Finch Rebounds From Preseason Concussions

After suffering two concussions in training camp and missing the first month of the season, junior defensive back Mike Finch was finally on the dealing end of a knockout.

Finch, playing in just his second game of the season on Saturday, had four tackles, a pass break-up and a game-sealing interception in Harvard’s 39-14 victory at Princeton.

With the Tigers trying to close a 32-14 deficit and driving deep in Crimson territory with 6:58 left in the fourth quarter, Finch intercepted a long pass downfield in the endzone to break up the drive.

“It was a great call by [Defensive Coordinator Kevin] Doherty to give a disguised coverage in a situation where they’re going for the deep ball,” Finch explained. “We made our coverage look like a man-zone concept, and at the snap of the ball, everybody ran to their zones. The quarterback didn’t see me.”

“I thought it was huge,” Doherty added. “They had a chance to get some momentum back, but he made a great play, and he attacked the football and wrestled for it.”

On the very next play, running back Clifton Dawson rumbled 80 yards for a touchdown to cap off the scoring and ice the victory.

The turnover proved to be Finch’s biggest contribution so far in a season that had been hampered by the effects of two concussions that he suffered early in the year.

“It’s just a big blur,” Finch said regarding his first concussion during camp. “I remember lining up for the play, and I remember running towards the ball carrier. I certainly don’t remember getting carried off the field.”

Finch’s doctor told him that the incident was a mix between heat exhaustion and a concussion. Teammates and coaches say that Finch had head-to-head contact with another player, but that the hit was not particularly strong.

Finch was carried off the field into the training room, where he temporarily regained enough consciousness to correctly give the name of his girlfriend upon being asked to do so.

Then Finch found himself in Mt. Auburn Hospital, before being transferred to UHS for the night.

Doctors told Finch to sit out a week. He did so, but on his first day back, the problems returned following another minor occurrence of head-to-head contact.

“I started getting horrible, horrible headaches again, to the point where I could barely open my eyes,” Finch said. “I was up all night throwing up, and I could barely even function. I just felt horrible.”

Trainers informed Finch that he had suffered another concussion. He spent two nights at UHS, then took nearly a month off from football to try to heal.

Finch finally returned to practice two weeks ago, and despite the long downtime was able to quickly contribute to a victory.

“Mike’s a talented kid who has had some misfortunes with injuries throughout his career, so he’s never really been able to blossom,” Doherty. said “But I always knew that the potential was there. I wouldn’t have put him in there if I didn’t have confidence that he would get the job done.”

“He was a starter coming into the season,” added senior safety James Harvey. “He absolutely had the capability, and he knew the defense as well as anyone did. He’s very vocal, and he knows what he’s doing.”

Finch was pleased to finally step up in a game, but remained critical of his performance.

“I actually thought I played horribly,” he admitted, “until we watched film the next day. I was so nervous, and everything I did just felt wrong. I still have a lot of work to do.”

As important as Finch was on Saturday, he will play an even bigger role this upcoming weekend due to the loss of senior defensive back Sean Tracy. Tracy suffered a contusion and sprain in his knee against Princeton.

After an initial fear that Tracy might miss the rest of the season, he is now expected to miss just that one game. But Finch will be one of the key players who will try to fill the void this weekend.

“We’ll definitely miss Sean,” Harvey said. “But we’re confident that guys will step up.”

“I’ve got extremely big shoes to fill,” Finch added.