Harvard Takes on Brown Under the Lights

The Harvard foobtall team looks to continue its excellent start as it takes on Brown (1-0, 0-0 Ivy) in the Ivy League season opener in Providence, R.I., tomorrow night. This will be the Bears’ first-ever night game at Brown Stadium.

Last Saturday, the Crimson (1-0, 0-0) rolled over Holy Cross in its first game of the season by a score of 34-6. Harvard hopes to capitalize on that momentum as it directs its efforts to Ivy League play this weekend.

For the fourth year out of the last five, the Crimson has been selected in a poll by the national media to win the Ivy League championship.

But the media’s long-standing infatuation with Harvard hasn’t seemed to have any effect on the Crimson’s mentality.

“I’m a firm believer that looking at preseason accolades is not a good indication of what’s going to happen before the end of the season,” said senior offensive lineman Brent Osborne. “You just have to work hard every week, and whatever happens, happens.”

Against the Crusaders last weekend, Harvard displayed its prowess on both sides of the ball. On offense, the Crimson was led by senior quarterback Andrew Hatch, who completed 20 of 25 passes for 276 yards and threw three touchdowns in his first Harvard start.

Despite Hatch’s lack of previous playing time for the Crimson, Harvard coach Tim Murphy was not too surprised by the quarterback’s performance against Holy Cross.

“What you never know is how kids are going to react under pressure, how the intangibles are going to really come out,” Murphy said. “And in [Hatch’s] case, in this particular game, he played it really smart. He was really poised, [He played a] mentally and physically tough football game.”

Defensively, the Crimson was anchored by junior linebacker Blaise Deal, who led all defenders with 11 tackles and an interception, and senior Josue Ortiz, who claimed five solo tackles from the defensive tackle position, with two preventing fourth-down conversions in the second half.

But Harvard also knows that its road test in Providence might not be as deftly handled as its match against Holy Cross was.

“This should be a much tougher game for a variety of reasons,” Murphy said. “One, I just think [Brown’s] a better football team than Holy Cross. Holy Cross was a very solid team, but in all honesty, they’re not the team they were a year ago. So we’ve got to plan for a game that’s going to be much more physical, a much different type of offense and defense.”

Last Saturday, the Bears showcased their never-say-die mentality, as they squeaked out a 33-30 win against Stony Brook in double overtime—despite having trailed for the majority of the game. And in this weekend’s 110th playing of the Harvard-Brown rivalry, the Bears will be seeking retribution for their razor-thin loss last season at Harvard Stadium.

Last year, the Crimson led comfortably, 24-14, before Brown scored with 34 seconds remaining and then forced an improbable turnover off an onside kick to regain possession. In the final play of game, the Harvard defense batted down a desperation pass by the Bears to hold on and win, 24-21.

For Brown, the return of senior quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero from an injury to his throwing hand that kept him out of last week’s game, poses questions about the effectiveness of the Bears’ offense. After a record-setting season in 2009 after which he was named first-team All-Ivy, Newhall-Caballero will be without his two favorite targets, Bobby Sewall and Buddy Farnham, both of whom graduated last spring.

“I think their receiving corps is much more by committee [this year],” Murphy said. “Literally, you went ten games, and those two kids, Sewall and Farnham, never came out of the game...And since Caballero didn’t play last week, he’s still got to get used to his receiving corps. So there’s a little bit of a sense of the unknown because of the personnel they’ve lost and because it’s their Ivy opener.”

As tomorrow’s game—a game that will have some important ramifications for the Ivy League title—approaches, both teams still have much to prove on the field.

“Brown is very similar to us,” Osborne said. “They are a very tough, physical team. They are really hard workers, and when two tough physical teams come together, it’s bound to come down to the last play.”