Rogan-to-Grieve: Like Picking Apples

November 22, 1980. Harvard versus Yale, for the Ivy League title. The Elis have driven from their own 20 to the Harvard 19, but face a fourth-and-18 situation. Yale coach Carm Cozza gambles, and goes for the touchdown.

The gamble pays off. Quarterback John Rogan, back in the pocket, spots split end Curt Grieve at the end of a 20-yd, out pattern, but practically smothered by Harvard defenders Matt Foley and Rocky Delgadillo.

Rogan throws anyway, gunning the ball high above Grieve's head. The 6-ft. 4-in, receiver leaps into the air--leaving the Harvard defenders hopelessly flat-footed--and snags the touchdown pass. Yale won that Game, 14-0.

Ready

Just because of that play. Harvard was ready for the Rogan-to-Grieve connection, probably the best passing combination in the Ivies. Stop Grieve--who as of Saturday owns every major Yale reception record--and take the punch out of the Yale air attack.

"We tried to take care of Grieve similarly to the way we took care of Hall [Penn's All-Ivy wide receiver] last week." Harvard captain and free safety Peter Coppinger said. "We tried to hit him and disrupt him at the line, and then have someone pick him up downfield."

And for the most part that strategy worked.

"Our strategy was not to let him get into his pattern." Delgadillo said. "In the beginning that's why we were getting a lot of sacks (six on the day), because we were jamming him on the line or a few steps off it."

Yale quarterbacks were four-for-12 to Grieve Saturday afternoon, for a total of 146 yards, with the famed Rogan-to-Grieve mainline just 2-for-9 and 65 yards. Still, of his four receptions, two were for touchdowns--one each from Rogan and back-up QB Joe Dufek--and all four were very damaging.

"Yale has no short patterns in their offense, little curls and stuff like that," defensive end Justin Whittington said. "They run all their patterns downfield and hit Grieve on the run. That's why, although they only completed seven passes, they all really hurt."

Forty seconds into the second quarter--with Yale up, 7-0--Rogan dropped back, and lofted a perfect spiral to Grieve slicing behind Coppinger and into the right corner of the end zone. That one hurt, coming on the play immediately following a Crimson fumble at its own 25.

"That one was a split flow with Grieve running a Z-out." Coppinger said. "He ran a good pattern and had me by a couple of steps. There's not much you can say. I should have been there."

Delgadillo saw things about the same way. "I was responsible for jamming him on the line, and Peter was supposed to cover him deep... Grieve's pattern forced Peter into the middle of the field and then he broke for the corner. It was just a good throw and a good play to call at the time."

If that play just took a crisply run pattern and a well-thrown pass, Grieve's second reception of the day--a leaping, 37-yd, gainer to the one--showed the All-Ivy split end at his best.

"Grieve just ran a quick post into the middle of the field, and what we're supposed to do is drive him toward the free safety, and Cop was there, but Grieve just outleaped him. He just made a hell of a catch," cornerback Chris Myers said.

"We were both there. He just went up and got it." Coppinger said. "They had him lined up in a tight slot, a very tight slot. I don't think there was anything fancy about it. He just went up and got it."

"Curt Grieve," said Cozza, "just goes up the tree and picks those apples off the tree."