Harvard, Brown, Cornell Stay Unbeaten in Ivy Week Two

With all eight Ivy League teams playing non-conference opponents and all but Harvard playing at home, last Saturday saw seven games on Ivy League campuses, the most all season.

Harvard (2-0) stayed unbeaten, topping Holy Cross 25-17, and senior cornerback Kane Waller was named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week for making two interceptions and six tackles. Here's a look at how the Crimson's Ivy competition fared:

Brown (2-0), hot off its dramatic Week One victory over Yale, continued to keep its fans on the edge of their seats with another come-from-behind victory over Lafayette (0-2), 35-28.

After quickly going down 7-0, the Bears rallied with 28 straight points, and then fought off a late game charge by the Leopards, thanks in part to linebacker Brad Grulke, who nabbed seven tackles and blocked a punt, returning it 32 yards for a touchdown.

Last week's Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week, Brown's quarterback James Perry, continued to find his favorite receiver, Stephen Campbell, as Campbell notched his second 100-plus yard receiving game this season. Campbell has 16 receptions for 216 yards in two games.

The victory continues the Bears' eight-game winning streak, which dates back to the middle of the '98 season.

Led by sophomore quarterback Ricky Rahne, who tied a school record with four touchdown passes, Cornell (2-0) easily dismissed Fordham (0-3), 42-14.

Rahne was 19-of-29 for 232 yards passing, and was named the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week.

The four strikes tied the mark held by Mark Allen (vs. Brown in 1972 and vs. Columbia in 1973) and Mike Hood (vs. Buffalo in 1998).

Cornell senior Deon Harris continued the milestone day with a career-high 143 yards rushing. Harris is off to a hot start with 256 yards rushing on 51 carries in the opening two weeks.

Pennsylvania (1-1), the other Week One winner in the league, was less lucky in its attempt to stay unbeaten, as it was pounded by Villanova (3-1), 34-6.

Bombarded by the aerial assault of Villanova quarterback Chris Boden, who set a school record with 424 yards passing, the Penn defense could not repeat its opening week performance, when it held Dartmouth to only six points in a 17-6 win.

The sole shining light for Penn was linebacker Jim Hisgen, who recorded 10 tackles and one sack in a losing cause.

In New Haven, Conn., Yale rebounded from its defensive collapse in its opener against Brown by downing Valparaiso (2-1), 48-2.

Headlined by Joe Walland's 281 yards passing in only two and one-half quarters of play, the Elis used six quarterbacks in the game and amassed 369 yards through the air.

Peter Mazza's 67-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter sealed the game for the Elis.

While the rest of the Yale defense held Valparaiso to only 55 yards on the ground on 35 carries.

Valparaiso scored its only two points of the game on a safety in the first quarter, when Walland was called for intentional grounding in the end zone.

Like Yale, Columbia (1-1) rebounded from its 24-7 opening week loss to Harvard thanks to a Towson (3-1) squad that was its own worst enemy.

Down 14-13 and driving in the fourth quarter, Towson quarterback Joe Lee coughed up a fumble that was recovered by the Lions' Greg Bown.

Tailback Norman Hayes came off the bench for Columbia to capitalize on the turnover with a two-yard scamper into the end zone that highlighted a 124-yard rushing day for the senior from California.

On the ensuing kick-off, Towson's Darnell Evans fumbled on the return, and Chris Schaefer recovered the loose ball, putting the game out of reach with an 11-yard touchdown return.

In the midst of a game marked by sloppy play, Columbia senior Justin Meadlin starred on punt returns following his return from major knee surgery that kept him sidelined for all but five minutes of the 1998 season.

Meadlin earned Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week honors by opening Columbia's scoring with a 69-yard punt return for a touchdown. He finished the day with four returns for 116 yards.

Dartmouth (0-2) was unable to produce anything offensively once again, suffering a 35-3 beating at the hands of Colgate (3-1).

Colgate started slow but scored 14 points in 28 seconds to close out the first half, with the second of its two touchdowns coming thanks to a fumble by Big Green quarterback Brian Mann.

Fired up after halftime, Colgate put the game out of reach, scoring on three consecutive possessions to open the second half.

Colgate quarterback Ryan Vena, among the top offensive threats in the Northeast, connected with Joe Parker for three touchdowns, including an 80-yard strike in the third quarter.

Vena finished the game 17-of-24 with 257 yards passing, while Parker was equally impressive with 10 receptions for 191 yards.

On the other side of the ball, Dartmouth's offensive line was overwhelmed by a Colgate defense that forced Mann to scramble 11 times for a net gain of only two yards, and held Dartmouth's faltering running game to only 53 yards on 28 carries.

In the day's final game, Princeton (0-2) held the first night game in school history in front of 20,941 fans as it hosted Lehigh (3-0).

Lehigh, ranked No. 12 in the AP Division I-AA poll, came into the game riding a 14-game winning streak and would not be denied in its attempt to continue it.

Paralyzed by a running game that averaged less than a yard per play on 26 carries, Princeton was shut out 31-0 and suffered its worst defeat since 1986, when it lost 37-0 to Northwestern.

The Tigers' 0-2 overall start and their 0-2 start at home is their worst since Princeton Coach Steve Tosches arrived in 1987.

Lehigh's 15-game winning streak is the longest current streak in I-AA.