Football Perseveres Through Injuries

When the students of Harvard pack their overnight bags and head to New Haven for the 130th Harvard-Yale game this weekend, they may be surprised to see which Harvard players take a starting position the field.

Due to an abnormally large amount of injuries this season, fans can expect to see a number of preseason second and third-stringers in the Yale Bowl on Saturday.

The Crimson (8-1, 5-1 Ivy) has not seen an injury-free week since the team’s opening game against the University of San Diego in late September. Key players sidelined this season inc lude senior kicker David Mothander, senior tight end Cameron Brate, junior linebacker Connor Sheehan, sophomore running back Zach Boden, senior center David Leopard, sophomore wide receiver Andrew Fischer, and junior starting quarterback Conner Hempel.

In Harvard’s matchup against Dartmouth on Nov. 2, about half of the offensive starting lineup was composed of prior second-teamers. Playing without multiple starters, the team eventually secured a 24-21 win against the Big Green.

“Every week there’s someone going down,” Crimson coach Tim Murphy said. “We’re constantly being challenged, but we just keep filling in the gaps.”

Several of the squad’s recent injuries have changed the defense: junior defensive tackle Obum Obukwelu and his brother, fifth-year senior Nnamdi Obukwelu, both went down in November matchups. Fellow senior tackle Jack Dittmer is still recovering from an ankle injury and last week junior defensive back Norman Hayes suffered an injury that might prevent him from suiting up in this weekend’s matchup against the Bulldogs.

“We didn’t expect Nnamdi to be able to play [against Penn]…and Dittmer was only in for nine plays because his ankle was so bad,” Murphy said, “Those guys were in uniform and played some, but they were clearly not 100 percent.”

Despite the injuries, Harvard has seen success thus far this season. The team will enter The Game having fallen only to Princeton in a triple-overtime contest.

Junior kicker Andrew Flesher, called upon after first-string Mothander was injured in practice, attributes the Crimson’s success to both a deep bench and good attitudes.

“We have a good team,” Flesher said. “And if everyone is ready and is in the right mindset to step into the game, then everything should go pretty smoothly even with the injuries.”

In fact, some of the most critical plays of the season have come from second-string players unexpectedly propelled into action.

“Here’s some adversity, here’s a challenge, here’s a great opportunity,” Murphy said. “We look at [the injuries] as an opportunity and not as something that’s really negative. We don’t spend much time thinking about it.”

Running back Paul Stanton was amongst the many who were called upon to step up in a number of close games throughout the season. The sophomore has tallied 818 total yards and a team-high 13 touchdowns.

Flesher was named Ivy League Special Teams Player of the Week twice this season and made a total of seven field goals on 10 attempts.

“We don’t let [the injuries] affect [the attitude] at all,” Murphy said. “We don’t make a big deal out of it and we don’t talk about them with the players at all.”

After being edged out of the starting position by Hempel, senior quarterback Michael Pruneau was granted the opportunity to prove his abilities when Hempel suffered a minor knee injury in the team’s 41-35 triple-overtime win against Holy Cross on Oct. 5.

Pruneau made his debut as starter against Cornell. The Texas native completed 23 of 29 passes for 340 yards and scored twice as the Crimson ultimately topped the Big Red, 34-24. The senior returned the following week to defeat Lafayette and passed for 263 yards and three touchdowns.

“We have found a way to play to our best possible strength under the circumstances,” Murphy said.

Looking ahead, Murphy and his team are not preoccupied with the injuries going into The Game.

“[Our] players may be banged up, but they have been extremely tough and resilient in finding a way to play to their best possible strength under the circumstances.” Murphy said, “[The Bulldogs] have had their fair share of injuries too.”