Freshman Gridders Fall, 19-18; Brown Sinks Record to 1-2

The cold, the grey, and the dismal emptiness of Providence should have said it all, but the Harvard freshman football team needed to see it for themselves. In their first away game of the season, the Crimson lost an exciting and unpredictable 19-18 match with the Bruins.

In a sloppily played game that included four interceptions and five fumbles, Crimson running back Mark Vignali stood out as the leading rusher, scampering 197 years in 26 carries and scoring two touchdowns.

Harvard got off to a quick start when linebacker James Mueller intercepted a pass from Brown's starting quarterback Andrew Feth and ran it in for a touchdown. The point after--as they all were on the day--was blocked.

The remainder of the first half was marred by a bizarre series of exchanges--on fumbles, interceptions and punts--and neither team was able to cross the goal line.

Brown topped the first half stats with four turnovers--two fumbles and two passes intercepted--while the Crimson chipped in with just one fumble and two passes stolen by enemy hands.

The one bright spot of the half was Vignali's 86 yards on 16 carries.

The Crimson started off the second half strong with Vignali dashing 62-yards for a touchdown. However, Bruin's running back Jeff Doherty paid back the favor by running the return kick 81 yards to put Brown on the board with six points of its own. Vignali came right back with a series of rushes--earning Harvard a third touchdown with a futile attempt at an extra point.

After gaining 40 yards, the Bruins failed to claw their way to a touchdown. Following a 20 yard punt, Harvard and a face mask call against the Crimson, Brown moved to the 11 yard line. Halfback Kenny Jones, finding a hole ran eight yards for a touchdown and brought the score to 18-13.

Harvard turned the ball over to the Bruins after a 32-yard completion from quarterback Dennis Vechi to Vignali.

Brown punted, but running back Greg Dunn fumbled the ball in a controversial play, giving the ball back to the Bruins. After a face mask call against Harvard, Brown moved to the 11-yard line with two minutes left in the game. Heffernan caught a pass and ran in for the touchdown. Failing to make the conversion, Brown nevertheless took the lead 19-18.

Harvard's Vignali, then on a fourth down play, achieved a first down. With seconds, left quarterback Brian Bergstrom came just short of another first down which would have left the Crimson in scoring position.

Brown finished off the clock, never giving Harvard another opportunity to take the lead.

It was a game full of surprises and mistakes; Brown was lucky to be on the high end of the seesaw when the clock ran out.