Ken Tarczy

The advice "know thine enemy" can apply to many areas of life--war, arms talks, even a game of Risk.

But it has a completely different significance for Harvard football cornerback Ken Tarczy.

"Kenny studies game film and game plans very hard," Brent Wilkinson, Harvard's right inside linebacker and team captain, says. "He studies permutations of our multiple defense against the formations of the offense. He's a stickler for details, and he applies them to his game."

And Tarczy's game is in part responsible for the success of the Harvard defense this year. Playing a quite difficult position, he often combines mental and physical skills to come up with the big play.

"Kenny has a nose for the football," Frank Mackarevich, Tarczy's high school football coach, says.

The senior History concentrator made one of the biggest plays of the season in the third quarter of last week's game against William & Mary.

Tribe running back Michael Clemons had juked several Harvard defenders and broken into the open field with no tacklers in sight. But Tarczy, who had lost his footing at the 40 on an attempted tackle, got back up and burst out of nowhere to haul down Clemons three yards short of the goal.

And when the Crimson defense pulled off its fourth goal-line stance in three games, Tarczy's play had saved Harvard a touchdown.

In his 10th year of organized tackle football and third on Harvard varsity, Tarczy has plenty of experience to account for his polished game. At Mercer High School in western Pennsylvania, number 85 dabbled in everything--playing cornerback and tailback and even kicking extra points.

But his old coach feels that defense was always Tarczy's forte. "He was a monster on defense," Mackarevich says. "He's the type of player that comes along once every 10 years. In his senior year, we went to the playoffs for the first time ever, and he was a main factor."

Football is the sport at Mercer--the school doesn't have soccer, lacrosse or baseball teams. And for entertainment on weekends, the residents of this small town had one choice: high school football.

"Western Pennsylvania is a football factory. The program was intense and highly developed," Tarczy says. "When I played freshman football here [at Harvard], I was shocked at the laid-back attitude compared to Mercer."

It didn't take much to sell Tarczy on Harvard. He received scholarship offers from Minnesota and from Air Force, but he couldn't envision himself in the armed forces, and at Minnesota, an injury could have meant the loss of the scholarship.

"I was worried about academics--I had no study habits--but at Harvard I could get a good education and play football at the same time," the North House resident says. Tarczy's father favored Air Force, but son won out over father in the end.

After playing adjustor in his freshman season, Tarczy moved to cornerback at the coaches' behest. Cornerback, one of the most difficult defensive positions, posed a challenge to Tarczy.

The left cornerback position is particularly difficult, because most quarterbacks are right-handed and don't throw across the field. On the left side, Tarczy has to respond to both post and comeback cuts; he also has to be prepared to switch coverage if his original man leaves the zone and a second receiver enters.

"Playing cornerback is like a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation," Wilkinson added. "If a cornerback makes a mistake and the wide receiver gets by him, there's generally no one there to help him out, but he also has to watch for the run."

But Tarczy rarely gets beaten. Defensive Backfield Coach, Leo Fanning lists Tarczy's ability to recover, his good hand-eye coordination, his speed, and his quickness as his best skills.

Wilkinson echoed Fanning's statement. "Kenny has a tremendous ability to break on the ball, you can't ask for any more out of a ballplayer," the linebacker says. "He's aggressive yet agile, he plays the pass well, and he plays the run well. On the run, the cornerback might have to take on a guard, shed off a block, and then make the tackle, and Kenny does it well."

Yale Coach Carm Cozza has nothing but praise for the senior cornerback. "He reacts beautifully to the ball, and he's matured a lot, but all four backs are excellent. Harvard has the best secondary around."

Tarczy feels, however, that there is much room for improvement in his run support. He would like to work on his quickness and strength in order to bolster his ability to stop any momentum-gathering runner.

While others praise Tarczy for his speed and quickness, he values his mental strengths before any other asset. "I guess the intensity and concentration with which I approach the game is one of my strong points," he says. "Studying receivers and knowing the game plan are part of the preparation involved.

"I enjoy playing the top teams and top receivers," Tarczy continues. "It's a challenge, and that's what makes the game fun."

And Tarczy is not one to take his fun lightly. "Kenny," according to Fanning, "has his body and mind, heart and soul wrapped up in Harvard football.