NOTEBOOK: Tigers Endure Punting Woes

Harvard was most dangerous on Saturday each time Princeton’s punt unit took the field. The danger came not from the Crimson’s return game, which managed only five yards on three attempts, but from the Tigers’ self-inflicted struggles.

“The punt team part of our special teams had been our most consistent,” Princeton coach Roger Hughes said. “To see that go down was very disappointing.”

The circus began on the Tigers’ first punt of the day. A low snap from Princeton long snapper JP Makrai skidded past punter Joe Cloud and rolled toward the goal line. After Cloud recovered the ball, senior linebacker Nick Hasselberg delivered a crushing hit that caused another fumble. Although Princeton recovered the loose ball, the turnover on downs gave Harvard possession at the three-yard line, and it converted for a score on the very next play.

“It seemed like JP [Makrai] and Joe [Cloud] were having bad days, and, for whatever reason, they weren’t doing whatever they normally do,” Hughes said.

The early turnover forced Hughes to change his personnel as Jason Tiemeier replaced Makrai at long-snapper.

But the results were more of the same. Midway through the second quarter, another bounced snap caused Cloud to rush his punt, which traveled only 25 yards.

Backed up in its own end of the field with only 43 seconds remaining, the Princeton punt unit struck again.

This time, Harvard senior defensive back JB Monu broke through the line, blocked Cloud’s punt, and sophomore linebacker Alex Gedeon recovered the ball at the 21-yard line. The turnover led to a Crimson field goal to close out the half.

Although Otavio Fluery replaced Cloud in the second half, he shanked a 10-yard punt at the end of the third quarter to cap off a miserable day for the Tigers’ special teams.

“I don’t think [the game] got away [on the first possession],” Hughes said. “It was more the mistakes on special teams.”

GROUND GAME

With rainy conditions throughout the afternoon, the Harvard offense attacked on the ground. Nine players carried the ball a combined 53 times for a total of 267 yards, roughly five yards per carry.

“[Crimson coach Tim Murphy], this week during practice, emphasized establishing the run, saying that if we want to be successful we have to run the ball,” said junior running back Gino Gordon.

Gordon gained the lion’s share of the Crimson’s yardage with 84 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. His biggest play came with Harvard leading, 14-3, midway through the first half. Facing third-and-15 on the Princeton 22-yard line, junior quarterback Collier Winters handed the ball off the Gordon, who raced towards first-down marker on the left sideline. A late burst of speed garnered enough yardage to move the chains, leading to another Crimson touchdown.

Protecting a lead in the second half, Harvard kept to the ground. In one sequence, the Crimson gave senior running back Cheng Ho carries on 9 consecutive plays. Ho finished with 73 yards on 12 carries. Freshman running back Treavor Scales rounded out the top three rushers with 59 yards on 10 rushes.

“All the running backs, Cheng, Treavor, and I, we ran hard and that was a big part of our success overall,” Gordon said.

SOMETHING LEFT TO BE DESIRED

Although Harvard put up a season-high in points on Saturday, it could have scored even more.

With 1:43 remaining in the second quarter, the Crimson had the ball at the Tigers’ six-yard line. Winters took the snap and rolled to his right, trying to find an open receiver.

With a lineman in his face, Winters lofted a pass to the right corner of the end zone, where Princeton cornerback John Callahan picked off an easy interception and ended the threat.

Earlier that same drive, Harvard executed a nifty trick play. Senior wide receiver Mike Cook got the ball from the running back on a reverse and, rolling to his right, threw a perfect pass downfield to senior wide receiver Matt Luft. Luft sauntered into the end zone for an apparent touchdown, but a penalty, due to an ineligible receiver downfield, took the points off the board.

“The goal isn’t just to win. It’s to play to your full potential,” Murphy said. “As happy as we are beating a rival, getting a good win, still in control of our own destiny in the league, we still made too many mistakes.”

—Staff writer Timothy J. Walsh can be reached at twalsh@fas.harvard.edu.