Gridders Sink in Green Morass, 24-10

Things are bad when your halfback makes a tackle.

They're worse when the fullback has to make another, and they're hopeless when the two running backs combine for a third.

But that's exactly the situation coach Joe Restic and the Harvard football team faced in Saturday afternoon's 24-10 loss to Dartmouth at the Stadium. Backs Jim Callinan and Jim Acheson each did stellar impersonations of the Harvard defensive secondary following three of the four interceptions thrown by Harvard quarterbacks.

Slippery Fingers

Turnovers and a sub-par kicking game hurt the Crimson Saturday, when a nearly full house watched Harvard drop its third decision in five outings. Harvard quarterbacks threw four interceptions--two each by Ron Cuccia and Don Allard. Punt returner Scott McCabe lost a fumble on a crucial return, giving Dartmouth the ball near midfield and setting up the score which put the game away for the Big Green.

The McCabe miscue--not surprising from a Crimson return squad that managed just ten total yards on two punts and five kickoffs--signalled the final change of fortunes for the Harvard team.

Trailing 14-10, the Crimson had moved the ball well on its previous possession, the first drive by either team in the second half. Even when kicker Jim Villanueva missed a field goal from the 19, Harvard hung tough and stopped Dartmouth short of a first down.

The outstanding defensive play of the game, a where'd-he-come-from sack of Dartmouth qb Frank Polsinello by blitzing linebacker Andy Nolan, forced the Hanoverians to punt from their own 14-yd. line.

McCabe took the punt at midfield, advanced to the Dartmouth 45, and then lost the ball under a stingy baker's dozen of Green tacklers. Bill Connolly recovered the loose ball for Dartmouth, depriving the Crimson of its most important opportunity of the afternoon.

Losing Kicking Game

"We had a crucial situation, and we gave up the ball on the punt. You can't give up that kind of yardage," Restic said at the post-game press conference. "We're losing in the kicking game; you just can't give up that kind of yardage."

And when Polsinello and his running backs launched a 16-play, 55-yd. touch-down drive-spread out over nine minutes, that yardage turned out to be especially critical. Five times the Big Green converted on third- or fourth-down situations.

The Dartmouth possession extended all the way into the fourth quarter, and put the Green up, 21-10. When the Crimson finally got the ball back, it couldn't do a thing with it, and Dartmouth added a field goal with about ten minutes left to make the final score 24-10.

The Big Green came into Cambridge without starting quarterback Rick Stafford, and coach Joe Yukica went to the untested Polsinello instead. The sophomore thrower manipulated Yukica's multiple sets like a veteran, settling down after three early interceptions and completing nine of 13 passes for 114 yards.

When he wasn't burning the Harvard secondary with pinpoint passing, Polsinello sent halfback Sean Maher through the line 28 times for 118 yards. "Maher didn't practice much this week," Yukica said, "and I didn't know he'd be able to hold up that well."

Polsinello's passing made the Harvard secondary--usually among the strongest aspects of the Harvard defense--look almost helpless. Dartmouth flanker Shaun Teevens and split end Jack Daly frequently beat Harvard cornerbacks Rocky Delgadillo and Chris Myers on sideline and flare patterns.

Restic said that Delgadillo--the team leader in pick-offs--may have been playing for the interception. "The more you get, the more you tend to play for the interception. You have a few, you think you can get a few more," the coach noted:

With its defense collapsing, the Crimson watched an early 10-0 lead evaporate. After a 40-yd. Villanueva field goal put the Crimson ahead, Cuccia orchestrated the most impressive Harvard drive of the season, a 13-play, 80-yd. number which gave the Crimson a 10-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The last play on the Crimson touchdown drive showed a little bit of the famous multiflex razzle-dazzle. Sitting up on the Dartmouth 21, Cuccia rolled right and then pitched to Callinan on the option. The senior fullback continued to roll, stopped short, and lofted a touchdown pass to Paul Scheper in the deep right corner of the end zone. "Now everybody knows Cal can throw, and that will open things up for us," Restic said.