LIVE BLOG: HARVARD AT PENN (11/15)

FINAL—HARVARD 24, PENN 21

0:00: Pizzotti kneels and that's the game. Wow that was exciting. Thanks for tuning in. Shout out to Loren Amor, who was on the mark with his pick in this week's Around the Ivies.

0:10: I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT I JUST SAW!! Ryan Barnes intercepts Garton's pass into the end zone. That's his third on the day and that's the game.

0:18: Garton hits Derham for 17 yards, then spikes the ball to stop the clock at 16 seconds.

0:26: Garton spikes the ball to stop the clock. From here, a field goal would be 46 yards.

0:29: Garton gets the first down, but time is draining.

0:52: QB draw by Garton brings up a 4th and two play.

1:02: Great play by Ryan Barnes to disrupt what looked like a big pass from Garton.

1:27: Garton hits a wide-open Kyle Derham for 21 yards and the first.

1:35: Garton completes a four-yard pass. Brings up 4th and six. This is make or break.

1:42: Another deep pass, this time for Blackmon is incomplete.

1:47: Deep pass intended for Fisher gets broken up by Conor Murphy.

1:58: Garton runs it again and gets the first.

2:42: Kiefer Garton is just running up and down on the Crimson D. 3rd and one, at the Penn 34.

3:23: Wynn signals fair catch at his own 35. Harvard's defense will have to come up with some big plays if it wants to play for a share of the title next week.

3:29: Pizzotti passes to Chrissis gets five yards. A quick three and out and Penn will get the ball with plenty of time left. This looks bad. To provide some historical scope here, Harvard is just 1-12 in its last thirteen contests here at Franklin Field (dating back to 1982). History is not on Harvard's side.

3:40: Pizzotti again holds on to the ball, lobbing a pass off, incomplete, before being dragged down.

4:18: Pizzotti holds on to the ball and is sacked for a loss of 5. That looked ugly.

4:31: Short kick returned by Adam Chrissis to the Harvard 36.

4:36: Garton just made that look easy, basically walking 13-yards through the d-line into the end zone for a touchdown. The extra point is good. 6 plays for 54 yards, 1:32 time of possession. HARVARD 24, PENN 21

4:43: Matt Hanson knocks a Garton pass up in the air and two Harvard defenders fail to pull down the interception.

5:04: Garton hits Fisher at the 13-yard line. There is still a lot of time on the clock.

5:13: Matt Hanson just got flagged for pass interference and as much as Zych's probably was, Hanson's definitely was not. Terrible call.

5:30: Penn's chipping away, just got first down a the Harvard 41.

6:03: Looked like Zych just got away with pass interference, draws the boo-birds from the hometown crowd.

6:08: Hull's punt is returned to the Penn 46.

6:20: Harvard brings up 4th and 10. Not sure if eating the clock was necessarily a good call for the Harvard offense. There's still a lot of game to play.

6:27: Pizzotti fakes hand off to Jenkins, fools nobody and gets sacked for a loss of one yard. Also the clouds are rolling in, keeping my fingers crossed that the weather holds up.

7:26: A very ugly kick from 23-yards out is no good. Harvard holds on to the 24-14 lead.

7:31: Another pass to Derham gets broken up perfectly by Conor Murphy. Penn will be forced to kick a field goal.

7:36: Pass to Derham in the end zone, the crowd goes wild but the ref waves it off as incomplete.

8:04: Option play, Garton pitches it to DiMaggio, who gets tackled for a loss of two.

8:39: 15-yard pass to Marcus Lawrence is complete, though Lawrence just got decked by Barnes.

9:05: Garton is picking away at the defense, just completing a 16-yard pass to Fisher. Penn is down to the Harvard 19.

10:25: Garton gets the pass off to Bradford Blackmon, who gets to the 50, but a roughing the passer penalty gives Penn 15 more yards.

11:38: On the kick off, J.B. Monu breaks free from his blocker to lay a great tackle on Wynn. The Quakers will start their drive from the Pen15.

11:43: Pizzotti hits Nikolai Schwartzkopf for the two-yard touchdown pass. Long's extra point is good. 5 plays for 67 yards, 1:50 time of possession. HARVARD 24, PENN 14

11:55: Pizzotti follows it quickly with a pass to Chrissis for 11 yards, down to the two.

12:27: Matt Luft is an absolute champ, bringing down the 42 bomb from Pizzotti. The first down is marked at the Penn 13.

12:51: Hand off to Ben Jenkins for seven yards and first down.

13:18: Pizzotti scrambles for five yards.

13:33: Kick off returned by Adam Chrissis to the Crimson 33.

13:39: That was some of the worst defense I've ever seen. Garton maneuvers through the line for a 63-yard touchdown run. According to the SID here, that was the longest play of the year for Penn. Extra point is good. 2 plays for 63 yards, 0:18 time of possession. This game is close. HARVARD 17, PENN 14

13:52: Pass to Marcus Lawrence is out of bounds. Brings up 2nd and 10.

13:57: Thomas Hull kicks a low punt that is returned by Chris Wynn to the Penn 38.

14:08: A pass to Richards comes just short of a first down. Meanwhile, the Toast Zamboni has come out on the track to clean up the toast. According to fellow staff writer Brad Hinshelwood, it's a product of someone's senior thesis. According to me, that's quite possibly the craziest thing I've ever heard of, but if you can get class credit for something like that, it may also be the most brilliant thing I've ever heard of.

14:40: Harvard starts out the quarter with a hand off to Ben Jenkins for no gain.

FOURTH QUARTER

0:00: Also, I should mention that the sky has cleared up and according to weather.com, it's a balmy 71 degrees. Not at all what I expected, but I'm still knocking on wood.

0:00: End of the quarter brings on the "Toast to Dear Old Penn" as Quaker fans are actually throwing pieces of bread at the Quaker mascot while the band plays the alma mater. There are some weird traditions out there and there is now a lot of bread on the track that someone's going to have to clean up.

0:23: Pass from Pizzotti to Levi Richards for 5 yards.

0:38: A short kick is returned by Adam Chrissis to the Harvard 31.

0:43: Hand off to DiMaggio for a 1-yard touchdown run. Andrew Samson's extra point is good. 12 plays for 74 yards, 6:05 time of possession. HARVARD 17, PENN 7

1:08: Garton runs right and comes just short of a touchdown. Brings up 3rd and 1.

2:17: A lateral play is good for 29 yards and takes Penn down to the Harvard 10-yard line.

3:23: The Jumbotron here just showed a graphic with the helmets of Brown, Penn, and Harvard, with Penn's helmet in the lead, running down a football field under a headline that read "Race for the Ivy Title." Somehow, I feel like that's not right.

4:23: Garton connects with Tyler Fisher for a 22-yard pass. Penn's at the Harvard 37.

4:37: A high pass from Garton to Kyle Derham is almost caught by Barnes. That would have been his third of the day.

5:40: Garton gets a pass off from what looks like a yard past the line of scrimmage. The guy cites last week's NY Giants game, apparently if you have any part of your body behind the line, then it's ok. Sounds like a stupid rule to me.

5:56: Garton's pass intended for Ryan Murray bounces right off the tight end's hands. Even from the press box, I can see Garton's disappointment.

6:23: Michael DiMaggio gains three on a hand off.

6:48: Penn's Chris Wynn on the kickoff returns it to the Quaker 26.

7:02: After some short gains, Harvard has to settle on a field goal. Long is brought out for the 20-yard field goal attempt. It's good. 6 plays for 20 yards, 2:57 time of possession. HARVARD 17, PENN 0

9:00: Pizzotti connects to Matt Luft for just the second time all day, gets 15 yards and a first down.

9:21: Pizzotti can't find a receiver to throw to and gets sacked for a loss of four.

9:52: Garton throws into triple-coverage and Ryan Barnes gets his second pick of the day, taking it back to the Penn 24.

10:04: Harvard has to punt it off. Penn will start the drive at its own 30.

10:46: Nothing doing with the Crimson offense, but I've just been told that NESN is showing a special on Ivy League football. So if you're near a TV with NESN, check out that, but stay with us here at the Live Blog, too.

10:56: We've got a TV timeout so I'll take this time to update our readers on other Ivy football scores. Yale's beating up on Princeton 14-0 (The Game is going to be a good one). Brown's destroying Dartmouth, 31-10 (big surprise, I know). Cornell and Columbia are tied in the waning minutes of the first half at 7.

10:56: Decent punt return by Andrew Berry, takes the ball down to the Harvard 37.

11:34: Screen pass to DiMaggio, Collin Zych meets him immediately, taking his feet out from underneath him for a loss of two yards.

13:45: Penn is moving the ball upfield quickly. But penalties are killing them. A false start call makes it 2nd and nine from their own 39.

14:38: Long's kick off comes just short of splitting the uprights. Penn starts at the 20.

14:38: After two plays with nothing doing, Gino Gordon gets the hand off, finds a hole and breaks free for a 63-yard touchdown run. Personal foul on Penn, yardage will be assessed on the kick off. Long's kick is good. 2 plays for 63 yards, 0:17 time of possession. HARVARD 14, PENN 0

14:49: Harvard starts the opening drive of the half at its own 37.

THIRD QUARTER

END OF FIRST HALF

0:00: That completes the first half. Also the weather has cleared up a little bit (knock on wood). With an open press box, I'm praying that a rain cloud doesn't move in cause it will make for sloppy football and non-existent live blogging.

0:44: Jenkins runs for a first down, so the Crimson won't likely have to punt before the half expires.

1:21: Ben Jenkins lined up in the back, gets the hand off. It looks like Harvard's just going to waste the clock.

1:34: On the punt return, Berry gets dragged down immediately and a flag is thrown for an illegal block in the back.

1:48: Garton scrambles and has an opening for eight yards before bringing dragged down by Eric Schultz.

2:46: Penn's center just flinched and now they're at 2nd and 18.

3:09: Penn loses another first down pass on a penalty, this time an illegal procedure call.

3:57: Penn's band was just chanting DMX's "Rough Riders." That's just embarrassing.

5:07: A reverse play is almost stopped in the backfield by Ryan Burkhead and ends up getting about six yards.

5:56: On the kick, the ball keeps blowing off the tee so Anthony Spadafino comes in to hold it. The kick is taken to the Penn 28.

6:04: Pizzotti hits Richards perfectly in front of his defender for the touchdown. Long's kick is good, sailing over the net behind the uprights. HARVARD 7, PENN 0

6:15: Penn's defense is getting to Pizzotti pretty easily, but he gets the pass off to Nikolai Schwartzkopf and gets a roughing the passer call. Half the distance to the goal, Harvard has the first down at the Penn 9.

6:30: Pass to Adam Chrissis gets a first down.

6:56: On the punt, Harvard almost gets the block, but Berry returns it to the Penn 34. A flag is thrown for holding on Penn, but the penalty is declined.

7:08: After a short run, Penn now has 4th and 19 from its own 11.

7:42: Short screen pass gets stopped by Sonny McCracken for a loss of two.

8:15: Garton gets sacked for a ten-yard loss by Curtis.

8:43: Pizzotti's pass intended for Richards in the end zone is caught by Penn's Chris Wynn. I think that's Pizzotti's first pick in seven games.

9:10: Harvard goes for it, Pizzotti sneaks for three yards and the first.

9:20: On 3rd and one, a hand off to Gordon can't convert, comes up about a half yard short.

10:22: Tight end Jason Miller lines up at the fullback position, and the ball is handed off to Gordon for six yards.

10:48: Pizzotti follows with a 21-yard pass to Lorditch.

11:14: On 3rd and 4, Pizzotti connects with Levi Richards, who gets the first.

12:49: Pizzotti takes it up the middle, gets 18 on the run and gets crunched.

12:57: On the punt, Andrew Berry is set to receive, doesn't signal fair catch, and bad blocking by Nico Amaro causes Berry to get absolutely decked. Harvard will start its drive at the Harvard 15.

13:28: Garton went for a sweep right and is met by Carl Ehrlich for a loss of two.

14:00: Garton can't find a receiver, keeps it and runs for 16 yards. The d-line has got to step it up.

14:53: Garton on a QB draw gets good yardage, but it's coming back because of a holding call. Brings up 2nd and 17. Side note: The ref chunked the flag into one of the player's gut.

SECOND QUARTER

0:00: When play resumes, the Quakers will have 2nd and nine from their own 45-yard line. On Harvard's sole possession, the offense managed -6 total yards. Ouch.

0:36: Flag is thrown for a roughing the passer call on Matt Curtis, so instead of 4th and a few, Penn now has a first down on its 44-yard line.

1:14: DiMaggio is picking up a couple yards on every carry, picking away at our defense and Penn has 3rd and 4.

2:04: Thomas Hull punts into the end zone. Penn starts at the 20 and gets two yards on its first play.

2:36: On the 3rd and 9 play, Chris Pizzotti handsoff to Gordon on a draw play and Gordon gets tackled immediately for a loss of seven.

3:31: After a botched snap, the punter just tried to run it and got stopped just short of the first. Harvard has first down at the Penn 30.

4:14: Kelms Amoo-Achampong, winner of this week's Harvard Crimson Coolest Name Award, runs up the middle and is stopped early by a bone-crunching tackle.

5:16: Option play gets stopped by Zych for a loss of four.

5:41: After a neutral zone infraction against Penn takes the ball back to the 20, a beautiful punt from Thomas Hull—that barely avoided being blocked—lands out of bounds at the Penn 23.

5:49: A pass to Chris Lorditch bounces off his numbers, sets up for the punt.

6:00: False start Harvard. "We're just shooting ourselves in the foot," says fellow staff writer Madeleine Shapiro.

6:10: Another hand off to Gordon takes it back to the 20.

6:59: Hand off to Gino Gordon gains one.

7:09: A deep pass at the end zone, gets deflected by Derrick Barker and into the hands of Ryan Barnes. Harvard will start at their own 20.

7:41: Michael DiMaggio runs it up the middle for the first down.

8:05: A pass to a wide-open Marcus Lawrence is just short of the first down.

9:30: A questionable catch by Kyle Derham is ruled complete, taking Penn down to Harvard's 35.

10:08: A Penn option got minimal yardage, bringing up 3rd and four.

10:45: Keiffer Garton—Penn's third-string QB—just made his first pass.

12:19: The PA guy here keeps mispronouncing Collin Zych as "Colon" Zych. And Penn is still just marching up the field.

13:15: The Quakers have yet to take to the air, but the run game is working. A series of run plays and a QB run takes Penn to their own 40.

15:00: Deep kick from Patrick Long is downed in the endzone for a touchback and a flag is thrown for a late hit by Penn's Matt "Rootin" Tuten, which starts Penn at their own 10.

FIRST HALF

T-1: Harvard wins the toss and defers reception to the second half.

T-8: We're here at Penn's Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Penn., bringing you live up-to-date coverage of today's matchup between Harvard and the hometown Quakers.