Dashed

With Harvard trailing 20-13 in a scoreless second half against Penn, 97 yards separated the Crimson offense from the tying touchdown. On first down from the 3-yard line, junior quarterback Liam O’Hagan dropped back to pass, only to trip and fall into the end zone, resulting in a safety.

The play was emblematic of Harvard’s general fortunes at Franklin Field Saturday, as the Crimson (7-2, 4-2 Ivy) fell to the Quakers (5-4, 3-3 Ivy) 22-13 in front of 7,819 fans in Philadelphia, PA.

The game opened on a high note for Harvard, as senior running back Clifton Dawson took his second carry 55 yards along the left sideline to break the Ivy League’s all-time rushing yards record held by Cornell’s Ed Marinaro since 1971.

“It’s great to break such a record,” Dawson said. “But to be honest with you, it’s something that I really won’t give any thought to until after next week.”

The run set up a five-yard touchdown toss from O’Hagan to sophomore tight end Jason Miller two plays later, putting the Crimson ahead 7-0 early in the first quarter.

From there, however, things quickly deteriorated for Harvard.

Penn responded with a 65-yard drive that was capped off by a 15-yard run by running back Joe Sandberg that tied the game at seven apiece.

The Quakers forced a quick three-and-out on the Crimson’s next possession, and took advantage by rumbling 62 yards in six plays, including another Sandberg touchdown run from 11 yards out, to take a 14-7 lead they would never relinquish with 1:14 remaining in the first quarter.

Sandberg finished the first frame with 56 yards and two touchdowns on just 8 carries against the Ivies’ best rush defense.

The ensuing kickoff brought more bad news for Harvard, as freshman running back Cheng Ho fumbled the return, which was recovered by Penn at the Crimson 22-yard line.

The Harvard defense stiffened, allowing just two yards, but a 38-yard field goal put the Quakers on top 17-7 just 1:30 into the second quarter.

The Crimson appeared poised to score on the next drive, reaching the Quakers’ 46-yard line, but an intended pass for senior wideout Corey Mazza was deflected into the hands of Quaker defensive back Patrick Kimmener and returned to the Harvard 40.

The defense held again, forcing Penn three-and-out, but the turnovers continued to mount. On the first play after the punt, O’Hagan and Dawson botched a handoff, creating a fumble that was recovered by the Quakers at the Crimson 19.

Penn was once again forced to settle for a field goal, putting Harvard behind 20-7 with 8:16 remaining in the first half.

The Crimson settled down somewhat over the remainder of the second quarter, tacking on a pair of field goals from junior kicker Matt Schindel despite another drive ended by a red zone interception, Harvard’s fourth turnover of the first half.

“To state the obvious, we made too many mistakes to win,” coach Tim Murphy said. “Specifically, four turnovers, [and] if you want to consider the safety a fifth turnover, is just too much against a good team.

The second half didn’t get much better for the Crimson. Harvard’s opening drive of moved the ball to the Penn 14, but a missed field goal meant the drive came up empty.

From there, it was a pure field position battle between the two teams. The Crimson’s defense shut down the Quaker offense, but Harvard was pinned inside its own five yard line three times in the second half.

“I wouldn’t use the word ‘demoralizing’ necessarily, but it was frustrating,” Murphy said.

“You don’t necessarily have the luxury of running your natural offense, you have to be able to punch it out,” he said.

One of those three deep punts led to O’Hagan’s unfortunate fal, which essentially salted away the Penn victory.

“We actually spent a lot of time on kicking the ball down deep,” Quakers coach Al Bagnoli said.

“This may be the best punting game we’ve had in terms of placement of the ball,” he added.

The field position and poor execution limited the Crimson to just 97 second half yards after racking up 248 in the first.

Harvard now needs to defeat Yale and hope for a Dartmouth victory over Princeton in order to gain any share of the Ivy title.

—Staff writer Brad Hinshelwood can be reached at bhinshel@fas.harvard.edu.