Football Rolls Past Lions, 45-33

NEW YORK, N.Y.—Continuing the impressive play it had demonstrated in the second half against Dartmouth last week, the Harvard football team dismantled Columbia, 45-33, in New York City on Saturday to keep its undefeated season alive.

With a 7-0 record, and a perfect 5-0 mark in Ivy League competition, the Crimson set up an Ivy title bout with Penn this Saturday at the Stadium.

Penn is also undefeated after beating Princeton 21-10 on Saturday.

“We’re going to enjoy this one,” Harvard Coach Tim Murphy said. “You only play 10 games a year [only nine this season], and I want our kids to enjoy this before we start thinking about Penn.”

In the first half, there was almost nothing for Harvard that wasn’t enjoyable. Senior quarterback Neil Rose returned from a neck and shoulder injury that had kept him out of the last five quarters of Harvard football. He displayed no rust, leading the Crimson to a score on its first possession when he threw a short pass on the run to junior wideout Carl Morris.

After evading a few Lions defenders, Morris high-stepped into the end zone for a 36-yard touchdown and tied the game at 7-7 early in the first quarter.

Harvard also scored on its next possession. A 13-play, 66-yard drive engineered by Rose and healthy senior tailback Josh Staph culminated in a one-yard touchdown pass from Rose to Morris, though it wasn’t the prettiest TD pass Rose has thrown.

“The ball was slightly behind me, and it kind of went through [Columbia free safety] Phil Murray’s hands,” Morris said. “And then it was kind of lucky.”

The Crimson defense, which had given up a touchdown early in the game to Light Blue QB Jeff McCall, stifled the Lions for the rest of the half.

Sophomore linebacker Dante Balestracci intercepted a tipped McCall pass at the end of the first quarter to give Harvard possession in Columbia territory.

After a few quick strikes from Rose to senior wide receiver Dan Farley, Staph plowed his way into the end zone from three yards for a 21-7 Crimson lead. It started a rout from which the Lions would never recover.

Things turned comically ugly for Columbia on the ensuing kickoff. Harvard sophomore kicker Robbie Wright’s kick was short, and Columbia’s Chris Carey buckled down to set a block for the Lions’ return man. Instead, the ball bounced off Carey’s helmet. Harvard junior Pat Lavin first grabbed the ball, which was eventually recovered by Crimson senior Eric LaHaie at the Columbia 29.

“I’ve never seen the ball hit off someone’s head in a long time,” said Light Blue Coach Ray Tellier.

Rose continued his winning ways, diving forward on a fourth down to save the Crimson’s possession before firing a bullet down the middle to freshman wideout Rodney Byrnes. Byrnes got down to the 2-yard line, and Staph ran in for another touchdown to put Harvard up 28-7.

Harvard got a bit of a scare on its next possession in the second quarter. Rose scrambled on a broken play and threw the ball away for an incompletion before being taken down by the Columbia defense. But didn’t get up.

In a scene eerily reminiscent of the play two weeks ago when Rose was hurt against Princeton, he remained down on the ground for a few minutes.

After walking to the sidelines on his own, Rose did not return to the game.

“He will be fine,” Murphy said after the game.

It turned out Rose had simply suffered a “stinger” and with the game mostly in hand, the decision was made not to play him anymore.

Rose finished with a nearly perfect day, completing 14-of-16 attempts for 156 yards and two touchdowns. His only incompletions were a dropped pass by tight end Matt Fratto and his final throw-away.

Since freshman quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was still suffering from an ankle injury, he came in for only one snap before third-stringer Garrett Schires took the ball.

Considering he was making his first-ever appearance in collegiate football, the freshman handled the duties adequately for Harvard to finish out the first half. The lefty even threw a touchdown pass to Byrnes to continue to blowout, 35-7.

The Crimson added the final points of the half when senior defensive end Marc Laborsky intercepted a McCall pass. Junior placekicker Anders Blewett, who hit the game-winning 30-yard field goal against Dartmouth last week, connected on a 36-yarder.

The 38 first-half points marked the Harvard record for the best start in its 128-year history.

It was simply a matter of holding on in the second half, and while Columbia managed to outscore the Crimson 26-7, the outcome was hardly in doubt.

Staph made way for junior tailback Nick Palazzo who was dominant in the second frame. Palazzo carried the ball 18 times for 132 yards. He reeled off several runs of over 20 yards, including the Crimson’s final touchdown, when he went around the left end for 32 yards.

Schires also had an admirable effort, finishing 9-of-11 for 76 yards.

More importantly, he never gave the ball away.

“If you can only find one reason we’re undefeated, well, there’s 124 teams in Division I-AA,” Murphy said, “but there’s only one that has the fewest turnovers—that’s us.”

For yet another game, Morris was a star, catching nine balls for 86 yards and two scores. Morris set the Harvard record for career receiving yardage (1991 yards) and career touchdown receptions with 16.

On the season, Morris has 57 catches and eight touchdowns.

Even the defense, which loosened up a bit in the second half, seems strong going into the Penn matchup. It limited Lions running back John Reese to 85 yards, and senior cornerback Willie Alford also added an interception in the second half.

Harvard’s effort was all the more impressive considering the distractions of the week.

In addition to the question of who would start at quarterback, news surfaced midweek that senior Columbia defensive end Matt Stary would be ruled ineligible because he was not holding the minimum number of credits required for graduation.

And of course, there was the scenario of traveling to New York City.

“A lot of guys have never been [to NYC],” said Laborsky, who hails from northern New Jersey. “On a personal note, it’s a weird feeling to come across the bridge and not see the New York skyline you’re used to.”

With the ultimate showdown coming in five days against Penn, Murphy is focusing on the positives that have gotten his squad where they are today.

“This is one of the most enjoyable years I’ve ever had,” he said. “Maybe not in terms of all the nerve-wracking, but in terms of seeing our players respond to adversity.”

Or, as Morris said, “Every game’s been a championship game so far.”

This Saturday at the Stadium will count a little more.