Crimson Chronicles

Game 3 at Lafayette 10/4/08:
The Crimson faced an early season road test as they traveled to Easton, PA for a date with undefeated Lafayette, who are ranked in the Division 1-AA Top 25. After last week’s debacle in the rain in Providence, Harvard needed a consistent 60 minutes of football to get back on the winning track.

Lafayette won the opening kickoff and proceeded to go on a nine play drive that culminated in Rodriguez’ 23-yard field goal. On Harvard’s first possession, they took over on their 33. Pizzotti mixed passes with runs to move the ball into Lafayette territory. From there, Cheng Ho carried six times, coupled with a 17-yard pass completion to Schwarzkopf. Ho carried in from the 1, Long’s point after was good and the Crimson were ahead 7-3. Lafayette went three and out on their next possession. On the punt, Andrew Berry signaled for a fair catch but was leveled by Andy Romans, and Lafayette was hit with a 15-yard penalty giving Harvard the ball at their 46. Pizzotti and the offense moved the ball to Lafayette’s 23 before settling for a 41-yard field goal from Patrick Long to make the score 10-3.

Moving into the second quarter, Lafayette moved the ball from their 26 to Harvard’s 18 before Berry intercepted Rob Curley’s pass near the sideline. Desmond Bryant’s pressure on Curley forced the errant throw. After moving the ball to the 33, Pizzotti connected with Chris Lorditch on a spectacular 67-yard strike and Harvard was up 17-3. Lafayette started the following possession at their 28, and took the fight to Harvard. Curley hit Chris Watson for 12, Maurice White carried for 16, Joe Russo hauled in Curley’s pass for 11 and Shaun Adair took it up the gut for 11. Lafayette was now sitting at Harvard’s 22.
Two plays later, Curley found Adair in the end zone and it was once more a competitive game at 17-10 Harvard. But the Crimson weren’t finished. Starting their next drive at the 31, Pizzotti connected with Lorditch for 20, moving the ball into Lafayette territory. From there, Gino Gordon’s two carries brought the ball to the 28 and Pizzotti moved the ball to the 22 on a keeper. Two plays later, Pizzotti’s pass to Luft brought the ball to the 4. On third-and-goal from the 3, Gordon took the ball into the end zone and Harvard was once more up by two scores at 24-10. Lafayette had little difficulty moving the ball into Harvard’s end as Curley hit on four passes, taking the ball to Harvard’s 28 before the drive stalled and they had to settle for a 41-yard field goal from Rodriguez to make it a 24-13 score just before half time.

The third quarter featured two exchanges of three-and-outs before Harvard regained possession at their 1 with nine minutes left. Pizzotti hit on a couple of long passes to Doerner and Lorditch that brought the ball out to the 30. From there, Pizzotti completed two passes to Luft that brought the ball into Lafayette’s side of the field. Just as Harvard appeared poised for another score, they were hit with a face mask penalty that pushed the ball back to midfield and the drive ran out of steam. The benefit of the drive was chewing nearly six minutes of clock time. As time was growing short in the quarter, Lafayette regained possession at their 20 and Curley led the offense downfield on a pass to Adair. A pass interference call on Harvard’s Matthew Hanson brought the ball to midfield. Lafayette took the ball to Harvard’s 37 on two pass completions from Curley to Russo and Conte.

Moving into the fourth quarter, Curley hit Matt Layton for 11 yards on a fourth-and-eight play to sustain the drive, but it was killed by an offensive holding call and the Crimson regained possession at their 16. Harvard was only able to move the ball to the 31 before punting away, but Lafayette’s ensuing drive stalled despite starting with great field position at their 46. Starting at their 16, Cheng Ho made a mad dash of 51 yards on second down that brought the ball to Lafayette’s 34. Ho carried twice more for 17, but Lafayette’s defense stood up, dragging down Ho for a 7 yard loss and sacking Pizzotti. The Crimson had to settle for a 45-yard field goal from Long to make the score 27-13.
Curley came out throwing on Lafayette’s ensuing possession, but was intercepted by Hanson at midfield who took the ball to Lafayette’s 21. Liam O’Hagan came out to run the offense late in the game with a two touchdown lead and kept the ball on the ground, taking it to the 2 before time expired and the Crimson called it a day. All in all, it was a great afternoon for Harvard.

Next week (10/11), Harvard looks to get on the winning track in the Ivy League as Cornell travels to the Stadium, looking to expand on their early lead.