Crimson Downs Tigers, 21-7, in Upset; Victory Rivives Harvard's Title Hopes

All last night and all this morning it rained in Cambridge. Tiger Coach Vic Colman sat in his motel room mumbling unhappily about a wet field. One timid Radcliffe girl wondered if curling up and going to sleep might not make more sense than getting soaked at the stadium.

She came after all, and was well-rewarded. Harvard, infuriated by its poor performance at Penn last week, rose up to achieve another thrilling upset in the best tradition of Yovicsin-coached teams. Blocking, tackling and running the way the press releases promised Princeton would do, the Crimson was irrepressible in a 21-7 win.

The loss was the first suffered by the Tigers all year and was perhaps the most bitter they have experienced in years. Princeton has not beaten Harvard in the Stadium since 1957 and practically every. One at Nassau was certain that the time had come for a change. In a spirited pep rally in Princeton last Thursday, the first well-attempted session in some time, the Tigers players had told their followers that "we are going to kill them this time."

They were wrong. Unable to contain a Harvard offense that had at times this year been non-existent, Princeton fell. Harvard's win brought hopeless csonfusion to the Ivy standings. The Tigers still lead, but now Harvard has an excellent chance of ultimate victory.

Harvard Takes Kick

Harvard received the opening kick off which Grant returned from his own 12 to the 38-yard line. Despite the impressive field condition, the Crimson was unable to move the ball, and Harry Van Oudenallen punted for 44 yards on fourth down.

The Tigers quickly showed some of the offensive power that has brought them six straight victories, with tailback Hugh MacMillan runing for gains of 9, 12, and 7 yards. Then the luck turned against Nassau, with an off-side penalty and a fumble destroying the momentum of the nascent drive.

Pete Riley punted to Dave Poe, who bobbled the slippery ball and quickly fell on it at his own 34-yard line. This shaky maneuver, however, soon proved to be the start of a major offensive by the Crimson.

Executing plays with the precision and punch that forced Dartmouth to yield two weeks ago, Mike Bassett took Harvard 66 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown late in the first period. Poe, Grant, and Bill Grana all contributed solid running, but it was a 20-yard streak by Bassett himself that gave the Crimson its big chance.

This run was followed by a 15-yard sweep around right end by Grant. As waterlogged Harvard fans screamed enthusiastically a few moments later, Poe took a pitch-out from Bassett, cut across left tackle, and scored. John Hartranft's Kick was perfect, giving the Crimson an early, unexpected 7-0 advantage. Pessimists in the stands, however, recalled that previous Princeton opponents had also managed to score first.

There was no scoring in the second period, but Harvard continued to show finesse in execution both an offense and defense. A Princeton threat in mid-period was squelched when junior guard John Hoffman broke through the Tiger line and caught tailback Don McKay nine yards behind scrimmage.

Dave Poe starting his first varsity game, repayed coach John Yovicsin's confidence with strong runs, the longest going for 15 yards late in the half. A fearsome block by tackle Jeff Pochop set up this romp, which took the Crimson to midfield.

The drive bogged down here, with the Orange and Black line at last putting up the resistance for which it has become famous. As Van Oudenallen waited for a snap to punt, time ran out with Harvard still holding a 7-0 advantage.

With one dramatic exception, Cosmo Iacavazzi, the highly publicized Tiger fullback, failed to show any of his storied abilities in the first half. He gained a total of eleven yards in five carries, one of them being a dive over the line for a first down. A 13-yard run was called back because Iacavazzi was illegally in motion on the play.

Yovicsin Hoped to Pass

Although Yovicsin had hoped to pass against Princeton in an effort to loosen up their defense, Mike Bassett used basic running plays most of the time. On the few occasions he did fade to pass the Crimson line dissipated, leaving Bassett to stare forlornly into four or five determined Tiger faces.

The drizzle that came down throughout the first half did not seem to dappen competitive spirits, but it did hamper ball handling. For a pleasant change, it was not Harvard that suffered from fumblitis, however. On several important occasions Princeton killed its own motion with bobbles, usually committed on the snap. The Crimson, which has suffered chronic difficulty in holding the ball, fumbled but once in the half, and on that occasion Harvard recovered.

Punts, while few, were quite important in the half. Don McKay got Princeton out of trouble with a powerful 65-yard quick-kick, and the Crimson's Van Oudenallen averaged 44.5 yards on two kicks.

Jerry Mechling opened the second half with a low kick past the end zone. Iacavazzl gained six yards on the first play from scrimmage, but that was it for the Tigers on that seires.

Scott Harshbarger, handling the football better than at any other time in his career, scooped up a bouncing punt and charged seven yards up to his own 48-yard line.

Realizing Harshbarger was hot, Bassett gave him the ball on the first Harvard play of the second half and Scott proceeded to carry two Tigers with him on an eight yard dash. Bill Grana gained the first down with two short runs, and once again it was Harshbarger's turn.

Harvard ground out yardage in this fashion for another minute or two. Then Bassett said some magic word, and the entire middle of the Tiger line stepped aside and former a corridor for the Crimson quarterback to dash through. The defensive secondary closed in, 13 yards downfield on the Princeton 15, Harshbarger then tried another of his off-tackle specialties and gained eight yards.

Princeton finally removed its zero from the scoreboard in the fourth quarter. The 93-yard drive late in the third period after a 44-yard Van Oudenallen punt placed the Tigers deep in their own territory.

Two times Iacavazzi tried his famous leap over the line, and twice a ready band of Crimson men stopped him in mid air and threw him back vigorously. On the third time, however, Iacavazzi just barely crossed the goal and an eager referee signalled touchdown. Charlie Gogolak kicked the extra point and Princeton was back in the game trailing only by a score of 14-7.

Momenta later with handkerchiefs waving wildly Harvard's Grana ran across the goal line for the touchdown. Hartranft's kick made it 21-7.