Champi Returns As Eric Crone

Harvard's sophomore quarterback Eric Crone probably did not sleep very well Friday night in his room at the Lexington Motor Inn.

Only a few hours earlier, coach John Yovicsin had told Crone something that seemed little more than a remote possibility three weeks ago-he would start against Yale the next day.

That afternoon, Crone masterfully directed the Crimson to the perfect finale to a phenomenal 7-2 season-a convincing victory over Yale.

Displaying unshakable confidence, Crone recovered from early miscues and played the final three-and-a-half quarters as if he owned stock in the Harvard football team.

"I think I can do the job," Crone said Friday night. After his performance against the Elis Saturday afternoon, few would doubt his qualifications.

"Sure, this is a big chance for me," he continued, "but I think I proved myself last week against Brown."

Crone replaced injured quarterback Rod Foster against the Bruins and responded by completing 14 of 18 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 74 yards to keep the Brown defense off-balance.

Even so, many people still had their doubts. Brown, a loser in six straight games before facing the Crimson, did not exactly provide an accurate measuring stick of Crone's ability to perform well under pressure. Yovicsin, too, was unconvinced.

"Foster is still my quarterback," the Crimson coach emphasized in the locker room after the Brown game. "If he can possibly go. Rod will start at quarterback against Yale."

The reservations about Crone stemmed mainly from several inconsistent, and sometimes disastrous, performances early in the season. True, he came in late in the Rutgers and Northeastern games to move the team and roll up the score, but he did not produce when it counted against Columbia and Dartmouth.

After the Dartmouth game, though, Yovicsin decided to stick with one quarterback all the way. His choice was Foster, and the offense ignited for two strong performances in the next two weeks.

When Foster held off a persistent Princeton attack by driving the Crimson from deep in their own territory in the fourth quarter, it did not appear likely that Crone would see much more action this season.

"I guess I was little pessimistic at that point," Crone mused.

But then Foster sighted an opening in the Tiger defense and went 78 yards straight up the middle for the touchdown that clinched the game and ended his season. At about the 20-yard line, Foster injured his leg, and he collapsed as he crossed the goal line.

Foster sat out the Brown game, but so did several other starters. As Foster jogged around the practice field this week in sweat clothes, Crone and the offense would steal an occasional glance to see how well he was running. He wasn't, and Friday night Foster said simply to Yovicsin that his leg was not ready.

"Any game plan is not really all that much different from every other," Crone said at the motel where the team stays on the night before important games. "No one has been able to establish a running game against Yale, but we're going to try.

"The important thing, of course, is to make them conscious of the pass, then come back with your running game," he continued.

Surely, Harvard had to pass well against the Eli to win. Most people, including the Crimson coaches, recognized that Crone is a better passer than Foster in the sense that he is more accurate. But often in the past, he has thrown to the wrong team or been smothered after pumping one or more times.

Saturday, Crone was just right. He mixed his plays well, hit on crucial passes, and more importantly, he had the team behind him.

Coming into the game, Crone had completed 30 of 52 passes (58 per cent) for 478 yards and four touchdowns. He had also rushed for 161 yards to make him second in total offense behind Foster.

But statistics really do not make much difference when it comes down to the final game of the year against Yale.

Certainly, it was an ironic end to a topsy-turvy quarterback situation for the Crimson this year, but who cares? Harvard won. Yovicsin got that final victory over Yale, and Crone, the off-criticized backup man, came through under pressure that no one can question.