Football Rally Falls Short

With momentum on its side, 1:18 left in the game, and Colgate at its own 15-yard line, Harvard Coach Tim Murphy thought his team was on its way to victory.

"The momentum was all ours," said Murphy after Harvard had scored its game-tying touchdown on a miraculous 33-yard pass off a Terence Patterson reverse. "And I'm convinced we're going to win this thing in overtime."

Unfortunately for the Crimson, his confidence was misplaced as Harvard (2-1, 1-0 Ivy) fell to Colgate (4-1) in front of 7,458 at The Stadium on Saturday, 24-21.

Colgate senior quarterback Ryan Vena led a 69-yard drive that ended with a 33-yard field goal as time wound down. Vena completed 3-of-6 passes for 44 yards and ran for 25 yards to lead the game-winning drive that took the Red Raiders to the Harvard 16 with five seconds left in the game.

"I thought about running it out and going to overtime," Colgate Coach Dick Biddle said. "But the kids convinced me to go for it."

After a Crimson timeout to freeze him, it was senior placekicker Erich Kutschke's turn to deliver.

"As they were driving, I was thinking there was no way I could let these guys down," Kutschke said. "Once I hit it I knew it was going right down the middle."

The kick knuckled through inside the left upright, and the two officials standing under the posts looked at each other and hesitated before calling the kick good.

"I was just worried about whether they'd call it good," Biddle said.

The match-up against the Red Raiders was marked by momentum shifts and a myriad of turnovers forced by two aggressive defenses.

The first quarter seemed all Colgate as it outgained Harvard, 82-26, and dominated the battle for field position. Despite going into Harvard territory on every possession, Colgate was unable to deliver any points.

On its second possession of the second quarter, Harvard was once again stuck deep in its own territory after failing to get a first down. Colgate got the ball at its own 44-yard line after a 40-yard boot by senior punter Mike Giampaolo. On Colgate's first play, junior tailback Randall Joseph went up the middle then broke to the left sideline for a 56-yard touchdown run, giving the Red Raiders a 7-0 lead. Sophomore corner Willie Alford had a shot but slid off his back at the 10-yard line. Joseph eventually ran for 207 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries.

"He's a deceptive runner," said Biddle of Joseph. "He's got strong legs, and he's got great speed."

The rest of the half went scoreless as the Crimson offense continued to struggle. Throughout the first half, Crimson quarterback Brad Wilford was chased by a group of Colgate linemen that was smaller and faster than any that Harvard had seen.

"We knew going in that they were the quickest, most athletic, and maybe most productive defensive unit we've played," Murphy said. "We really struggled in the first half offensively against the blitz."

Add to that its continual bad field position and a stagnant running game that gained only two yards, and most would think that the Crimson was lucky to be down by only a touchdown after two quarters of play.

"It was a game of momentum, and they had most of it obviously in the first half," Murphy said. "The key was to just keep them out of the end zone."

The second half began auspiciously for the Crimson when senior Mike Sands crushed Vena on an option keep, forcing a fumble that was recovered by junior defensive lineman R.D. Kern at the Colgate 45. The Crimson then went the distance in five plays, ending on a 15-yard touchdown run by senior tailback Chris Menick down the left sideline on an option play. Menick got a great block from the fullback to get to the corner. The score tied the game, 7-7, with 10:55 left in the quarter.

However, Harvard's offensive woes took a different turn later in the quarter. After the Crimson defense was able to hold Colgate on fourth down, Wilford passed to freshman Kyle Cremarosa on the ensuing possession. The ball was tipped in the air, and Red Raider senior safety Tom McCarroll intercepted it at the Harvard 33. Four plays later, Colgate took the ball into the end zone on a five-yard run by backup senior fullback Lydelle King. King got the ball on a fullback dive off the option and was untouched.

On Harvard's first play of its next possession, the ball was once again tipped on a pass to Cremarosa. Once again, Colgate intercepted the ball and had the ball on the Harvard 39. On the very next play, Joseph sprinted up the middle then up the right sideline for his second long touchdown run of the day, outrunning two defensive backs to give the Red Raiders a 21-7 lead with 1:55 left in the quarter.

Harvard threw its third straight drive-ending interception on the first play after the ensuing kickoff. On an option pitch right, Menick pulled up and threw a pass down the right sideline--again to Cremarosa--that McCaroll picked off with ease.

The Crimson committed a total of four turnovers on the day, two of which led directly to Colgate touchdowns.

"We really got some momentum in the second half, although it was compromised a couple of times by some turnovers, which really put some pressure on our defense," Murphy said.

In the fourth quarter, however, the tide began to turn. Harvard stopped Colgate after the Menick interception. On its next possession, Colgate once again seemed to be on the move after two Joseph runs for 18 yards that put the ball on the Harvard 38. Senior strong safety Mike Madden then intercepted a Vena pass at the 30 and returned the ball to midfield.

Harvard then took twelve plays and 5:38 to score on a Wilford keeper from one yard out. An eight-yard Wilford scramble kept the drive alive on third-and-6, and Menick had a nine-yard run to convert a fourth-and-one. Another Menick run went for two yards on third-and-two. Two more runs gave the Crimson first-and-goal at the one to set up Wilford's score.

The Crimson defense was able to hold the Red Raiders to a three-and-out, and Harvard got the ball on its own 21 with 3:54 left in the game. Once again, the offense converted in crucial situations. After collecting a first down, the offense faced fourth-and-5 at the Harvard 43-yard line. Wilford passed left to Patterson two yards behind the line of scrimmage. Patterson avoided several tacklers and ran to the Colgate 33 for a 24-yard gain.

That set up a play that no one, not even Patterson, expected to be as successful as it was. The play started as a reverse to Patterson but ended with a pass to Cremarosa down the left sideline.

"It was diagrammed as a pass, but if I was wide open, I was going to take the grass," said Patterson, who played quarterback in high school. "It shocked me because the guy was about halfway between myself and the receiver."

Cremarosa caught the ball at the 3-yard line and skipped into the end zone for the score that tied the game.

Harvard, however, had left Colgate enough time on the clock for Vena, who had been relatively quiet throughout the game and threw three interceptions, to lead the game-winning drive.

"I can't say enough about Vena," Biddle said. "He's the best player I've been around. He turned this program around, when he came in, we were 0-11."

Despite his team's obvious frustration, Murphy said he was hopeful that this game would serve as both a lesson and re-affirmation of the team's ability.

"We believe we can play with anyone," Murphy said. "We just didn't do things consistently well to be a good team like Colgate."