Yes, Frank, He Can Pass

It took him nearly 10 minutes to walk the distance from the Stadium to Dillon Field House. Everyone in his path had a hand to shake Derek Bok stopped to congratulate him.

Grog Gizzi had just quarterbacked the Harvard football team to a 28-26 victory over Princeton: to call him the man of the hour would be an understatement.

Now, the senior from Irvington, N.Y., ranked third on Coach Joe Restic's QB list at the start of the season, had a fine, but not mind-boggling day. A dozen of his 19 passes were caught, some by Crimson receivers who were dropping footballs like live grenades two weeks earlier.

As for the running game, you might argue for tailback Steve Ernst as the overlooked hero of the day, with 115 yards on only 29 carries--a 6.1 yards per rush average. But Gizzi's rushing performance stole the show--he got the Harvard offense rolling on its second-best outing this fall with a spectacular 47-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

Working on the first drive after Princeton had grabbed a 7-0 lead, he turned for a pitchout and saw trouble. "It was a broken play," he said. "Our backs lined up the wrong way."

When he turned. Ernst and Mark Vignali were crossing paths; a pitch probably would have been fumbled--"It was a good thing he had the presence of mind to run with the ball there," Restic said.

So, after he turned left and had to forget the pitch ("I'd better not pitch the ball or they'd fight over it," he figured), he just turned the other way, ran around right end, escaped a near tackle by safety Joe Harvey, found rough going on the right side of the field, turned back the other way, outran three more Tigers and, while he was at it, scored a touchdown.

While Gizzi certainly gave the fans their money's worth on that play alone, his performance seemed all the more impressive because he was a third-stringer coming off the bench.

"I knew where he was from, and I knew how tall he was" said Princeton Coach Frank Navarro after the game. "I didn't know he could pass."

"I don't think it was a physical thing he brought to the game today." Navarro added. "It was the idea that he had an opportunity he'd never had before."

That opportunity, the opportunity to get a firm hold on the starting quarterback job, has been passed around rather noticeably this season. Chuck Colombo started five times, giving way during the game to sophomore Brian White twice and to Gizzi once, last week against Dartmouth. If for no other reason, the Crimson would have been happy--relieved, at least--over the possibility of some stability in the most important position.

Each time a switch is made, said Gizzi. "It's a whole adjustment--new quarterback, different speed, different quickness."

The extra work a change requires limits Restic to working with only two or three QBs during the week. He made things easier for the backfield by settling on Gizzi by Monday, rather than waiting until Friday as he often does. Gizzi could also stop wondering what position he would play: he saw action at flanker against Dartmouth. Frustrated at being third on the quarterback list, he met with Restic and offered to shift to another position.

But an injury to White gave Gizzi his chance in the glamour spot, instead. Typically refusing to be pinned own on the topic of how firm Gizzi's grip is on the starting spot. Restic said, "One game doesn't make quarterback."

At least a few people, though, were glad a Harvard quarterback had made it for a full game.