As the Crimson heads into the home stretch of the Ivy schedule, including a pivotal game against undefeated Penn, the team can no longer afford to dig in to an early hole.
Stepping Up
With Harvard missing several key players on the offensive side of the ball, a rookie and a veteran stepped up their games to propel the Crimson to its latest victory.
Fitzpatrick, making his first collegiate start in place of the injured Neil Rose, racked up 262 yards through the air to go with his scoring connection to Morris. The freshman quarterback also led Crimson rushers with 58 yards on 17 carries.
Elsewhere on offense, the Crimson was again without senior tailback Josh Staph, who set out with an ankle injury, while Palazzo saw only limited action in the second half. The offensive line was also missing two starters and, as a result, the Crimson had trouble running the ball.
With the offense looking to the passing game for big plays, Morris had his biggest game of the year, catching 11 passes for 153 yards and a score and throwing a 35-yard scoring strike to Taylor. Six of Morris’ receptions resulted in Crimson first downs, one of which set up Palazzo’s one-yard touchdown plunge in the third quarter.
After the game, Fitzpatrick said that he was glad to have the talented wide receiver to throw to in tough situations.
“It’s great to be throwing to somebody like Carl,” Fitzpatrick said. “It makes it a lot easier for me.”
Morris’ 11 catches moved him past Colby Skelton ’98 into second on the all-time Crimson receptions list. He now trails career receptions leader and former teammate Terence Patterson ’00 by 14 catches.
Get a Grip
After turning the ball over four times against Princeton last weekend, the Crimson got back into the ball security routine against Dartmouth, with its only turnover coming on a Fitzpatrick interception in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, the Harvard defense created four takeaways, including three in the second half that fueled the Crimson comeback.
After Harvard pulled to within 21-7 early in the third, senior Shawn Parker recovered a Dartmouth fumble on the ensuing kickoff to set up another quick Harvard score.
Later, with Harvard leading 24-21, sophomore linebacker Dante Balestracci, who returned two interceptions for touchdowns last season against Dartmouth, picked off a tipped pass and appeared to take it the distance. However, two penalties against the Crimson, a personal foul for fighting and an unsportsmanlike conduct for celebration, relegated the Crimson to its own nine yard line in one of the strangest plays of the season.
Senior defensive end Marc Laborsky finished strong for Harvard, picking up two sacks and forcing two fumbles in the final quarter to preserve the Crimson lead.