Football Flirts With Ivy Title, But Falls Short

Exactly how close did Harvard come to winning its second Ivy title in four seasons? Closer than some may remember, but ultimately too close to soon forget.

Two points stood between the Crimson (5-5, 4-3 Ivy) and a share of the 2000 Ivy Championship. Two last-second field goal attempts, if converted, would have made all the difference between a mundane 4-3 league record and a sterling 6-1 mark. And a mere twelve-point swing would have secured Harvard its second undefeated Ivy season in the 128-year history of the program.

"We had a legit shot to win the championship and if we had managed to kick game-winning field goals in the final seconds of Cornell and Penn we would have had championship rings," said Head Coach Tim Murphy. "We didn't lose those games because of missed [field goals], but they would have salvaged victories for us."

Although special teams was certainly an area of concern and widely derided for its inability to perform in the clutch, the two one-point losses to Cornell and Penn should not be solely attributed to the placekickers.

After a dominant 28-0 lead at halftime against Cornell, the Crimson inexplicably allowed 29 unanswered Big Red points and could only watch helplessly as Cornell senior wideout Joe Splendorio blocked the game-winning field goal attempt as the clock expired.

"We became very complacent in the second half and assumed that Cornell would roll over for us," said sophomore wide receiver Carl Morris. "But as we learned the hard way, you must fight for 60 minutes and never assume a team is done."

Despite the heartbreaking loss to Cornell, the Crimson remained flawless in its next three Ivy games. The Crimson turned in a gritty performance on the road to beat Princeton 35-21 in late October, and followed up with dominating 49-7 and 34-0 wins against Dartmouth and Columbia, respectively.

Heading into the Penn game, the Crimson controlled its destiny. Two more wins would secure at least a share of the Ivy title. It was the most important game of Harvard's season and the Crimson came out fighting like champions. But fate had other designs and the Crimson endured another painful loss.

Ahead 35-30 against Penn with three minutes left in the fourth quarter, Harvard's defense could not contain Gavin Hoffman, the Quakers' talented signal-caller. Hoffman hit wideout Rob Milanese with a little over a minute left in the game to put Penn ahead. Crimson quarterback Neil Rose marched the team down the field but the drive--and essentially, the team's hopes for an Ivy title--stalled at the 16-yard line.

Insult was added to injury the following week as Yale also came from behind in the fourth quarter to win the 117th playing of The Game, 34-24. Turnovers killed the Crimson, as the Elis capitalized on three interceptions and two fumbles in the final quarter to pull out a victory in The Game for the third straight year.

The utter dejection and disappointment visible on the faces of the Harvard players that day spoke volumes. Certainly, any time a team loses close games, it feels bitterly disappointed. However, this wasn't just any team. The 2000 edition of the Crimson football team broke countless records, had the most potent Harvard offense in over a century, and showed resiliency and promise on the defensive end. It was this great potential for success that made the losing so tough to swallow.

Looking to next year, however, Harvard can't help but feel encouraged. Although the anchor of the offensive line, Mike Clare, is graduating, all of the significant position players will return with one more year's experience under their belts.

Perhaps the brightest spot on the team is rising sophomore Dante Balestracci. The 6'2 middle linebacker had one of the most outstanding rookie seasons in Harvard history. Balestracci led the team in tackles, interceptions, and forced fumbles and stepped in admirably for another Harvard linebacking great, Isaiah Kacyvenski '00.

Balestracci will lead an improved defense next year that should compliment Rose and his air arsenal of Morris, Sam Taylor, and Dan Farley as well as the ground assault of Nick Palazzo and Matt Leiszler. Judging from spring practice, the kicking game has improved and special teams will be less of a liability next year than it was this year.

But, in the end, will people remember the countless records of the prolific offense? Will anyone recall that the defense shutout a team (Columbia) for the first time in four years and was led by the first First-Team All-Ivy freshman in the history of the league?

Perhaps those memories will fade with time, enshrined in record books and on the pages of this publication but eventually forgotten by those who witnessed it all. But, no matter how much time passes, the memory of the unrealized potential and unenviable destiny of this team will linger in some form that is best described by a sad statistic.

The 2000 Harvard football team was two points away from the Ivy Championship and twelve points from perfection. You can't get much closer than that.