PRINCETON, N.J.--Ah, Ivy League football. Three games into the 1998 league schedule, four teams are 2-1, and four are 1-2. Thanks to a 23-22 win at Princeton Saturday afternoon, Harvard is in that four-way tie for first with Princeton, Penn, and Yale.
Statistically, there is no way the Crimson should have been the first team to beat the Tigers at new Princeton Stadium. In front of a crowd of 25,388, Princeton (3-3, 2-1 Ivy) outgained Harvard (3-3, 2-1 Ivy) 460 to 326 yards and dominated the time of possession, 38:20 to 21:40. HARVARD 23 PRINCETON 22
"You look at the statistics and so on, but we're a point short," Princeton Coach Steve Tosches said.
Harvard willed its way to its third straight win, overcoming a 10-0 deficit and using chicanery--a 41-yard touchdown on a halfback pass by junior Chris Menick--to beat a team Harvard Coach Tim Murphy said may be physically superior.
"We don't have the weapons we had last year, and anybody that watches us on a regular basis can see that, "Murphy said. "We've become a very mentally tough, resilient football team and have played very well in the fourth quarter and second halves of the last three games. I thought this was a character win."
The Menick pass came with 14:22 left in the game. Harvard started the drive at its own 19-yard line and advanced by alternating runs and passes. The play before the touchdown was a 12-yard pass by junior quarterback Rich Linden, who got the ball to sophomore fullback Chris Stakich although Princeton linebacker Chuck Hastings tipped it.
On the next play, Menick got an even more unconventional completion after he took what looked to be an option pitch right but then dropped back to pass. Menick ran 19 times for 56 yards on the day against a Princeton defense that entered ranked No. 2 against the run, and one of those carries made him Harvard's second-leading career rusher. But his biggest contribution came from his right arm.
He floated a spiraling pass that sophomore receiver Josh Wilske adjusted his stride to catch, and Wilske dragged a defender the final two yards for the score. It was Menick's first career touchdown pass and Wilske's first career touchdown reception. The point after gave Harvard a 23-19 lead.
"Actually, we just put that in this week because we anticipated they would come in hard and blitz a lot, and it's exactly what they did," Menick said. "As soon as the pitch came out, I Had my eyes on Wilske, and the guy covering him even came up, so I just planted it and chucked it, and he was wide open and made a great catch."
Saturday was a break-out game for Wilske, who caught five passes for 88 "We always spend a lot of time on specialplays," Murphy said. "We're not geniuses, Iguarantee you, but we always feel like specialplays are the type of thing that even if theydon't work, they're going to loosen things up,make them aware of our other personnel and takethe pressure off of Rich Linden and Chris Menick." "I'm reading option all the way, and I see himpull up," Princeton captain and defensive linemanDan Swingos said. "I get my guy off me, and I getthere a second too late, he'd already thrown thatball. All you could do was hope. It was a heartbreaker." The Tigers came back with a field goal on theirnext possession to cut the lead to one with 11:00left in the game. Placekicker Alex Sierk kicked a30-yard field goal after Princeton ran the ball onthird-and-seven and came up short. The big gaineron the 60-yard drive was a 39-yard completion fromquarterback John Burnham to tight end DjordjeCitovic. Princeton had three more chances to win, buteach time the Tigers' drive fell short. Sierkattempted a 46-yard field goal with 5:26 left thatmissed wide left. Harvard forced a three-and-outwith 3:55 left in the game, and junior safety BenGreen intercepted Burnham to seal the game with1:23 remaining. The Tigers drove to the Harvard 45-yard line onthat last possession, but a false start andincomplete pass left second-and-15. Burnham missedhigh, and Green's first career interceptionpractically fell into his lap. It was just thelatest late-game miscue by Burnham--two of histhree interceptions coming into the game ended inPrinceton overtime losses. Harvard ran out the clock to seal the win, andjunior quarterback Rich Linden turned to thesideline and pumped his first in joy as histeammates mobbed him. Linden, who had struggled inthe first five games of the season, finally lookedlike the quarterback of last year and finished15-of-28 for 186 yards and two touchdowns. Princeton's offense worked its way down thefield in clockwork fashion in the first quarter totake a 10-0 lead. Junior Mike Giampaolo's firstpunt went for 33 yards and was returned for 10yards by Ray Canole. Princeton ran the ball fivetimes and got to the Harvard 25-yard line, thenSierk drilled a 42-yard field goal 6:06 into thegame. The Tigers mixed in play-action passing ontheir next drive, which went 61 yards in 10 plays.On third-and-seven at the Crimson 14-yard line,Canole came in motion, paused, then broke to theinside. He found a hole in Harvard's coverage andwalked into the endzone for a 10-0 lead. Harvard then put together its most impressivedrive of the season to that point, and Linden wasthe key. He hummed a 22-yard completion to Wilskedown the sideline on third-and-five. Two playslater, Linden found senior tight end ChrisEitzmann three yards behind the defense for a38-yard touchdown pass. The drive, which went 79 yards in only fiveplays and 1:46, was Harvard's longest touchdowndrive of the year until the game-winning one inthe fourth quarter. Eitzmann split the corner andsafety down the right seam, and both Princetondefenders turned and yelled at each other afterthe play. Harvard missed the extra point andtrailed 10-6. Linden made a great play on the nextpossession, when he broke four tackles on a17-yard scramble. He also led Harvard on anotherquick-strike scoring drive set up by juniorTerence Patterson's 46-yard punt return to thePrinceton 44-yard line. "Unfortunately, we missed an extra point, wemissed a field goal, and we gave up two big puntreturns," Tosches said. "They're three equalparts. You've got to play hard offensively anddefensively, but as you can see, a couple plays onspecial teams can make the difference." The Crimson took just eight plays and 1:44 tocovert the opportunity, and the score came onanother touchdown pass to Eitzmann. Linden rolledto his right then fired back across the field tothe far left. The pass counted for six yards buttraveled much farther in the air, and it wasperfectly placed and timed because the defenderhad his back turned. Eitzmann caught four touchdown passes last yearbut had not had one this year. His re-emergence inthe goal-line offense coincided with Linden's--andthe passing game's--re-emergence. "I honestly don't know [what the differenceis]," Linden said. "Quarterback is a toughposition to play, but if you stay positive andkeep throwing the ball and keep believing inyourself, eventually good things are going tohappen." Princeton scored a touchdown on the nextpossession to take a 16-13 halftime lead, butSierk's point-after attempt hit the left upright.On third-and-two from their own 15-yard line, theTigers ran an option left, and Burnham pitched outto running back Damien Taylor, who ran for 54yards. Running back Derek Theisen had a 12-yardrun then a 19-yarder for a touchdown as Harvard'srun defense broke down. The teams traded field goals in the thirdquarter. On Princeton's first possession of thehalf, junior defensive end Mike Sands forced afumble by Burnham, and junior tackle ChrisNowinski recovered at the Tigers' 43-yard line.Harvard settled for a 30-yard Giampaolo field goalthat appeared to be tipped in a play reminiscentof the crucial 21-yarder he hit last year inHarvard's 14-12 win. The Tigers went back ahead with a 16-play,72-yard drive that ended with a 20-yard Sierkfield goal. He set Princeton's career field goalrecord at 34 with the kick. Harvard played a very clean game, committingonly two penalties for 25 yards. Beyond that, itmanaged to avoid mental mistakes. "We talked about having a lot of poise today,not only win the war but also ace the exam,"Murphy said. "We didn't have very many missedassignments, penalties or turnovers. That's theonly way we could have beat Princeton today." Three of Harvard's last four games are againstthe teams it is tied with for first place, so itsdestiny is in its own hands. Although the talentlevel isn't the same as last year, Murphy has saidrepeatedly that teams in the Ivies are not thatfar apart in terms of personnel. If that's the case, Harvard's demonstratedability to scrap for a win means its chances for arepeat title are as good as any other in theleague. First QuarterPri--Sierk, 42 kick, 8:54.Pri--Canole, 14 pass (Sierk kick), 2:47.Har--Eitzmann, 38 pass from Linden (pass failed),1:03. Second QuarterHar--Eitzmann, 6 pass from Linden (Giampaolokick), 4:40.Pri--Thiesen, 19 run (kick failed), 2:06. Third QuarterHar--Giampaolo, 30 kick, 11:19.Pri--Sierk, 20 kick, 1:51. Fourth QuarterHar--Wiske, 41 pass from Menick (Giampaolo kick),14:22.Pri--Sierk, 30 kick, 11:00.
Read more in Sports
Phils Defeat Expos, Magic Number Is 4
