Football Goes for Second Straight Win at Holy Cross

After a victorious outing last Saturday against the Columbia Lions the Harvard football team looks to continue its winning ways tomorrow afternoon against the Crusaders of Holy Cross.

The Crimson looked impressive in its 24-7 win over Columbia at home last Saturday, in a game highlighted by the unveiling of a revamped Harvard offense that is a threat to score on every play.

The new-look offense will be put to the test on Saturday when it faces Holy Cross' flex defense, which emphazises pressure on the quarterback and on the running game.

"Their defense brings a lot of pressure and uses a lot of blitz packages with one-on-one coverage downfield," senior quarterback Brad Wilford said. "It is a personal challenge to get the ball to a receiver one-on-one before the rush gets to you."

On Saturday, Wilford rose to the challenge of leading the Crimson offense, amassing 190 yards on 12-of-22 passing against the Lion's defense.

Against Holy Cross, he will be facing a team against which he has enjoyed considerable success. Last season, Wilford came off of the bench in the fourth quarter against the Crusaders to lead the Crimson back from a 14-7 deficit to a 20-14 overtime win.

Wilford will be the starting quarterback again against Holy Cross. His solid performance against Columbia kept him ahead of senior quarterback Rich Linden on the depth chart. And according to Coach Tim Murphy there is no quarterback controversy.

"A quarterback controversy only occurs if you have two poor quarterbacks or two great ones," Murphy said. "And here it doesn't exist, since Brad Wilford played as well in his first start as anyone could have expected."

The Holy Cross game has always been important for now second-string quarterback Linden. He made his debut as a starter against the Crusaders in '96 as a first-year, going 12-of-22 for 175 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-25 win. And last year he was benched midway through the game in favor of Wilford.

The key to the passing game against Holy Cross, however, will not be the quarterbacks but the performance of the inexperienced offensive line and receiving corps, as the Crimson will face a variety of blitz packages.

Despite these concerns Murphy expressed confidence in the offensive line.

"[The offensive line] played very well against Columbia apart from some foolish penalties," Murphy said. "The offensive line will be solid."

The line will have to be very well prepared in order to block the blitzes that Holy Cross will throw at them. With eight and sometimes nine men on the line of scrimmage for the Crusaders, it will be a challenge to give Wilford enough time to pass.

Similarly, the inexperienced receiving corps will have to be on top of its game in order to get open quickly before the rush gets past the offensive line.

"The freshman receivers had an auspicious day against Columbia," Murphy said.

Freshman wide receiver Carl Morris, who caught four passes for eighty-nine yards against Columbia, is similarly optimistic.

"I am starting to get adjusted to the offense," Morris said. "The upperclassmen really helped me out and made me feel comfortable."

As for the rushing attack, Harvard was impressive against Columbia, racking up 264 yards on the ground. Columbia, however, runs a much more conservative defense than does Holy Cross, so the Crimson will likely have a harder time moving the ball on the ground tomorrow.

On defense, co-captain Isaiah Kacyvenski '00--who tallied eight solo tackles and an interception last week--and the rest of the Crimson defense will look to control the Holy Cross running game, and to take advantage of the erratic Holy Cross passing game.

"If we don't keep Holy Cross under one hundred yards rushing it will be a very long day," Murphy said.

This will be no easy task for the Crimson, as the Crusaders have had only two rushing attempts for a loss in its first two games of the season, and both netted a loss of only four yards combined.

This statistic attests to the prowess of what is probably Holy Cross' best unit--its offensive line. Holy Cross has averaged 126 yards rushing per game, using its line to pound the ball at its opponents.

But this is a case of strength going against strength, since Harvard held Columbia to only 91 yards rushing on 43 attempts for an average of only 2.1 yards per carry. Harvard will count on Kacyvenski to spearhead the run defense, and hopes to be able to produce a repeat of its performance against Columbia.

When Holy Cross passes, Harvard will try to take advantage of erratic Crusaders quarterback Ryan Collar. Collar has passed for 418 yards completing on 33-of-71 attempts through two games this season.

Despite the impressive yardage, he also has six interceptions to his credit against only one touchdown. The Harvard defense will look to mix up its coverages and defensive packages to confuse Collar.

The Holy Cross passing game features a very quick passing attack which emphazises three-step drops from the quarterback and many quick throws. This may make it difficult for Harvard to get to Collar.

"The reason that no one has been able to put pressure on Collar is that he gets rid of the ball so quickly," Murphy said.

Through two games Collar has not been sacked. Harvard may not be able to stop that streak, but the Crimson will look to use Holy Cross' quick strike passing attack against them to generate errant throws and interceptions.

Harvard will likely try to disguise its coverages to take advantage of the fact that Collar will have to rely entirely on pre-snap reads for his quick passes. With no time to make reads during the play, Collar will be susceptible to defensive trickery.

Harvard will use increased movement in the secondary to confuse Collar as to whether the coverage is zone, man or a combination of the two.

The Crimson has enjoyed success against Holy Cross in recent years, winning the past two matchups. And with its stingy defense and revamped offense Harvard looks poised to continue the winning streak.