Advertisement

Football Notebook: Miscues and Mistakes

In the first quarter, after a three-and-out by Lehigh on its first possession, Morris was back deep to return the punt. Lehigh's Jay Heibel kicked a low ball, which Morris let bounce in front of him. Unfortunately, footballs do not bounce like baseballs, and instead of letting it roll, Morris made a feeble attempt to grab it in front of three Lehigh players. He managed to deflect it right into the hands of the opposition.

Later in the same quarter, Harvard had a first down from its own 19. Quarterback Neil Rose tried to run the option. With pressure coming, he turned around and pitched the ball back to his tailback. But nobody was ready. Rose's pitch instead hit fullback Grady Smalling in the back. Knowing that the option most definitely did not involve him carrying the ball, Smalling turned around in surprise. Lehigh scooped up the ball and scored six plays later.

Advertisement

Fumbles weren't the only example of bad ball-handling. While Rose's often beautifully accurate throws were caught 26 times, 17 passes were not. Most of those were dropped, trapped, or jarred loose by shattering hits. Murphy may do well investing in some Stick-um.

Just Give Him the Damn Ball: One of the most impressive Crimson performances on Saturday came from sophomore tailback Matt Leiszler. Considering Leiszler was injured and couldn't even play two weeks ago, Murphy must be very pleased with his performance. In a pass-happy offense, Leiszler provided an effective running alternative, averaging 4.4 yards per carry.

Leiszler is listed at 5'8, 170 pounds, and is not much bigger than your average investment banker. Despite his size, his most impressive runs were punishing jaunts up the middle into the heart of Lehigh's 10th-ranked rush defense. He couldn't make the sweeps and options work outside, but he ran over much larger, faster, and stronger guys when running draws, traps, and counters.

Leiszler was also the Crimson's best special-teams player, returning four kickoffs for a total of 95 yards, including a 32-yard return. And speaking of special teams...

Kickoffs, Punts, and Other Things to Avoid: Morris' mistake started off a day special-teams probably want to forget. For one thing, Morris never returned another punt. In fact, nobody did. Lehigh punted a total of six times during the game, and the only punt touched was Morris' "return" of minus-3 yards.

Recommended Articles

Advertisement