) looks to start the season with three straight wins—which it hasn’t done since 1987—Saturday when the Crimson takes on crosstown foe Northeastern (1-2, 1-2 Atlantic 10) in a non-league matchup at Harvard Stadium.

This will be only the fifth overall meeting between Harvard and Northeastern and the first in 11 years. Harvard has won all four meetings with the Huskies—all of which have been played in Harvard Stadium—including a 26-0 victory in 1990.

This weekend’s game is the Crimson’s final non-conference tuneup before the start of the Ivy stretch run, and several key players will take the opportunity to recover from nagging injuries.

Senior tailback Josh Staph, sophomore linebacker Dante Balestracci, and senior defensive end Phil Scherrer, all of whom missed last weekend’s game with Lafayette will sit out against the Huskies. Senior center Jason Hove, who injured his knee last week, will also be sidelined.

Northeastern’s 1-2 record is misleading, as the Huskies played their first two games on the road against nationally-ranked I-AA powerhouses, No. 9 Hofstra and No. 13 Villanova. Last week Northeastern posted an impressive 20-7 win over traditional Atlantic 10 power Delaware.

Ball security, a much-uttered phrase around the Harvard locker room this season, has been a major problem for the Huskies’ offense this year. In three games, Northeastern has fumbled nine times, losing five of them, and has been intercepted on four occasions.

The offensive standout for the Huskies is senior running back L.J. McKanas, who, despite missing most of the Villanova game with an ankle injury, is averaging 5.1 yards per carry and has scored four of the Huskies eight touchdowns on the season. McKanas returned from his injury to pick up 161 yards and two touchdowns on the ground against Delaware last Saturday.

“Northeastern’s running game will challenge us as much or more than any team on our schedule,” said Harvard Coach Tim Murphy.

Northeastern’s passing offense has been inconsistent at best this season, which could be a welcome relief for a Harvard secondary that has struggled thus far. The Crimson passing defense has been torched for over 300 yards per game this season.

Senior Adam Browne began the season as the starting quarterback, but was replaced by fellow senior Logan Galli in the middle of a dreadful performance against Villanova two weeks ago. Galli started against Delaware and went 14-for-29 for 111 yards and two interceptions. Overall, Husky quarterbacks are completing just 41 percent of their passes for 153 yards per game, and have thrown only two touchdowns.

The leading receiver for the Huskies is 6’3 senior Kito Delgado, who has 18 receptions for 241 yards and two touchdowns on the season.

For the Crimson, the offensive line, which has controlled the line of scrimmage to the tune of 242 rushing yards per game and only one sack of quarterback Neil Rose, will likely face its toughest test of the season thus far.

After a rocky start to the season, the Northeastern defense was dominant against Delaware. The Huskies allowed only 56 total yards to the Blue Hens and zero net rushing yards on 42 carries. The defense also picked up six sacks and forced five turnovers.

Coach Murphy believes a balanced offensive attack is the key to beating the Husky defense.

“Northeastern has tremendous athleticism and team speed on defense, which is the strength of their team,” he said. “To beat Northeastern, we must be able to present a balanced attack.”

Junior tailback Nick Palazzo, who stepped in for Staph and picked up 98 yards last week against Lafayette, will spearhead the vital Crimson ground attack.

Seniors quarterback Neil Rose and wide receiver Carl Morris look to continue their impressive performances this season. Last week, Rose surpassed 3,000 passing yards for his career, and Morris became just the second junior in team history to catch 100 passes in a career.

So far on the season, Rose has thrown for 483 yards and three touchdowns, and he picked up two rushing touchdowns last week against Lafayette. Morris ranks third in the nation with 8.5 catches per game and tenth in receiving yardage at 112 yards per game.

Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 pm Saturday at Harvard Stadium.