After Thomas’ runs, the task of scoring fell to Rose. The veteran warrior leapt over a pack of Tigers and landed hard in the end zone. Even though the Crimson had taken a 21-20 lead, Rose re-injured his shoulder and was forced to leave the game for good.
After the Crimson defense held Princeton on its subsequent drive, Harvard once again turned to Fitzpatrick to lead the offense. The rookie demonstrated good speed in rushing 14 yards for a first down and then showed off his arm with a 39-yard flea flicker pass to senior receiver Dan Farley. Farley’s superb catch brought the Crimson within striking distance at the close of the third quarter.
With a little over 13 minutes left on the game, Harvard faced a third-and-7 at the Princeton 13. Fitzpatrick floated the ball to a wide-open Carl Morris, who took off on a unexpectedly clear path to the end zone and extended Harvard’s lead to 28-20.
“I ran the wrong route,” Morris said. Any route that led to the end zone was good enough for Fitzpatrick, elated at throwing his first touchdown pass.
“It was an interesting play. They sent three linebackers, and Carl was so open… I was a bit confused,” Fitzpatrick said.
The tenacious Tigers responded on the ensuing drive. Atkinson would score on a 27-yard run, bringing the Tigers to within two. In the Tiger’s attempt for a two-point conversion, senior corner Willie Alford broke up Splithoff’s pass. Alford blocked the ball back to Splithoff, who then illegally attempted to shovel it forward again. Alford’s block would prove crucial.
Neither offense could manage any more scoring, and the game became a battle of field position as Princeton played towards a last-minute field goal attempt. Kingston’s punting, dismal most of the game, finally improved in the 4th quarter, including a crucial 44-yard punt that placed the Tigers at their own 12 with three minutes to play. The Tigers were able to move the chains consistently, reaching the Harvard 32, before senior outside linebacker Eric LaHaie came up with a huge tackle on a pass to Atkinson, stopping him for no gain. That set up the field goal attempt with seven seconds remaining.
Princeton had clearly put themselves in a position to win, and many on the Harvard bench though they had as the ball exploded off Northrop’s foot. The ball sailed through the crisp autumn air and landed wide of the goal, and the officials waved their arms to signal no good.
The Crimson’s last-second victory came as a great surprise, for the losses of Rose, Palazzo and Staph left the Harvard offense severely undermanned.
“We had our hands full in terms of adversity,” Murphy said. “From that situation, our kids responded real well.” Whereas last year’s team would have folded in a similar situation, this year’s team stood up to the challenge.
“I don’t know if we had the confidence and the playmakers a year ago to overcome losing three tailbacks [including sophomore Matt Leiszler, out for the season] and a quarterback,“ Murphy added.
The status of Rose, Staph and Palazzo is uncertain for next week’s home game against Dartmouth. Even though the Crimson would like to be at full strength in order to preserve its undefeated season and championship bid, it proved its resilience this weekend against Princeton.
“When you stop and think about what you have, it makes you realize that we have a good, solid team this year,” Morris said. “We have the potential to do a lot of big things, which just helps to say focused on our goal.”