Special Teams a Major Factor in Last-Minute Loss

Trailing 13-3, Harvard’s defense had finally registered a stop of the Lehigh offense after allowing a pair of field goals. Backed up on their own 20, the Mountain Hawks looked to be giving the Crimson solid field position for a drive to get back in the game. Instead, junior kicker/punter Jason Leo boomed a 66-yard punt that benefited from a generous roll and pinned Harvard inside its own 20 at the 14-yard line.

It was that sort of afternoon for the Crimson, which suffered from lacksadaisical special teams play and excellent work from Leo, the Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Year last season. Leo, employing a rollout, rugby-style punting method, punted eight times for a 44.1-yard average, pinning Harvard inside its own 20 six times.

“Coming in, we knew it was going to be a field-position battle,” Leo said. “[The coaches] were preaching it all week and saying special teams was going to play a huge part. We really buckled down on special teams this week and made sure everything was where it needed to be.”

Leo’s only poor effort of the day, a 25-yard punt that gave the Crimson possession on the Lehigh 36-yard line, led to a field goal just before halftime that left Harvard down 13-6 at the break.

Lehigh, meanwhile, repeatedly couldn’t capitalize on great field position. After scoring a touchdown on their first punt return, a 54-yard run by Brannan Thomas, the Mountain Hawks were stymied, despite starting two of their first three drives on their own 49-yard line. One of those drives was converted into a field goal, while the other, Lehigh’s first, was fruitless despite being set up by a 45-yard kickoff return by John Kennedy to open the game. The Crimson used a 30-yard kick return by senior cornerback Steven Williams and pair of good drives to regain some equilibrium in first-half field position.

“We knew they had outstanding special teams in general, and we knew they had really excellent return teams,” said Harvard head coach Tim Murphy said. “Obviously the first quarter was a real mismatch in field position based on the two 50-yard returns, but I thought we recovered adequately.”

The second half, however, was a remarkably different story. Harvard didn’t start any of its nine possessions beyond its own 25-yard line, started inside the 20 five times, and started inside the 10 three times. The Mountain Hawks, meanwhile, started just one drive inside their own 20 and even began one drive in Crimson territory at the 43-yard line. Four of Lehigh’s eight drives began at its 32 or better, giving it a decisive advantage.

Leo, arguably the star of the day for the Mountain Hawks, clearly outplayed his Harvard counterparts. Senior Matt Schindel handled most of the punting duties, punting seven times for a 37.1-yard average and pinning Lehigh inside the 20 just twice, while sophomore Thomas Hull’s one punt traveled 30 yards and was downed at the 11. Leo was 2-for-3 on field goal attempts, while Crimson sophomore Patrick Long was 2-for-4, bringing his season mark to 3-for-7. Long’s final miss, and the last special teams miscue of the day for Harvard, came on a blocked field goal with just 1:42 left that would have given the Crimson a 16-13 advantage.

“It was a very sound operation,” Murphy said of the low kick, which was easily blocked. “We have to re-evaluate whether we’re a four-down territory team.”

Harvard’s return game suffered as well in comparison to its Patriot League opponent. Leo did not permit a single punt return over the course of the afternoon, while Williams averaged just 18.75 yards per kickoff return compared to Lehigh’s 26.3 per return.

In the end, the Crimson’s miscues and Lehigh’s overwhelming field-position advantage combined to make the difference.

“Obviously everybody in here knows that it wasn’t pretty for us offensively today,” said Mountain Hawks head coach Andy Coen. “Special teams were huge; a blocked field goal, obviously a punt return for a touchdown. My hat goes off to the kids for just hanging in there and never giving up.”

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