Football Notebook: Punters Left Out In Cold By Elements

To say that special teams were a factor in Harvard’s 20-13 win over Yale Saturday would be accurate. To call them a disaster would be even more appropriate.

Coaches on both sidelines were left shaking their heads throughout the game, as the swirling wind and bitter cold made special teams an adventure.

“The kicking game today was tough, shaky and unpredictable for both sides,” said Harvard coach Tim Murphy.

The Crimson’s punting game was plagued by low snaps all day, disrupting the rhythm of junior punter Adam Kingston. So much so, in fact, that one snap that hit him square in the midsection caused him the most trouble.

With Harvard punting from its own 41 late in the first quarter, Kingston muffed the snap and faced a fierce Yale rush by the time he retrieved it. Facing disaster at his own 30, he made haste to the right sideline and somehow managed to get off a running punt—a ground ball of sorts—that top-spinned all the way to Yale’s 41.

Kingston’s ability to get the ball at least that far downfield was critical, and the Crimson defense held the Elis to a three-and-out on the next possession to negate the miscue.

“That was not exactly as planned,” Murphy said, “but that was nice improvisation by Adam Kingston.”

Unfortunately for Yale coach Jack Siedlecki, his team didn’t emerge as well from a similar situation in the third quarter.

After Harvard forced the Bulldogs to punt on their first possession of the second half after just one series, Yale punter Ryan Allen mishandled the snap at his own 29-yard line and was taken down by Crimson sophomore Sean Tracy.

The mistake proved fatal. Six plays later, Harvard scored its first touchdown of the day, and Anders Blewett’s point-after gave the Crimson a 7-6 lead it did not relinquish.

“I think he bobbled it,” Siedlecki said. “It didn’t look like a bad snap. He just must have felt that he couldn’t get it off.”

Kingston came up with the biggest special teams play of the game with under three minutes to go, when—standing inside his own 30—he launched a gorgeous spiral all the way to the Yale 15. And though Ralph Plumb’s return brought Yale out to the 27, the Crimson defense held them to a three-and-out.

“That was a nice punt down the stretch when we really needed it,” Murphy said.

Grabbed By The Collar

Yale entered The Game as the Ivy League’s top rushing team, and it showed early—though not effectively enough.

The Bulldogs, who were averaging 173.6 rushing yards per game before Saturday, began the contest with six consecutive handoffs—all to sophomore standout Robert Carr—before throwing on the first play of their second drive.

Of Yale’s 11 first-quarter plays, nine were runs. The other two were incomplete passes, as the Bulldogs had a tough time getting any offensive rhythm going early.

Yale didn’t cross midfield until early in second quarter, when a 23-yard run by Carr brought the Bulldogs right to the 50.

Yale was able to get some momentum from there and quarterback Jeff Mroz found Lawrie for two key pass plays to put the Bulldogs in position for their first score of the day.

But Yale’s inability to establish a running game in the later stages of the contest was its downfall. During the third quarter—when Harvard scored 20 points to take control—the Bulldogs netted minus-9 rushing yards.

“They ran the ball as well as anyone in the league, and our defense did a great job,” Murphy said. “We made them do what they weren’t happy doing, which was throwing the football.”

‘Plan B’

The Crimson running game, meanwhile, mirrored that of the Elis in the first quarter. Nine of Harvard’s first 10 plays were runs, but at the end of the quarter, the Crimson had gained just 38 yards on the ground.

Things got going slowly and senior tailback Nick Palazzo and sophomore quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick combined for 150 yards and three touchdowns on the ground by game’s end.

Palazzo was the workhorse, carrying the ball 26 times for 95 yards and a touchdown in his final game at Harvard.

“Some games, your role might be pass-blocking, but when it’s crappy weather, you’re going to be between the tackles,” Palazzo said.

“Because of the elements, we had to go to ‘Plan B,’” Murphy added. “We had to put it in the offensive line’s hands. They did a great job physically. Nick Palazzo was huge, and [the Elis] realized that they had to stop our running game with Ryan back there.”

Rosy homecoming

Harvard senior captain and Miliani, Hawaii, native Neil Rose will play in his home state for the first time since high school during the Hula Bowl on Feb. 1.

Morris, who will play in the East-West Shrine Game at Pacific Bell Park on Jan. 11, has also been invited to play in the Hula Bowl.

The Hula Bowl, held at War Memorial Stadium in Kahului, Hawaii, annually attracts some of the nation’s top seniors.

—Staff writer Jon Paul Morosi can be reached at morosi@fas.harvard.edu