Gridders To Battle Mirror Image

Both Harvard and Brown enter tomorrow's football game coming off surprising victories and riding waves of momentum.

The Crimson's 35-12 win over Dartmouth, albeit an upset, was somewhat predictable considering the Big Green's injury situation and Harvard's potential. The case with which the Crimson handled the Big Green was a surprise as Harvard put together its most complete game all season.

The Crimson's win, no matter how big it was, pales in comparison to Brown's performance last Saturday. The Bears, previously sitting alone and winless in the Ivy basement, traveled into Ithaca and knocked off undefeated and nationally-ranked Cornell, 16-3.

Brown effectively shut down the potent Cornell running game to 76 yards and capitalized on Big Red turnovers to solidify the win.

Aside from last week's performances, the Bears and the Crimson share other striking similarities.

Each team is in its first year with a new head coach. Harvard, of course, is headed by Tim Murphy, and Brown, by Mark Whipple.

Whipple is known throughout the college ranks as an outstanding offensive stategist. He returned to his alma mater this season after a six-year stint at the University of New Haven.

Harvard and Brown both sport 4-3 records, with only a slight difference in their conference marks. Harvard is 2-2 in league play, while Brown is 1-3.

Ironically, it is the first time either team has had a winning record after seven games since 1987.

Additionally, both teams have high-scoring offenses and suspect defenses. Given this, it is likely that the teams will continue the tradition of shoot-outs it has established the past few season; an average of 68 points has been scored in the last four Harvard-Brown games.

Finally, both teams are desperately trying to enter the Ivy's upper division.

For Brown, any hopes of realizing its goal of a finish in the league's top four live and die with a win over Harvard.

Despite its slow Ivy start, the Bears racked up a perfect non-conference record with wins over Colgate, Holy Cross and Rhode Island. The non-league wins were sandwiched between Ivy losses to Yale, Princeton and Penn. Then, of course, there was last week's huge win over Dartmouth.

Brown's success this year has depended on its offense's ability to put points on the scoreboard. In wins, the Bears have averaged 23 points-per-game compared to just nine points-per-game in its three losses.

The Bear attack is led by sophomore quarterback Jason McCullough. McCullough has passed for 160 yards-per-game this season and has tossed eight touchdowns on the season.

He has spread the ball around to a deep receiving corps, which features five players with more than ten catches. Standouts in the large crop include seniors Charlie Buckley and Stephen Smith.

The Brown running game is led by the tandem of Paul Fichiera and Marquis Jessie. Fichiera, a junior, rushed for 124 yards last week against Cornell and has an 80-yard average this season. Jessic, a sophomore, has also averaged over 80 yards-per-game. He returns to the Bear lineup this week after missing two games for hernia surgery.

The Brown defense will try to match last week's sterling effort. It will try to slow down a highly productive Harvard attack.

The Bear defenders have had trouble this season, giving up more than 300 yards and twenty points-per-game.

Junior defensive end Tony Quarnaccio, who also doubles as a flanker for the Bears, had four sacks in the win over Cornell and anchors a solid Brown front three.

Senior safety Eugene Smith leads the Bears in tackles with 68 and also has two interceptions on the season.

The Brown defense also has a big-play man in senior Tom Hurst. Against Cornell, Hurst returned a fumble 61 yards to the Big Red six-yard line and picked off a pass to secure the win.

If the game comes down to a field goal, Brown could have a distinct advantage. Bear kicker Bob Warden has had excellent accuracy, converting on eight of nine field goals attempts this season.

In addition to place kicking, the Bears have suffered from rather anemic special teams play, averaging only 14 yards per kick-off return, six yards per punt return and 35 yards per punt.

If Harvard is to win, it must put together another solid all-around performance; it must match its consistent offense with an adequate defensive effort. A win would give the Crimson a winning record in the Ivy League and clinch at least a .500 mark for the season.

Harvard could also extend its traditional domination over Brown in the teams' series history. Despite losing 43-29 last year, Harvard has won 11 of the last 13 meetings with the Bears and leads the overall series 68-23-2.

No matter what the outcome is, the game promises to be entertaining and to have a tremendous impact on the Ivy standings.