The offense took a while to integrate Shelton-Mosley and junior teammate Adam Scott, who led the receiving corps last year. The duo combined for just 13 yards on two catches in the first half, as Crimson coach Tim Murphy opted for a run-heavy focus.
Last year, Viviano’s legs allowed him to escape pressure and either scramble for gains or throw on the run. However, URI largely confined the quarterback to the pocket, negating much of his running and passing strategy. A leaky offensive line deserved some blame. Viviano was sacked five times, and he failed to break free for any of his patented scrambles. The fifth-year signal caller finished with -19 yards on nine attempts.
As opposed to Harvard’s varied use of its offense, Fleming generally stuck to his main weapons. Harris targeted sophomore Aaron Parker (three catches, 103 yards) for considerable yardage after the wideout had snuck behind the Crimson secondary. Harold Cooper anchored the run game for URI, taking the ball 18 times for 80 yards.
“Well that’s been their MO,” said Murphy of URI’s penchant for the deep ball. “They hit three long ones against Central Michigan. We know they had big strike capability against some really fast, athletic kids. They executed very well on those plays.”
Early on, the Rams offense outplayed the Harvard defense, and in the second half URI’s defense shone through. Neither team scored in the final two quarters. In the final period alone, the Crimson drove for 144 yards without recording points.
For the Harvard offense, the fourth quarter included a full-extension snag by Shelton-Mosley and clutch conversions by senior halfback Ryan Antonellis and sophomore tight end John Stivers. However, the quarter also included a fumble and costly penalties.
Through the opening two quarters, the Crimson converted only one of five third-down opportunities. The Rams also racked up 13 first downs to Harvard’s five en route to a 17-10 lead at halftime. On URI’s final scoring drive, Harris dove over the pile for a one-yard touchdown. The hosts never relinquished this lead.
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For Harvard, penalties prevented the Crimson from launching long drives. Harvard’s 10 flags included a number of holding calls in key moments.
“We can’t hold, we can’t pass interfere, we can’t have procedure calls, and we can’t have any late hits,” Murphy said. “Those are things we can control, and we obviously didn’t control them as well as we should’ve.”
Early in the afternoon, the Rams beat the Crimson to the end zone, taking a 7-3 lead in the second quarter. Harris tossed a slant-and-go to Parker, who jogged in for the score.
The Crimson’s first touchdown, meanwhile, resulted from two well-executed run plays. Booker took a handoff at Harvard’s own 35 and slammed through a pair of defenders, eventually falling out of bounds after gaining 57 yards. On the next play, rookie back Aaron Shampklin faked up the middle, cut right, and broke the plane to tie the game at 10.
—Staff writer Jack Stockless can be reached at jack.stockless@thecrimson.com.