Football Wins Again, Now 2-0

WORCESTER--Senior quarterback Brad Wilford first staked his claim to the starting job last season against Holy Cross, guiding the Harvard football team to a 20-14 come-from-behind overtime win.

Wilford and his teammates might have been forced to play sudden death again if Crusader wide receiver Steve Green had been able to get a foot in bounds.

Instead, Harvard (2-0, 1-0 Ivy) managed to weather a last minute Crusader drive when Green was ruled out in the end zone, giving the Crimson a 25-17 win Saturday over Holy Cross (1-2, 1-0 Patriot) at Fitton Field in front of 11,248. Wilford cemented his role as the team's top quarterback, passing for 202 yards as he brought his squad back from a 14-3 deficit.

"It was another great game between Holy Cross and Harvard," Holy Cross Coach Dan Allen said. "These teams have a nice rivalry. Of course, we would have liked to be able to have scored that final touchdown."

When senior placekicker Mike Giampaolo missed a 45-yard field goal well short with the wind at his back with just 2:16 remaining in the game, it seemed of little consequence as Holy Cross took over at its own 28 with no timeouts.

On third-and-6, sophomore wide Michael Coleman broke a tackle on an apparent four-yard pass for a gain of 12, and the Crusaders had new life.

A nice screen pass and a nine-yard gain brought the ball deep into Crimson territory. Quarterback Ryan Collar found Green along the left sideline at the 9-yard line with 32 seconds left.

The coverage was airtight on the first two downs. Collar had to throw the ball away on first down but couldn't elude the rush on second and was sacked for a seven-yard loss.

As the clock ran down, Collar was noticeably confused as he seemed to call for a timeout he didn't have. Allen straightened him out, and Collar spiked the ball, setting up the final play.

On fourth-and-goal, Green ran a fade pattern to the back of the end zone. Collar lofted the ball, and Green made a great one-handed catch but landed just out-of-bounds to end the game.

Even if the catch counted, Holy Cross would have had to execute a two-point conversion to send the game to overtime.

"[Harvard] didn't do anything we didn't expect," Allen said. "We just didn't have any timeouts left. I wish we didn't have to spike the ball."

Harvard was outplayed for much of the first half as the Crusaders stormed the backfield with its pass rush and took advantage of a costly turnover to build a 14-3 lead in a span of 18 seconds.

Down 14-11, Harvard seized control of the game on a drive that began with 2:19 left before halftime. The series, which started at the Crimson 18, looked destined for a three-and-out when a Holy Cross substitution penalty set up an easy first down for Harvard on a quick pass to senior wide receiver Terence Patterson.

On second-and-seven, Wilford hit Patterson with a quick catch-and-run pass that Patterson motored down the sidelines to the Crusader 49. After an eight-yard catch by freshman flanker Kyle Cremarosa, Harvard ran a clear out screen for junior tailback Chuck Nwokocha.

Nwokocha found nothing but daylight until he sidestepped a safety then picked up a block by Patterson at the 10-yard line that allowed him to cut back into the end zone--a stunning 41-yard gain with just 45 seconds remaining in the half.

"Chuck [Nwokocha] is a kid who we are trying to get on the field," Harvard Coach Tim Murphy said. "When he's out there, he's the fastest guy on the field."

The Crimson dominated almost from the second-half kickoff as senior tailback Chris Menick nearly broke the return for a touchdown. He and fellow senior Troy Jones would find many holes to run through as the offensive line improved on its first-half performance and began to wear down the Crusader defense. Menick would finish the game with 112 yards.

"Our backs ran hard today," Murphy said. "We came out into the second half and just ran the ball real well."

Despite giving up a 39-yard field goal by junior Frank Traupman at 7:26 of the third quarter that narrowed the Harvard lead to 18-17, the defense virtually suffocated Holy Cross for most of the second half. It especially keyed on the run, snuffing the Crusaders' repeated attempts to run the draw by running backs Antonio Thompson and Joe Chambers.

The defense set up Harvard's final touchdown on a fumble recovery at the Holy Cross 12-yard line by senior linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski. Crusader quarterback Ryan Collar attempted a lateral pass to running back James Conrow, but pressure forced the backwards throw to sail through Conrow's hands, and the always-alert Kacyvenski pounced on it.

On first down, Wilford faked an option pitch left, freezing linebacker Patrick Colgan. He stepped right by Colgan and darted into the end zone, expanding Harvard's lead to 25-17.

With the defense playing so well, it seemed that Harvard would cruise to that ultimate final score. The defense kept snuffing the run, limiting Thompson to 27 total yards on the day while his whole team rushed for a mere 61. But Holy Cross, as it did all day, refused to give up.

Down 14-3, the Crimson adjusted its offense, switching the primary target from the wideouts to captain Chris Eitzmann, a tight end.

On first-and-10 from the Holy Cross 42, Wilford hit Eitzmann over the middle for 24 yards. Jones was brought down for no gain on the next play. Wilford found Eitzmann again at the 10-yard line, and the captain barreled his way to the five.

Junior fullback Grady Smalling caught a bullet pass over the middle for a touchdown at 6:44, narrowing the score to 14-9.

For the two-point conversion, the Crimson set up a roll right by Wilford. Junior left tackle Mike Clare, an eligible receiver for the play, went in motion to line up next to sophomore right tackle Justin Stark, and Jones joined them on the line. As expected, Wilford rolled right, but he threw against the grain to a wide-open Eitzmann in the left corner of the end zone, bringing Harvard within a field goal.

"I kept trying to find something that worked on offense," Murphy said. "I just kept trying to get match-ups, and we were able to get Eitzmann and the backs against their linebackers."

Although searching for Eitzmann sparked the comeback, Wilford kept it going. In addition to throwing for 202 yard on 17-of-29 passing, he also ran for 76 yards, netting only 31 as Holy Cross sacked him six times.

Certainly not the fastest runner on the field, he has displayed an elusiveness over his first two games, even executing a nice spin move on a 37-yard run during the third quarter. Wilford also executed two critical blocks on senior defensive back John Aloisi, the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week, during the two successful reverse plays Harvard ran.

"Brad's tough," Murphy said. "He did a great job hanging in there."

Wilford split the game's MVP award with Holy Cross linebacker Tavares Brewington.

Wilford needed every trick as the Crusader pass rush was very intense, especially early in the game. Brewington earned his accolade by sacking him four times.

The Crusader pressure off its Arizona flex defense and some Crimson miscues handed its offense great field position early, producing two quick touchdowns. The first Holy Cross scoring drive began on Harvard's 41-yard line after the Crimson was forced to punt deep in its territory when Wilford had no time to pass.

"Brewington is a big time player," Allen said. "We felt like our defense was going to be great today."

On first down, Chambers darted through a gaping hole for a 13-yard pickup. After a seven-yard pass on second-and-10 from the 28-yard line, Collar kept the ball on an option left and dove over the pylon at 1:15.

Menick fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Holy Cross took over at the 21-yard line. The next play, sophomore wideout Kendy Hall ran a fade pattern--almost a mirror image of the one Green ran at the end of the game--and made a nice leaping catch to make the score 14-3 at 0:57, a mere 18 seconds after the first strike.

Giampaolo had nailed a 39-yard field goal to give Harvard a 3-0 lead at 9:54.

The Crimson was not nearly as sharp this week as it was in its 24-7 win over Columbia the previous Saturday. The offensive line especially had a mixed day. While its overall protection improved in the second half, it showed more of its inexperience. Sophomore Steve Collins made his first start, filling in at guard for injured sophomore Danny Kistler.

Harvard was also nabbed for several holding and illegal substitution penalties, committing seven infractions overall for 50 yards.

"Our offensive line was aggressive, but not nearly as sharp as we'd like," Murphy said.

Still, the Crimson managed to hold on in another thrilling game against Holy Cross. Miscues aside, it demonstrated enough talent and potential to build some momentum for next week's tough game against Colgate.

"We kept our poise out there, but we can't put our defense in that position," Murphy said. "We need to be very crisp against Colgate."

Saturday was perhaps not the sharpest win for the Crimson, but it certainly was exciting. If Wilford has a track record for anything in his nascent tenure as quarterback, it's thrilling victories over Holy Cross.