Tough Act To Follow

The Harvard football team begins its 2002 season pondering a perplexing riddle: How do you improve upon perfection?

The Crimson ripped apart the record books and the competition last year en route to an undefeated 9-0 record and an Ivy League Championship. The last time Harvard concluded a season undefeated and untied was 1913, when the Crimson won the National Championship.

Is a letdown inevitable? Not if Harvard’s two best offensive weapons in school history have their say. Fifth-year senior quarterback Neil Rose and senior wide receiver Carl Morris are back for one more run at the Ivy League title.

Rose has set 12 individual school records including marks for career passing yards (4,511) and career touchdown passes (33) in his two years as the leader of the Crimson offense. Named Harvard’s 129th captain, the Hawaiian native was able to gain eligibility this season after sitting out his sophomore year with a broken foot. Rose knows how to win and sees big things for this year’s offense.

“I’m so excited about our offense this year,” Rose said. “I am gaining confidence in our offensive line every day and our receiving core is just—I couldn’t ask for anything more. Carl Morris is a godsend. I can’t wait for the season to start.”

Morris may be the best offensive player in all of Division 1-AA this season and is quite possibly the most dominating offensive player to come through the Crimson system in the modern era. Not only has he set nearly every Harvard receiving record but NFL scouts have already expressed heavy interest in his stock. If Morris continues to progress, there is a strong possibility that he will be drafted higher than any other Harvard player in history. Isaiah Kacyvenski ’00, now the starting middle linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks, is currently the all-time highest Crimson draft pick (4th round, 119th overall).

“We have high expectations this year,” Morris said. “I have great teammates and I feel very comfortable with Neil in the pocket so I’m just going to try to do the same things I’ve always done.”

Ninth-year Head Coach Tim Murphy realizes his great fortune in having both superstars around for one more season.

“When you have a passing combination like Neil Rose to Carl Morris, I don’t think we can do better than those two guys at those two positions,” Murphy said. “That’ll certainly be the standard to recruit from and develop.”

Rose and Morris will have significant help putting points on the board. Senior tailback Nick Palazzo will once again lead the rushing attack. The 5’6 Palazzo has led the Crimson in rushing the last two seasons. Averaging a whopping 5.4 yards-per-carry, Palazzo is lightning quick and has helped Harvard rack up more rushing yards in 2000 and 2001 combined than other Ivy League school.

Junior Kyle Cremerosa returns after a year off to complement Morris at receiver. In 2000, Cremerosa was third on the squad with 32 receptions and is an All-Ivy candidate.

Sophomore Rodney Byrnes has caught Murphy’s eye as a possible speed receiver who could burn the opposition if Morris is double-teamed.

“When all is said and done, I think people are not going to have as easy a time doubling Carl Morris as they might want to because we have some other people you can get the ball to,” Murphy said. “Rodney scored 92 touchdowns in high school, played very well in the Yale game and is a very tough, athletic, competitive kid.”

Though senior Jamil Soriano is the only full-time starter returning from last year’s offensive line, Rose is confident that he will enough protection to get the ball to his vast offensive artillery.

“We lost a lot of players but the new guys we have are still experienced, as back-ups, and they’re big and strong—maybe bigger and stronger than last year,” Rose said. “They’ve got a world of potential.”

On the other side of the ball, junior linebacker Dante Balestracci is to the defense what Rose and Morris are to the offense. After winning the Ivy League Rookie of the Year award his freshman season, Balestracci continued to dominate league foes last season, earning himself unanimous All-Ivy First Team recognition.

Senior John Perry also returns alongside Balestracci as part of arguably the strongest linebacker corps in the league. The defensive line and secondary, though, will be almost completely revamped from last year due to the graduation of numerous All-Ivy contributors.

If Harvard is to win consecutive Ivy League championships, the team must survive one of the most difficult schedules in recent history.

Harvard’s three non-conference games will all be major challenges. The Crimson begins the year against Holy Cross, a team that last week defeated Division 1-A opponent Army 30-21. The Crusaders recently displaced Harvard as the 25th ranked team in the nation, according to the Sports’ Network Division 1-AA Poll.

Harvard also plays Northeastern, a scholarship Atlantic-10 school that defeated Division 1-A MAC member Ohio University 31-0. The Huskies are currently ranked No. 22 in the country.

Finally, the Crimson’s third non-conference opponent is Lehigh, currently No. 2 in the nation. The Crimson must travel to Pennsylvania to take on the Mountain Haws. Harvard has lost its last two games to Lehigh, falling 45-13 in 2000.

Last season, Harvard’s game against Holy Cross was cancelled due to the attacks of September 11th. Additionally, the Crimson played Lafayette in lieu of Lehigh. Harvard has outscored Lafayette 80-33 in its last two contests.

In the Ivy League, Brown and Princeton, as well as Penn and Dartmouth, are thought to be Harvard’s toughest competition this season by the coaching staff and media onlookers. Unfortunately, the Crimson must play all four teams on the road.

“Since we’ve been here, I can’t remember playing a tougher overall schedule, especially a tougher early season and road schedule,” Murphy said. “We’ve got a long road ahead of us but we know we certainly have some strengths.”