Crimson Chronicles

Game 5 v. Bucknell Bison (10/15/11):

The Crimson hosted the Bucknell Bison on a beautiful day at the Stadium on October 15th. Bucknell won the toss and elected to receive. They moved the ball out to the 47 before Ryan Gutkowski punted away. Harvard's Treavor Scales then fumbled on their first possession withthe recovery made by Bucknell's Matt Steinbeck at the 33. Bucknell could not move the ball beyond the 27 and elected to go for it on fourth-and-4. Brandon Wesley rushed up the middle but was stopped short by Alex Gedeon at the 26. Colton Chapple then led Harvard's offense down to Bucknell's 22 where David Mothander attempted a 39-yard field goal that struck the left upright and was no good. The Crimson then gotthe ball back late in the quarter at the 44, where Chapple connected with Chris Lorditch for 6 and then Zach Boden rushed for 7 more. Chapple then completed a pass to Cameron Brate for 26 yards down to the 17. On third-and-4 from the 11, Chapple found Kyle Juszczyk in the end zone and the Crimson had a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

After a change of possessions, the Crimson got the ball back at the 13 midway through the second quarter. Treavor Scales rushed twice for 25 yards. On third-and 6 from the 42, Chapple connected wiith Brate for 30 yards. On third-and-19 from the 30, Chapple scramnbled ahead all the way to the 7. On second-and-goal from the 4, Chapple hit Brate in the end zone and the Crimson were ahead 14-0.

Opening drive of the second half, the Crimson moved the ball to Bucknell's 47 before punting away. After the Bison went three n' out on their opening drive, Gutkowski shanked his punt with Harvard taking over at Bucknell's 29.On fourth-and-6 from the 25, Chapple connected with Juszczyk in the end zone and the Crimson were ahead, 21-0. After another cxhange of possessions, Bucknell had the ball at midfield. Wesley's pass was intercepted by Brian Reilly. Michael Pruneau stepped in at quarterback and his first pass was intercepted by Bryce Robertson, who returned the ball back to the 2. Wesley attempted three rushes into the line and the Crimson wall pushed him backwards, so the Bison settled for a field goal by Drew Orth. Seitu Smith then returned Orth's kickoff 91 yards for the touchdown and the rout was on at 28-3. On Bucknell's next drive, Wesley directed the offense all the way to the 4 as the quarter came to a close.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Wesley's pass was intercepted in the end zone by Norman Hayes. On Bucknell's next possession, Wesley's pass was intercepted by Chris Splinter. There was no further scoring, but the Crimson defense did a great job on this day of keeping Bucknell's offense in check.

Game 6 v. Princeton Tigers (10/22/11):

One week later, the Crimson returned to the Stadium for an Ivy League clash with Princeton. Collie Winters returned as starting quarterback for the first time in a month. This game proved to be wilder than anyone could imagine as the Crimson outlasted the Tigers 56-39. Harvard won the toss and deferred until the second half. Charbonneau had a great return of the opening kickoff, moving the ball out to the 47. On first down, the Tigers perfectly executed a flea flicker, moving the ball down to Harvard's 30. Tommy Wornham then moved Princeton's offense down to the 9, where Chuck Dibilio rushed it in from there to give Princeton an early 6-0 lead (the extra point was no good). Harvard started their opening drive at the 31, where Treavor Scales rushed for 14 yards. On first down from Princeton's 42, Winters connected with Seitu Smith over the middle for 20. On third down from the 13, Scales went off right tackle for 11. Two plays later, Winter rushed it over the line to give Harvard a 7-6 lead. After the Tigers went three n' out on their next series, the Crimson got the ball back at the 26. Winters completed two quick passes to Scales and Matt Brown to move the ball down to Princeton's 29. From there, Winters hooked up with Brown again in the end zone and the Crimson went up 14-7. After the ball changed hands twice on punts, Princeton's Brian Mills fumbled at the 33 and Joshua Boyd recovered for Harvard. The drive stalled when Winters was sacked for a loss at the 36. Late in the quarter, Wornham and Dibilio combined to move the ball to Harvard's 11 on a series of short passes and rushes. On third down, Wornham's pass into the end zone intended for Matt Costello fell incomplete after Wornham was harrassed by Alex Gideon so the Tigers settled for 28-yard field goal by Patrick Jacob to make it 14-9.

Harvard opened the second quarter with the ball on their 37. On third and 11, Winters escaped a rush and ran for 13, with a holding call against Princeton moving the ball to the 41. After a holding call set the ball back, Winters then connected with Alex Sarkisian for 10 and Smith for 6. A personal foul call on Princeton's Steven Cody then gave the offense a new life at the 17. On a series of rushes, the Crimson moved the ball to the 1, where Scales banged it in to make it 21-9. On Princeton's next possession, Brian Mills ripped up the sideline for 48 yards to Harvard's 28 but Brian Owusu stripped away the ball and Chris Splinter recovered. After a series of exchanges by both teams ended with punts, Princeton got the ball back at midfield with about a minute remaining in the half. Wornham hit Mark Hayes down to the 36. Wornham then rushed for 7 and Dibilio for 6. From the 27, Jacob attempted a 44-yarder in the final seconds that went wide right as the half expired.

The Crimson opened the second half with the ball at the 23. Winters completed three passes to move the ball out to the 47. From there, he connected with Chris Lorditch on a 53-yard catch and run and the Crimson appeared to be comfortably ahead at 28-9. After Princeton went three n' out, Smith returned the punt all the way back to Princeton's 11. After a delay of game set the ball back to the 16, Winters immediately connected with Sarkisian in the end zone and it was 35-9. On Princeton's next drive, they gave up any pretense of the running game as Wornham was winging it in desperation. From the 25, Shan Wilkenson carried on a draw all the way down to the 2, where Wornham scooted in to make it 35-16. The drive went 62 yards in just 1:36. The Crimson then had a more measured drive but equally effective as they started out at their 33 and moved the ball to Princeton's 17. From there, Winters found Zach Boden in the end zone to make it 42-16. Back and forth they went. On Princeton's next drive, Dibilio scored on a 42-yard run and it was 42-23. The Tigers then successfully executed an on-sides kick, regaining possession at midfield. Five plays later, Wornham hit Wilkinson in the end zone for the touchdown and to Wilkinson again for the two-point conversion. The Tigers got the ball back late in the quarter at the 13 and moved the ball out to the 43 on a pass completion to Dibilio.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Dibilio picked up 21 more on a pass from Wornham. Wornham guided the offense down to the 13, where he hit Costello for 12 yards. Wornham then rushed it in from there, and then passed to Costello for the two-point conversion to make it 42-39. That was an amazing comeback by the Tigers. But the Crimson weren't finished as they started out at the 33 and Scales and Winters made consecutive rushes to the 48. Scales then carried the ball into Princeton territory on two more rushes. From the 27, Winters found Scales for 11, and to Scales again down to the 1. Scales carried it in from there to make it 49-39. On Princeton's next drive, Wornham's pass was intercepted by Alex Gedeon at the 43. Winters brought the offense down to the 17, where he hit Cameron Brate in the end zone to make it 56-39. On the Tigers' last desperation drive, Wornham was able to move the ball all the way down to Harvard's 12 where, on fourth and 5, he was hurried by Joshua Boyd and his pass fell incomplete. There were still three minutes left on the clock that Harvard needed to kill and Boden and Scales did a great job of grinding it out to midfield. After the Tigers burned all of their timeouts, Winters was able to take a knee and the Crimson came away with an incredibly hard fought victory. Give credit to Princeton for making a game of it in the third quarter and refusing to quit.