Football Squad Humbles Quakers; Offense Sputters During 20-6 Win

For the first time since the Columbia game three weeks ago. Harvard's football team last Saturday came up with an acceptable offensive performance.

But the Crimson's frustrating inability to put away a weak Pennsylvania squad, when it had the Quakers on the ropes four times, delayed a certain Harvard victory until the final eight minutes of play, and the Crimson left Philadelphia with a reassuring, but not wildly encouraging, 20-6 triumph.

Punchless

After the offensive debacles of the previous two weekends, any sort of Harvard victory would have been most welcome, and the injury-riddled Penn squad had appeared to be a likely victim. A punchless ground attack kept the Quakers deep in their own territory throughout the game, and Harvard's gradually-improving offense continually forced Penn into poor field position.

The victory evened the Crimson's Ivy record at 2-2, and will probably keep it out of the second division. But a drastically improved Princeton team is Harvard's next opponent, and the type of killer instinct that the Crimson will need to score on the Tigers was not evident at Franklin Field last Saturday.

No Drive

Harvard received the opening kickoff and in seven plays moved 60 yards to a first down on the Penn 10-yard line. But a desperate Quaker line dropped halfback Ray Hornblower on a second-and-six play and stocked up fullback. Tom Miller on the goal line to take over on downs. It was the first of a discouraging series of stalled Harvard drives, and foreshadowed the second consecutive game in which the Crimson has failed to put together a drive for a touchdown.

An aggressive, grudging defense forced Penn to punt immediately, and, after the Quakers intercepted quarterback Dave Smith first pass on the next play, stopped them again.

This time halfback John Ballantyne fielded the Penn punt on the Crimson 39. eluded the first wave of tacklers, and followed a solid blocking wall up the right sideline for a touchdown.

The decimated Penn offense failed to gain a first down, and a 19-yard punt gave. Harvard possession on the Quaker 40. In eight plays. Smith moved the Crimson to the Penn goal, but a holding penalty and an inadequate sweep brought in placekicker Richie Szaro for a 22-yard field goal.

Impregnable

By now, the first period was nearly over, and already the contest was potentially a Harvard rout. With John Brown, a former defensive back, at quarterback because of injuries and undependable substitutes. Penn could not hope to achieve offensive consistency against Harvard's impregnable defensive line. The only chance for Penn to score as much as it had to was to beat Harvard at field position, and poor punts were killing the Quakers.

Bob Monahan, the punter, averaged little better than 33 yards a kick, and since the majority of them were designed to release Penn from trouble, the Crimson was consistently regaining possession near midfield.

Bad field position engendered worse field position, and by the second quarter, it was evident that Penn was not going to win the football game. Harvard would have to lose it.

Early in the second period, however, the Quakers put together their only successful drive of the game, a steady 66-yard march in 14 plays that caught Harvard's defense napping on a pass to split end Pete Blumenthal that brought Penn to midfield. Ten plays later on third-and-nine. Blumenthal got the call again, this time on a perfectly executed end-around play that gave the Quakers a first down on the Crimson 10.

Halfback John Tremba broke loose for the touchdown two plays later from the eight, and Penn was on the scoreboard.

Late in the first half. Harvard began to move again, and again it was the sad familiar cycle. In eight plays Hornblower and sophomore Steve Harrison brought the Crimson from its own 24 to the Red and Blue seven. And Harvard stalled again.

So coach John Yovicsin went to Szaro, and his 24-yard field goal put Harvard ahead 13-6 at halftime.

Horribly Frustrating

The second half was horribly, inexcusably frustrating. Harvard ran off 30 plays in the third period Penn ran off six. But Harvard failed to score.

An interception on the Penn 30 stalled a 40-yard drive. A missed field goal ended another march on the 30 once again. The third march brought the Crimson from midfield to the Penn goal in seven plays, and three times Smith sent backs into the line from the one-foot line without success.

Stacked Up

Hornblower tried the first time, and was stacked up. The second time he was apparently across the goal, but the referees disagreed. On the third attempt Harrison had sufficient daylight on the left side, but lost his footing on the Astroturf surface, and fell two yards short.

By the middle of the fourth period. Harvard was stalling completely. Twice the Quaker defense stopped the Crimson without a first down, and although Harvard had easily dominated the game, it was still only six points ahead. Penn was still not moving-it gained only about 150 yards in total offense all afternoon-but there was still a chance that the scrambling Brown could break loose sometime. Harvard clearly needed another touchdown.

With eight minutes left in the game, it got one. Hornblower, whose 173 yards rushing propelled him to the number four spot on the Harvard all-time list, broke a tackle on first down, headed for the left sideline, and outraced everybody 59 yards for a touchdown. Szaro's conversion made the score 29-6, and the Crimson was virtually assured of victory.

The victory was not without cost, however. Both Hornblower and Harrison sustained bothersome injuries-Hornblower hurt his cranky instep, and Harrison injured his hip-and cornerback Rick Frisbie dislocated an elbow.

All should practice this week, and Hornblower should run immediately, but the missed sessions will hamper a Crimson team that clearly needs to put it all together-with a killer instinct-if it hopes to beat Princeton.

The defensive line is tough again, and the secondary is becoming a more valuable asset each week. So the defense should stop Princeton from running wild, at the very least, but Harvard's offense must do its share. It began doing it last Saturday. To keep Harvard winning, it will have to do so every week.