Admiral Perry Navigates Ivy Honors

Fact: the Harvard football team scored more points against Army than Syracuse and Wake Forest managed in two games combined. The Crimson's 28-point output was the most the Cadets have allowed this season.

The Crimson offense can score this season; it has improved with each game and Harvard still has one more non-Ivy game to improve even more. Harvard quarterback Tim Perry was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week for his role in helping the Crimson score four touchdowns despite not being given much time by his offensive line.

"We'll be fine," Harvard Coach Joe Restic said after the Army game. "We did some excellent things against an excellent club."

Sure, the Crimson did give up 56 points, but it was against a very tough wishbone offense which Harvard will not see for the rest of the season. No Ivy team can run the wishbone as well as the Cadets, although Yale has utilized a new wishbone offense to rack up victories in two of its first three games.

"Harvard has a very fine offense," Army Coach Jim Young said. "Their defense is hard to judge because they have to play against the wishbone. You have to see how they'll do against the passing teams in the Ivy."

The Crimson has given up only 392 yards in the air this season. Not counting run-crazy Army's 69 yards, opponents (Columbia and Holy Cross) averaged over 160 yards per game. It's too early to tell how the rest of the season will fare for the Crimson defense, but the Dartmouth and Princeton games in mid-October should reveal a lot.

Injury Report: Restic's artificial surface fears came true against the Cadets as several Crimson players suffered injuries. The biggest blow had to be that to adjuster Bobby Frame, who hurt his ankle in the second quarter and had to sit out the rest of the game. Frame anchors, with cornerback Jim Smith, a Harvard pass defense which has recovered from a horrendous 1988 season to become one of the Ivy's stingiest. Frame is listed as questionable for Saturday's Lehigh game.

Other Crimson players shaken up at West Point were running backs David Haller and Silas Myers. The squad's leading rusher, Jim Reidy, missed the Army game and is listed as questionable for the Lehigh game.

"Our biggest loss was physical," Restic said after the Army game. "We suffered some key injuries to some very important players and we have to see their status for next week."

Mark My Words: Harvard split end Mark Bianchi should be one to watch in the Ivies this year after the game he had against Army. Bianchi caught five passes for 89 yards, including two touchdowns, one of which was a 13-yd. fumble recovery that gave Harvard a 14-0 lead.

The senior also scored Harvard's last touchdown on a 6-yd. run and made a spectacular catch in traffic early in the fourth quarter to set up his second touchdown reception from Perry. If Bianchi, who leads Harvard receivers with 16 catches for 259 yards, can give the Army secondary headaches, imagine what he can do to Brown and Yale. More to come.

Turned over: Just like the Holy Cross game, Harvard turnovers turned the Cadets game around. With the score tied, 14-14, Perry was picked off to set up Army's third touchdown of the game. On the next Harvard possession, Perry lost the ball after being sacked. Six plays later, Army led, 28-14.

The last two games have proven that Harvard can move the ball and has a potent offense if it can avoid the costly turnovers. But more mistakes will mean a very frustrating Ivy season.

Too Many Tackles: How busy was the Harvard defense against the Army wishbone? Six Crimson defenders finished with 10 or more total tackles.