Defense Takes Advantage of Huskies' Miscues

A quick look over the stats from Saturday’s football game suggests that Northeastern was very capable of beating the Crimson. And at certain points during the game, especially during the third quarter, it was painfully apparent that the Huskies were doing just that.

Northeastern totaled nearly 80 more yards of offense on the day and outgained Harvard 287 yards to 141 yards on the ground. But when the final gun sounded, the Crimson came away with a 35-20 victory.

Northeastern Coach Don Brown gave a very concise explanation of this disparity after the game.

“We gave the game away,” he said.

The Huskies, a team that has been haunted by turnovers and other mistakes all season, made a season’s worth of miscues, and the Crimson took advantage every time.

The list of Northeastern mistakes included three turnovers, at least two dropped interceptions, countless dropped passes, a missed extra point, and a botched punt.

Harvard’s first drive of the game was a microcosm of the entire day for the Huskies.

An offsides penalty that wiped out a significant loss of yardage after a botched Harvard reverse, a personal foul that negated a sack, and a 28-yard run by Crimson sophomore tight end Matt Fratto on a fake punt moved the Harvard offense into Husky territory.

Two plays later, senior quarterback Neil Rose found senior wide receiver Dan Farley for a touchdown.

Discounting the fake punt, the touchdown pass was the only successful offensive play for the Crimson on the drive. But Harvard was up 7-0, a lead that would stand up for the rest of the game.

He Could GoAll the Way

The Harvard defense turned two Northeastern miscues directly into 14 points, thanks to fumble returns for touchdowns by junior linebacker John Perry and sophomore defensive lineman Brendan McCafferty.

Perry’s 85-yard return for a score was Harvard’s first since the 1980 season.

It appeared that Northeastern was poised to pull within 21-14 as the Huskies drove to the Crimson 12 with seconds remaining in the half.

But, as Husky quarterback Logan Galli dropped back to pass, Crimson safety senior Andy Fried came unblocked and drilled him, jarring the ball loose. Perry picked it up at the 15 and went the distance untouched to put the Crimson up 28-7 and shift momentum going into the half.

“I had some great blocking,” Perry said after the game. “I haven’t run that far since high school.”

As much as it appeared that Perry’s touchdown had been a nail in the Huskies’ coffin, McCafferty’s score ended up being the final blow.

Northeastern senior running back L.J. McKanas dominated the third quarter with 112 yards rushing in that stanza alone, and the Huskies had possession with three minutes left in the quarter, trailing only 28-20.

But Fried came free on another pass play and crushed Galli, forcing his second fumble. This time, McCafferty took advantage and returned the fumble 19 yards to give Harvard a 35-20 advantage and crush the Huskies hopes of a comeback.

After the game, Fried credited his two forced fumbles to the overall defensive gameplan.

“It was a good scheme that allowed me to get into the backfield,” he said. “I didn’t make any special plays.”

Extra Special Teams

Special teams play was a key factor in the Crimson victory as Harvard’s first two scores occurred as a result of plays made by the special teams.

The fake punt run by Fratto took advantage of an overzealous Northeastern punt rush to put the Crimson in position for Farley’s touchdown catch.

On the ensuing Husky drive, a punt snap that sailed high over the head of Husky punter Tyler Grogan resulted in a kick that ended up 22 yards behind scrimmage and gave the Harvard offense possession at the Northeastern 15.

Four plays later, Rose snuck into the end zone from one yard out to give the Crimson a 14-0 lead just under seven minutes into the game.

Trench Wars

For the first time this year, the Harvard offensive and defensive lines met their matches in the battle at scrimmage.

After outrushing Brown and Lafayette by a combined margin of 439 yards to 214 yards in the first two games of the season, the Crimson managed only 141 yards rushing compared to Northeastern’s 287.

Northeastern’s L.J. McKanas finished an outstanding performance with 44 carries and 220 yards against the Harvard defense, just five yards shy of his career high.

Husky senior fullback Sean Connor also had a good day on the ground, averaging nearly 11 yards per carry with a touchdown.

For the Crimson offense, the running attack was shut down for most of the game. Through three quarters, Harvard had managed only 69 yards rushing, and Matt Fratto was the leading Crimson rusher with 28 yards on a fake punt.

Junior tailback Nick Palazzo, still filling in for the injured Josh Staph, ended up with 62 yards on 15 carries, with 41 of those yards coming on the Crimson’s final possession.