“I challenged our defense today,” Murphy said. “The one thing we haven’t done [defensively] is get takeaways...typical of our guys, [if] you challenge them, wherever you set the bar, they manage to reach it.”
After a Columbia three-and-out, the Crimson was back in the end zone within five plays, as Chapple ran play-action with freshman running back Paul Stanton and scored by himself from 11 yards out to make it 42-0.
At the quarter’s end, junior wide receiver Scott Miller fumbled a punt that the Lions returned to the Harvard three. With five seconds to go, Columbia coach Pete Mangurian bypassed the chance at a field goal to go for a touchdown, but two inaccurate Brackett passes kept the Crimson shutout alive.
“Disappointing is an understatement,” Mangurian said. “There’s a lot of lessons to be learned here.”
Sophomore Connor Hempel replaced Chapple in the second half and led an 11-play, 69-yard drive that Stanton capped with a one-yard run, the first touchdown of his career.
Later in the third quarter, Harvard took over at the Lions 16 following a Marcorus Garrett fumble that was recovered by senior defensive back Jonathan Mason. Senior Rich Zajeski rushed for 11 and two yards, respectively, before scoring a five-yard touchdown to put Harvard up, 54-0. With the ensuing extra point, senior David Mothander broke Matt Schindel ’08’s record for career points by a Crimson kicker.
Splinter recorded his second interception of the game early in the fourth quarter, and on the first play of Harvard’s next drive, Wilson found a hole on the right side and rushed 45 yards to the house for his first career touchdown. Later in the quarter, the Crimson started a series at its own 29 and Wilson did the rest, rushing for 28 yards on four carries before busting loose for a 43-yard touchdown to make it 69-0.
“It was really exciting,” said Wilson, who also runs track at Harvard. “We have a lot of depth on the o-line, even with the injuries.... All I had to do was run straight. I got a lot of great looks and just tried to take advantage of them.”
Columbia fumbled in its own territory once again on its ensuing possession, and Solera recovered. But the Crimson chose to take three straight knees instead of trying for another score.
Harvard’s win, combined with Princeton’s loss to Penn, means the Crimson is once again in the driver’s seat for the Ivy League championship with two weeks to go. It can clinch at least a share of the title when it faces the Quakers in Philadelphia next Saturday.
“I’m very proud of the effort,” Murphy said. “We just have to keep moving ahead here.”
—Staff writer Scott A. Sherman can be reached at ssherman13@college.harvard.edu.