With quarterbacks Ron Cuccia and Dona Allard moving the ball with ease, the Harvard football team defeated Northeastern, 40-14, Saturday in its annual pre-season scrimmage at Soldiers Field.

Allard, a junior who was expected to battle senior Mike Buchanan for the back-up role behind Cuccia, stole the show, scoring three touchdowns and sparking a second-half drive that put the Huskies to rest.

Moved

"Donnie moved the ball well, he put together a heck of a drive," backfield coach Larry Glueck said yesterday. "Off that performance, I'd have to say the coaches ere very impressed."

Cuccia, who starred at split end last year for the Crimson, turned in a fine performance as well. "There's no question that we're deep at that position," Glueck said. "I think (Head Coach Joe) Restic was pretty impressed with both of them."

Harvard's young defense looked impressive, with linebacker Brad Stinn and cornerback Rocky Delgadillo, both ailing for most of training camp, playing without incident. However, Mark Layden, who had been battling Marc Mills at strong side linebacker, injured a leg and may miss five weeks.

With the squad's opener at Columbia just five days away, Restic will be making final decisions on a number of positions in the next couple of days. The quarterback spot is nominally still up for grabs, although Cuccia is a clear favorite. At cornerback, Jim (Moon) Mullen seems to have the inside track. Paul Scheper, who caught three passes Saturday, has seemingly made the transition to wide receiver and should start this weekend. Incidentally, in Restic's ten years at Harvard, he is 9-1 against Columbia, the only loss a 21-19 squeaker in 1978. The overall series stands at 28-10-1, Harvard.