Harvard Controls Play Up Front

NEW YORK—If there has been a theme in the Ivy League this year, it has been that perseverance triumphs over talent. With projected stars such as M.A Olawale and Jordan Culbreath sidelined by injuries, Ancient Eight contests have been decided in hard-nosed fashion—by gutting it out in the trenches.

And this year, no one has battled more fiercely than Harvard.

“We’ve been a very resilient team,” said Crimson coach Tim Murphy after Saturday’s win at Columbia. “We didn’t necessarily finish pretty [today], but the number one thing we do best is play extremely hard.”

This physical toughness has translated to domination on both sides of the line of scrimmage—a spectacle made clear with each gaping hole or run-stuffing blitz.

Harvard had established its running game entering Saturday’s contest, with junior Gino Gordon scampering for over 100 yards against Dartmouth, and the trip to New York proved no different. The Crimson offensive linemen punished their counterparts on the Lions’ defensive front, using pull-blocks to open huge lanes for Gordon and freshman Treavor Scales. The duo finished the day with 99 net yards on the ground and three touchdowns.

“My success goes to the play of the offensive linemen and the downfield blocking by the wide receivers,” Gordon said. “Treavor’s and [my] touchdowns are usually more happenstance and good execution than our skills. We just run to the holes.”

Gordon’s humble interpretation aside, the fact remains that the Crimson offensive front is simply mauling its opponents to create that space.

Murphy, who has coached more than a few solid linemen in his 16-year career with Harvard, added his own praise to the stalwart group of seniors—James Williams, Ben Sessions, Alex Spisak, and John Paris.

“I think there’s something to be said that we’ve got one of the best offensive lines we’ve ever had in our time here,” Murphy said. “When you’re playing with four seniors—and those kids, a lot of them have been three-year starters—that [sort of dominance] is the result.”

But if the offense is pushing around Ivy opponents, the defense has made its own statement on the other side of the ball. Despite injuries to multiple defensive ends, the front seven has shown that it can be dominant by relying on a number of different playmakers. Most notably, Murphy credited another group of seniors—Jon Takamura, Nick Hasselberg, and Sean Hayes—for their stellar effort.

“Really the core of [our defense] has been, just like the senior offensive linemen, the senior linebackers,” Murphy said. “It’s just been a very tough...group with great leadership skills. They’ve been the glue.”

This unit has helped stabilize a constantly shifting defensive front and turn it into a formidable wall against the ground attack. Takamura notched six solo tackles Saturday to lead the swarming pack of linebackers, who frequently shot gaps and created pressure to stop rushing attempts in their tracks. The Crimson literally forced Columbia backwards, holding the Lions to -18 net yards on the ground, and running back Leon Ivery posted a meager 1.3 yards per attempt in place of injured starter Ray Rangel.

Although Columbia did manage to outgain Harvard through the air, the pass rush also forced Lions’ quarterbacks Sean Brackett and Jerry Bell into three interceptions, while Hasselberg and Hayes each recovered a fumble.

But despite these consistently strong efforts at the line of scrimmage, the Crimson will need to continue its dominance if it hopes to claim a third-consecutive Ivy crown. The highly-touted offensive line faces the top rushing and passing defense in the league next week against Penn, and the defense draws a similar challenge against the Quakers’ second-ranked rushing offense. Game plans, gimmicks, and all the hype surrounding the de facto Ivy championship game may garner much of the attention this coming week, but, as has been the case all season, the battle will be won or lost in the trenches.

—Staff writer Max N. Brondfield can be reached at mbrondf@fas.harvard.edu.