Injury-Plagued Football Squad Relies on Gritty Backups

Just before Saturday’s postgame press conference, an extra chair was added to the front of the room. Then the Harvard players walked in, including co-captain Josh Boyd and fellow fifth-year senior Nnamdi Obukwelu, who account for over 500 lbs. combined. But wedged in between them, occupying the extra seat, was walk-on kicker Andrew Flesher, the blonde and bespectacled 6’3”, 190 lb. junior.

Flesher did not even plan on playing football when he first got to campus. He thought he was going to play golf, but decided to walk on after talking with Crimson coaches. Saturday, that decision paid off, as his 23-yard chip shot from left of the fairway lifted Harvard past Dartmouth, 24-21.

At the beginning of the season, Flesher was simply trying to crack the lineup as a kickoff specialist. His biggest claim to fame might have been owning a name similar to sophomore wide receiver Andrew Fischer. My, how things have changed.

Last week against Princeton, Flesher’s potential game-winner in the final seconds of regulation sailed just wide from 50 yards out, though he rebounded to keep the Crimson in the game with two overtime field goals.

Saturday, senior David Mothander’s replacement missed another potential go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter, this time a 30-yarder. But then the Harvard defense forced a three-and-out and the Crimson offense gave Flesher another opportunity. He nailed it.

After the game, reporters asked Flesher when his last game-winner was (four years ago, back at Episcopal Collegiate in Arkansas) and what he remembered about the snap and the hold on his final kick (not much).

Boyd and Obukwelu had helped keep Harvard in the game with stingy defense, but they weren’t the ones getting a majority of the questions. Flesher was. That felt right.

This year’s Harvard football team is different. While it has veterans and stars, they aren’t the ones in the spotlight. I could come up with a comparison to describe the shape of the Crimson’s roster right now, but Murphy already did.

“We are a little bit on offense like the team of misfit toys,” he said after the game.

Almost half of Harvard’s offensive starters Saturday were former second-teamers thrust into the ring after injuries to starters at running back, wide receiver, tight end, left tackle, right tackle, and center.

Sometimes, that works out. Sophomore running back, Paul Stanton, for instance, had another impressive outing, accruing 146 yards. But sometimes it does not. When Stanton needed a breather, freshman Bo Ellis was thrown into the game. He only managed one yard on two carries and fumbled a swing pass that turned into a defensive score.

Generally, it felt like Murphy had more hits than misses with his replacements. Junior Obum Obukwelu led the team in tackles in place of senior Jack Dittmer, and sophomore Bryce Walker had two strong kick returns while filling in for sophomore Andrew Fischer.

At the same time, the preponderance of backups in the ballgame has changed the team’s mindset.

From 2010 through 2012, the Crimson won just one game by single digits, going 1-4 in contests decided by fewer than 10 points. With Saturday’s win, Harvard has already doubled that win total in addition to beating Cornell by 10. The banged-up Crimson also hung around with Princeton before falling in triple-overtime.

As currently composed, Harvard might not have as much talent as it had in years past, but it has stayed near the top of the league’s standings by making up for its deficiencies with grit.

Against Dartmouth, junior quarterback Conner Hempel had just 135 passing yards and did not complete a pass beyond 20 yards. Hempel had thrown a touchdown in each of his previous starts this season and Stanton had scored in every game as well, but both of those streaks came to an end Saturday.

Still, the Crimson was able to dig deep on its final drive, moving 56 yards over 13 plays to set up Flesher’s game-winner.

With big games against Penn and Yale left on the schedule, Harvard will likely be involved in at least one more fourth-quarter dogfight.

If they win, who knows who might take the podium afterwards.

—Staff writer Jacob Feldman can be reached at jacob.feldman@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @jacobfeldman4.