Harvard Waiting for Opportunity to Chew Up Big Red

That the Harvard football team easily laid waste (35-0) to a sorry Columbia squad this weekend is good news for Harvard fans.

What may turn out to be better news emanates from a site 75 miles south of New York City--Philadelphia. There, at the University of Pennsylvannia's Franklin Field, the visiting Cornell Big Red knocked off the five-time defending Ivy champion Quakers, 17-13.

The Big Red was led by junior quarterback Aaron Sumida, who completed 16 of 28 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown. Cornell also got a 42-yd. field goal from senior placekicker Dave Quarles.

Last year, you may recall, Penn nosed out Cornell on the final day of the season, 31-21, in a battle of Ivy undefeateds to capture its fifth crown. But Saturday's upset--it was Penn's first home loss to an Ivy opponent in six years--indicates that Cornell may well be the team to beat this year in the Ancient Eight.

This has direct implications for the Crimson, which journeys to Ithaca, N.Y., in three weeks after playing a pair of non-league games. If Harvard is to challenge for the league crown this year, a good showing (and preferably a victory) in Ithaca is a must.

But the Crimson will have its work cut out. Cornell features a fearsome passing attack, and the defensive secondary is unquestionably Harvard's weakest link. Additionally, Crimson running back Rufus Jones--the outside speed threat who could cement an excellent Harvard attack--probably will not be back from his leg injury until a week or two after the Cornell game.

All of these factors, plus the fact that it's a road game for Harvard, spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E for the Crimson.

On the other hand, the fact that we can even talk about a key game for the Crimson is a good sign, coming on the heels of last season's disappointing 3-7 performance. Harvard has looked quite good thus far. How it does in three weeks at Cornell could go a long way toward determining whether the 1987 edition of Crimson football will go down as just another team, or as Harvard's eighth Ivy champion.

Scramble, Scramble: Harvard was plagued last season by the lack of an experienced quarterback. After two years of the competent--sometimes brilliant--Brian White, Crimson Coach Joe Restic had to sift through the depth chart to come up with a starting QB. David Landau, his opening game starter in '86, finished the season with 10 interceptions and zero touchdown passes.

By the end of the year, sophomore Tom Yohe had emerged as the best talent available, and certainly the best hope for the future. It was Yohe who helped salvage the season by leading Harvard to a 24-17 victory in The Game.

Well, Yohe is back now, and in the first game of his junior year, the Crown Point, Ind., native showed how much a seasoned signalcaller can help a team. Yohe completed 10 of 21 passes for 145 yards, two touchdowns, and only one interception. He also gained 15 yards on five carries.

But more important was his obvious poise. On both of Yohe's TD tosses, the quarterback scrambled out of the pocket and was on the run--and being chased by a number of Columbia defenders--when he launched his scoring strike.

After the game, the entire Columbia squad was buzzing about Yohe's first TD pass, when he scrambled all the way to the far sideline before lofting a pass to wide-out Neil Phillips in the corner of the endzone. The ball seemed up for grabs, but Phillips--a basketball forward in the winter--lept up and cradled it, and Harvard had its second score of the afternoon.

The Injury Report: There's good news on two of the Crimson's three walking wounded. Captain Kevin Dulsky, a defensive end who missed the opener at Columbia with strained ligaments in his left knee, may be available for the Northeastern game Saturday.

Junior tight end Don Gajewski, sidelined with a shoulder separation suffered in the preseason, may also be back this weekend.

Restic had to be pleased with the efforts of Kent Lucas and Mark Blasetti, who proved more than capable replacements for Gajewski against the Lions. Lucas was the game's top receiver, pulling in four passes totaling 77 yards. Blasetti had two receptions and seemed able to get open on a consistent basis.

The Crimson's other injured player, Rufus Jones, probably will not return until mid-October. After working his way back from a serious knee injury, Jones suffered a stress fracture of the right tibia (shin bone) in the preseason.

Most Notable, Unnoted Play of the Week: This week's honor goes to Harvard defensive end Mike Hirshland.

Facing a third-and-long deep in their own territory in the second quarter, Columbia tried a double-reverse. But Hirshland read the play from the start, and when Lion split-end Matt Fox took the ball from running back Chris Della Pietra and headed back across the Columbia backfield, he was met by the waiting Hirshland.

The senior end delivered a crunching blow, and dropped Fox for a six-yard loss. On the following play, Harvard's Kris Thabit blocked an attempted Columbia punt, and who else but Hirshland recovered the ball for the TD that put the game in the bag for Harvard.

Honorable mention in this category goes to big Crimson offensive tackle Maurice Frilot, who delivered a devastating block late in the second quarter which sprung Phillips on a 20-yd. end around down to the Columbia four. Two plays later, Tony Hinz danced across the goal line with Harvard's final TD of the first half.

Kicking and Screaming: Before the season, the biggest question mark for the Crimson was the status of its kicking game. Well, with one game under its belt, Harvard seems to have solved half--but only half--of that quandry.

Senior Bruce Jacob handled all of the place-kicking duties for Harvard on Saturday, and converted all five of his point-afters. Although he was not summoned by Restic for any field goal attempts, all of Jacob's extra points sailed far over the crossbars, suggesting that he may have considerable success with three-pointers as well.

The punting situation was a different matter. Alan Hall handled the punting duties and was fair at best, averaging a semi-respectable 32.6 yards per kick, but getting off a number of 20-yard stinkers in the process.

"Our kicking game has got to improve if we're going to contend," Harvard Coach Restic allowed after the contest was over.