Crimson Eleven Escapes Brown, 24-19

With almost two minutes remaining in a 24-19 game and underdog Brown holding the football, it seemed surprising to see the Brown supporters already pouring out of the stadium to go home. But given the freezing weather and Brown's 0-7 record this season (and its 11-90 Ivy record over the last 13 years), the real surprise is that 11,000 fans left their television sets and Ed Marinaro to show up in the first place, even if it was Homecoming with Endzone Crone slated to perform for the visiting Crimson.

The fans were almost rewarded for their stoicism. For the fifth time this season, Harvard managed to blow a substantial lead and came within a fourth quarter touchdown of suffering the ultimate distinction of a beaten team--losing to the Bruins.

Leading 17-3 in the second quarter, Harvard sat back until the fourth period and watched the Bruins's excellent halfback. Gary Bonner, and their supposedly mediocre quarterback, Bob Zink, put two touchdowns on the scoreboard. The Crimson only awoke when Tyler Chase gave Brown the lead. 19-17, late in the third period with his second long, wind-carried field goal of the day. Tyler's kick so thoroughly excited his teammates at the thought of finally winning a game that they poured off the bench and on to the field to mob the soccer-style place kicker.

Eric Crone quickly put Harvard back on top, staging a seven-play. 80-yard touchdown drive. Crone threw two passes, one to fullback Chuck Krohn for 34-yards and the other to halfback Richie Gatto for the touchdown. Teddy DeMars, who became the tenth runner in Harvard history to gain over 1000 yards, broke a 36-yard run to set up the Crone-to-Gatto touchdown.

Brown never really threatended after that, although it appeared that the Bruins had at least a chance when they took over with just under two minutes remaining. The departing Brown fans knew better, however. Zink fumbled on his own four yard line, and after Harvard had blown its chance to ice the game with a touchdown, he fired an interception to finish off the Bruins for good.

Although the win averted a really embarrasing season for the Crimson, it did not cure one of the woes behind the Harvard's 4-4 record--the quarterback dilemma. Crone obviously has a fine arm, as his touchdown passes to John Hagerty and Gatto attest, but he followed the example of his predecessors and threw three interceptions while completing less than half his passes. For the second week in a row, Harvard's pass blocking was weak, leaving Crone unprotected four times for minus 43 yards.

Despite an over-all rushing total of only 110 yards, dented somewhat by Crone's losses. Harvard's leading running backs, DeMars and Gatto, both had productive days. Gatto, slipping through large holes, had 74 yards on 12 carries, while DeMars ran 20 times for 83 yards. The two halfbacks were entirely responsible for a five play. 40-yard touchdown drive the first time Harvard had the ball.

Defensively, the secondary was a little shaky, and the line had trouble containing Bonner, who gained over 100 yards and broke a long touchdown run. The individual standout was linebacker Mark Ferguson, who either recovered or forced three turnovers, blocked an extra point, and made seven tackles.   H  B First Downs  14  14 Rushing Yardage  48-122  46-147 Passing Yardage  118  80 Passes  8-17-3  7-12-1 Fumbles lost  0  3