Lights Out

Perhaps with the real Hermione Granger sitting on their side of the field, the Brown Bears could have borrowed her Time-Turner to reconsider their final play call. But in the muggle world, the Bears will have to live with their decision: down by only three points with under five seconds remaining and poised on the Harvard 25-yard line, Brown coach Phil Estes elected to keep his field goal unit on the sideline and take one last shot at the end zone. Brown quarterback Kyle Newhall took the snap out of the shotgun formation and lofted the ball for wide receiver Bobby Sewall in the right side of the end zone.

Sewall elevated to make the would-be game-winning catch as time expired, but senior linebacker Jon Takamura was there to make sure the ball did not end up in the hands of a Brown wide out as time expired. With the final whistle, the Crimson (1-1, 1-0 Ivy) took home its Ivy League opener, 24-21, in front of 17,263 fans on Friday night under the lights at Harvard Stadium. “It was a good thrown ball, [and] I thought I was in good position,” said Sewall, who finished with 116 all-purpose yards and three TDs. “[I] went up for it, and there was a swarm of crimson there.” Brown’s decision to pass for t

he end zone rather than attempt a 42-yard field goal that would have sent the game into overtime left many fans scratching their heads. But for Brown head coach Phil Estes, the decision was a no-brainer. “I don’t have a kicker that can kick the ball that far,” Estes said. “I know what our kicker can do, and that’s not within his range. I’d rather throw it up to my three best guys and give them a chance to make the play.” But for Brown (0-2, 0-1 Ivy) to simply get a chance to win the game took some magic in its own right. Down 24-14 with 3:07 remaining in the

, it looked as if Harvard would easily walk away with an early-season victory over the team it shared the Ivy League crown with last season. But thanks to an 80-yard touchdown drive and a recovered onside kick, Brown managed to put itself in a position to win the game with under a minute to play. Starting at his own 20-yard line, Brown quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero in h

is second career start orchestrated an 80-yard touchdown drive in which he threw for seventy yards, rushed for ten more, and completed an eight-yard touchdown pass to Sewall with 34 seconds remaining. After Drew Plichta’s extra point attempt was good, the Bears trailed by just three, 24-21. And as Brown lined up for the onsides kick, Harvard knew all it had to do was come u

p with the football to all but assure victory. But sophomore Alex Gedeon was unable to hold on to the 13-yard kick from Brown’s Nathan Lovett and Chimso Okoji recovered the ball for the Bears at its own 43-yard line with 32 seconds remaining. Newhall’s opening rush for 18 yards and the subsequent pass to Trevan Samp for 14 yards placed the ball at the Harvard 25-yard line with under thirty seconds remaining and the Bears down by three. Newhall took three shots for receiver Sewall in the end zone, but each landed incomplete and Harvard snuck away with the victory. “Brown gave us everything they possibly had, and we’re fortunate enough to squeak it out,” said Crimson coach Tim Murphy, whose team was defeated by Brown last season on the road, 24-22. “Though it

wasn’t necessarily pretty in the last two minutes of the game, the kids finished it.” Also making his second career start at quarterback was junior Collier Winters (223 yards, 2 TD), whose second half heroics helped Harvard overcome a 14-10 halftime deficit. On the Crimson’s second drive after halftime, Winters led Harvard with both his arm and his feet on a 92-yard drive that culminated in a three-yard touchdown run from Winters, giving Harvard a 17-14 lead it would not relinquish. After a short rush by rookie Treavor Scales, Winters completed a 38-yard pass to junior wide receiver Chris Lorditch, who ran out of bounds at the 50-yard line. Winters scrambled for ano