New England may have the NFL’s most successful team of the past decade, but if professional football’s return to Boston demonstrated anything Friday night, there is a long way for it to go inside the city limits.
In the first professional football game at Harvard Stadium since 1970, the Boston Brawlers—a new Fall Experimental Football League (FXFL) franchise—emerged victorious, 28-10, over the visiting Blacktips in front of a reported crowd of 3,265. The actual attendance did not appear to come close to that figure.
The FXFL, which debuted earlier in October, aims to become a feeder system for the National Football League. Unlike its companion leagues, the NFL has historically had no minor league akin to the NBA’s D-League or baseball’s affiliate system, leaving a tight bottleneck for players exiting the college ranks and looking for professional employment.
The most illustrious name to fall through the cracks Friday was Brawlers quarterback Tajh Boyd. The former Clemson star, who won the Orange Bowl nine months ago, played less than a quarter in the first half, throwing a 54-yard back shoulder fade to Jasper Collins for the team’s only touchdown of the half. Boyd added three more touchdowns in the second half, with former Florida running back Emmanuel Moody contributing 225 total yards, to break the game wide open.
Boyd was the highlight of a game that was otherwise sloppy, with numerous dropped balls and holding penalties delaying play throughout the first half. Blacktip quarterback Joe Clancy had perhaps the most difficult night of all, completing only 12 of 31 passes for 114 yards, with one touchdown, one interception, and nine dropped balls.
Boston moved to 1-2 with the victory, while the Blacktips fell to 0-2. The Brawlers will conclude its home season the following week against Brooklyn on October 31. The Blacktips are currently a traveling team with no home games scheduled.
--Matt Clarida contributed to the reporting of this story.
As the fall semester and the NFL season approach their midway points and the NHL and NBA regular seasons begin, it’s time to check up on three Harvard alums playing professionally.
While Cleveland fans wait for LeBron James to make his highly anticipated return to the Cavaliers, the Browns sit at 3-3 following their bye week. A win this week over the Raiders would give the team its best start since 2007. Desmond Bryant ’09 has been a starting defensive end for the Browns in five of the team’s six games. The 6’6” Bryant has 11 tackles and one sack this year for a much improved Cleveland front seven that has allowed only seven rushing touchdowns this season. Bryant was able to return to the field this year after missing the end of last season with an irregular heartbeat.
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For a second straight year, Crimson Madness failed to disappoint. Both the event’s theatrics and personalities were out in full force, with a dose of basketball thrown in among the assorted skill contests for good measure. Below are a couple first impressions after the first look at this year’s squad:
1. Zena 2.0 is a lot like Zena 1.0 — Sophomore Zena Edosomwan broke onto the scene last year at Crimson Madness, dominating then-sophomores Evan Cummins and Michael Hall. It looked like the highly touted recruit, trying to crack a crowded frontcourt, would be a force immediately.
Friday was more of the same. Edosomwan dominated with 11 points inside, coming out with full intensity—something most of the team couldn’t claim to have—and barking at himself throughout the scrimmage. A year after he wooed the crowd with a Vince Carter throwback jersey in the dunk contest, the sophomore brought Lavietes to its feet by jumping over the 6’9” Chris Egi and 6’6” Charlie Anastasi en route to the most spectacular dunk of the night.
However, the same problems plagued Edosomwan from last year. He struggled on defense and continued to shoot the ball on nearly every touch (18.2 shots per 40 minutes last year). His offensive game looked more defined, but his defense and passing will be the keys to the growth of his game.
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When Keith Wright ’12 last competed in the United States, he led the Harvard men’s basketball team to its first NCAA Tournament since 1946. Now, one NBA summer league squad, two overseas teams, and almost three years later, Wright is returning to compete in the NBA Development League.
The 6’8”, 240-pound forward will be available in the November D-League Draft.
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