Still Rolling

Football is a game of attrition; after it is all said and done, it is the team that lasts the longest, the one that keeps on playing its game even after its opponent has given its all and fallen short, that pulls through with a win.

Last Saturday’s matchup between Harvard and Cornell had serious implications for both teams’ chances to grab the Ancient Eight title this season, as both squads entered the game with 0-1 records against other Ivy League opponents. The Crimson (3-1, 1-1 Ivy) was able to distance itself from the Big Red (1-3, 0-2) in the fourth quarter, notching its first conference victory of the season, 31-17, at Harvard Stadium.

“Using this game to vault into the rest of the Ivy League schedule was our main focus,” said junior defensive end Ben Graeff.

Both teams started slowly on offense, with neither side being able to score on its first two possessions. But after a three-and-out from the visitors, the Crimson took over with great field position. Senior running back Gino Gordon capped off the ensuing 46-yard drive with a 19-yard run into the endzone, giving Harvard the lead. These would be the only points scored by either team in the first half.

The story of the first half of the game lay not in the offense, but in the special teams and the defense of the Crimson. Sophomore Jacob Dombrowski had five punts for 229 yards, a 45.8-yard average. The punter proved instrumental in giving the Big Red offense poor field position on its side of the field with two touchbacks and two punts inside the 20-yard line.

“Our young specialist guys like Jake Dombrowski have really, under pressure, become good football players,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “Early in the game...we got a couple of great field position [spots] out of our punt team, and it kept us in the game.”

Meanwhile, the Crimson continued to play stout defense in the first two quarters. Cornell was unable to convert on third or fourth downs and was limited to 80 yards of total offense on 29 plays. Junior defensive back Matthew Hanson had an interception that immediately killed a Big Red drive after Harvard turned the ball over on downs by failing to convert on fourth and two.

Midway through the third quarter, sophomore running back Treavor Scales cut through the middle of the defense before exploding to the left, exploiting a hole in the Cornell secondary for a 51-yard run, leading to a 25-yard field goal from freshman David Mothander.

The Big Red would answer back at the end of third quarter, sacking sophomore quarterback Colton Chapple and forcing a fumble on the Crimson’s five-yard line, but the visitors were held to just a field goal.

After seeing only one touchdown scored in the first three quarters, the teams combined for a total of five touchdowns in the fourth, with four of the five scoring drives taking less than 90 seconds each.

“If we hang in long enough, we’re going to get some big [plays],” Murphy said. “We knew that coming in, it just took us a while to get going.”

On Harvard’s first drive of the last quarter, the offense marched 87 yards down the field, ending on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Chapple to junior wide receiver Levi Richards.

The Crimson’s next drive ended with yet another score, this time on the ground as sophomore running back Rich Zajeski rushed for 43 yards to the endzone on his first carry of the afternoon, putting Harvard up by 21 points.

The Big Red responded on its ensuing drive, scoring on a 13-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Jeff Mathews to junior tight end Ryan Houska. Cornell was unable to tack on the extra point, though, as senior kicker Brad Greenway had his point after blocked by sophomore Nnamdi Obukwelu, Greenway’s first missed attempt of the season.

The home team would answer with a big 65-yard run from Gordon that put the Crimson over 300 yards rushing for the second straight week. The drive ended with a two-yard touchdown run for Chapple. In his second start for Harvard, Chapple would finish the day with 191 yards passing on 16 of 35 attempts with one touchdown and two interceptions.

“We’re trying to help Colton out as much as we can,” said senior offensive lineman Chris Leroy. “He’s doing a great job, he’s being a great leader, he knows where to go [and] what to do.”

The Big Red scored another touchdown with four seconds to play and the contest already well out of reach.

“Physically, we just couldn’t hold up in the second half,” Cornell coach Kent Austin said. “Our defense got tired. The offense didn’t do enough in the first half really to keep our defense off the football field.”

The Big Red’s struggles came at the hands of Harvard’s new-look defense. With injuries to key players, the Crimson was still able to step up, recording eight sacks, with four from Graeff alone. The defense held Cornell to 208 yards of total offense, compared to 505 yards for Harvard.

With the victory, the Crimson moves to 1-1 in the Ivy League, keeping the team in the hunt for the Ancient Eight crown.

“We know we’re going to have some real hard times,” Murphy said. “You just move on...and we’re going to find out what we’re made of...I know this team will fight. That’s three quarters of the battle.”