The crowds told the story Saturday, as they always do at The Game.
Blue-painted Yalies, screamed and swayed in unison. Singing, pointing and waving their individual college flags, they celebrated Yale's victory over Harvard on the chilly weekend afternoon.
And on the other side of the Stadium sat the glum Harvard crowd, quiet in defeat except for the occasional defiant yell, "Yale Sucks!"
Unfortunately, on the field, Yale didn't.
When the dust settled and the final gun sounded, Yale (5-5 overall, 3-4 Ivy) had defeated Harvard (4-6, 2-5), 32-13.
With first-string quarterback Vin Ferrara out with a knee injury, the Harvard offense could generate only 22 passing yards and relied almost exclusively on the rushing of sophomore Eion Hu and junior Kweli Thompson.
While the two running backs turned in decent performances, the load ultimately proved too heavy and Yale pulled away in the second half with three touchdowns.
The Crimson defense, while forcing the Eli offense to punt numerous times, could not prevent Yale from scoring when a blocked punt in the first half and an interception in the second twice gave Yale the ball near the Harvard goal-line.
Both series ended in quick-strike Yale touchdowns, and those proved the difference in this 111th playing of The Game.
"I have to give [Yale] coach Cozza credit," said Harvard coach Tim Murphy. "They made very, very few mistakes.
"We're obviously a much different team now than we were a few weeks ago. We're much more one-dimensional. Only being able to run the football today did not allow us the opportunity to stay in the football game." Harvard actually opened the scoring when Hu plunged in for a one-yard touchdown on Crimson's third drive of the game. The score was set up by an eye-popping 36-yard reverse by freshman running back Roger Bourcicot, and it sparked a Harvard squad that until then had shown little life. On that drive, the Crimson doggedly determined to get into the end zone and not even fourth down and four could stop them. Kezirian and Hu combined on an inside hand-off to get the first down and keep the drive alive. After the score, however, the wheels fell of the Harvard wagon. Yale came roaring back with two second-quarter touchdowns to grab a 12-6 half-time lead. Disaster struck when Murphy inserted freshman Jay Snowden at quarterback to open the second half. An obviously nervous Snowden, appearing for only the second time all season, threw an interception on second down that gave Yale the ball on the Harvard 11-yard line. The Eli offense struck immediately when senior tailback Bob Nelson took a pitch from junior quarterback Chris Hetherington and scored. "After that drive, we had the momentum we needed," said Nelson. Trailing 19-6, Harvard rallied for a touchdown six minutes later with a drive powered entirely by the running of Hu and Thompson. With the score now 19-13 and the Harvard fans still hopeful, Yale answered with the drive that effectively ended The Game. Driving the ball past mid-field, the Elis came to face a fourth-and-13 situation on Harvard's 29-yard line. Hetherington managed to find tight end David Prybyla for a 22-yard strike over the middle, however, which led to a touchdown two plays later. And, sealed the Crimson's coffin. Twenty-six to 13, Yale. 111th Game, Yale. Disappointment, Harvard. It was a simple Game to explain. Yale's offense was opportunistic when it counted, and Harvard's offense could not rise to the challenge. "We did not effectively stop their running game in a hard-nosed, blue-collar game," Murphy said. "They made the most of their opportunities."
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