Advertisement

Play-Action Jackson: Looking for Scapegoats in All the Wrong Places

It's hardly fair to mention Balestracci's name on this play. It was a great individual effort to break through the line, and it was poor downfield coverage that resulted in the touchdown.

But if Balestracci could have come up with a sack, Lehigh wouldn't have scored a touchdown and Balestracci's sack would have likely knocked the Mountain Hawks out of field-goal range, facing fourth-and-long.

Instead, Lehigh took a 17-6 lead, the Crimson went three-and-out on the next drive, and Harvard couldn't get off a punt on fourth down.

Advertisement

The botched punt attempt gave Lehigh the ball at the Harvard 36-yard line, setting up a quick score and giving Lehigh a comfortable 24-6 lead heading into halftime.

In three minutes, the game went from a winnable contest to a blowout, and there wasn't a fumble in the series.

Harvard may have allowed 45 points on Saturday, but in the first 25 minutes of the game, the Crimson defense was golden.

The defense bailed the team out of fumble trouble early in the game.

An inexperienced team, the same defense, a quick three-and-out, and a botched punt let the game quickly slip away in the second quarter.

Recommended Articles

Advertisement