Friday night’s game will showcase two relatively inexperienced seniors under center. Harvard right-hander Joe Viviano had never thrown a collegiate pass until this season, while Hoyas quarterback Tim Barnes has sparse exposure from past seasons, namely five appearances as a junior.
Nevertheless, both players have risen to the occasion this season, leading their respective teams to perfect starts. Viviano, averaging 247.5 yards per game through the air, has connected for three passing touchdowns and boasts a 65.1 percent completion rate. The Crimson field general also has an untainted stat-line with zero interceptions on the year. Compared to Viviano, Barnes has found the end zone twice as many times through the air despite averaging 182.3 passing yards per game and converting only 59.1 percent of his attempts. Opposing defenses have picked off the Hoyas quarterback twice in the process.
JUSTIN HARRELL VS. SEAN AHERN
Crimson captain Sean Ahern prepares to go head-to-head with the Hoyas top receiving threat, junior wideout Justin Harrell. Harvard’s premiere defensive back and reigning All-Ivy League First Team selection has jumped out to a great start, playing the same football that earned him last year’s accolades. Ahern has recorded nine tackles, including two for loss, and forced one fumble already this season. The Cincinnati native is coming off an impressive year on special teams as well in which he ranked first in the Ivy League and 13th in the country with two blocked kicks.
On the other hand, Harrell has been quarterback Tim Barnes’ go-to option through three games this season, tallying 19 receptions for 155 yards. The pride of New Orleans did not see game action last season due to injury but contributed in 10 games the season prior.
“I wouldn’t look too hard at the… one-on-one matchups,” Ahern said. “Our defensive mentality is team defense—assignment football….They have great skill guys at receiver, but at the same time, it’s a team defense”
HEAD COACH SHOWDOWN
Entering his 23rd year at the helm of Harvard football, Crimson head coach Tim Murphy is the all-time winningest coach in program history and ranks second in wins among Ivy League coaches since the League’s inception in 1956. Nine Ivy League titles and three unbeaten seasons – not to mention a 17-5 record in “The Game”—define Murphy’s dominant tenure.
Coach Murphy, a six-time New England Coach of the Year selection, will face a formidable opponent on the other sideline tomorrow night, as his Crimson squares off against Coach Rob Sgarlata’s Hoyas. Sgarlata, a Hoya in his own right (c/o 1994), is relatively new to the head coaching gig compared to Murphy. Despite serving on the Georgetown football staff for 18 seasons, only recently was he named his program’s 31st bench boss in 2014. Motivation and character seem to be Sgarlata’s strong points, and he seems committed to the development of the student-athlete. Over thirty of his players were selected to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll for the 2014-2015 season.