Columbia Surprises Gridders in First Game, 21-19

In the benighted annals of Columbia football, Saturday, September 23, 1978 will remain forever a halcyon day, as the Lions shocked Harvard, 21-19, before an opening day crowd at Harvard Stadium. The last Columbia victory in Cambridge came in 1961 when the Lions were led by a sinewy guard named Bill Campbell. Campbell returned as Columbia's head coach on Saturday to pronounce his team's win "the greatest victory I've had in my coaching career."

The defeat was a bitter pill for the Crimson to swallow as it seemed to confirm the nagging doubts that had surrounded the Harvard eleven going into the game. With the exception of a couple of breathtaking plays that accounted for Harvard's two touchdowns, coach Joe Restic's high-falutin multi-flex offense flim-flammed for most of the game.

Harvard retained possession of the ball for only 22 minutes of the game, while the Crimson could manage only 11 first downs compared to the 20 ground out by Columbia. With quarterback Cal Moffie executing the veer offense nearly flawlessly, Columbia rushed 67 times to rack up 236 yards against the frazzled Harvard defense.

Nevertheless, until reserve halfback Pat Britt barreled into the endzone for a 21-12 Columbia lead with four minutes left to play, the game was a virtual standoff.

Harvard QB Larry Brown started off the game displaying his usual brinksmanship at the helm as he led the Crimson on an 85-yard drive that culminated in a 25-yd. Gary Bosnic field goal.

Halfback Wayne Moore got the drive started with an 18-yd, jaunt around right end which only foreshadowed what turned out to be by far the best day of his Harvard career (97 yards on the surprisingly low total of five carries). With the ball on Harvard's 35, Brown then hit tight end Paul Sablock all alone on a crossing pattern to bring the ball into Columbia territory.

Sophomore running back Paul Connors, who runs like a cross between a sewing machine ar-1 a machete, burst up the middle for a 17-yd. pickup, his longest of the day, putting Harvard at the Lions' 25-yard line. But the drive finally petered out when on third down and seven yards to go for a TD, Sablock took a pitch out from Brown and tossed to Rich Horner, who caught the ball but landed outside of the endzone stripe. Bosnic then came on to give Harvard a 3-0 first-quarter lead.

Columbia came back and the Lions were knocking on the door with five minutes to go in the first half until a Fred Cordova interception in the endzone snuffed a 60-yd, drive. Columbia finally did get on the scoreboard just before the end of the half on a well-orchestrated drive that saw tight ends Eric Blattman and Kevin Cook snag a pair of key receptions. Pile-driving fullback Joe Ciulla out of Woburn, Mass. perforated the Crimson line from two yards out for the score. Ron Taussig missed the point after attempt, but Columbia went into the lockerroom with a 6-3 edge.

In the third quarter, Harvard proceeded to tie the game at 6-6 on Bosnic's second field goal, a 35-yarder that split the uprights. Brown moved the Crimson into scoring position with a drive that started with an impromptu screen pass to Connors. He carried it down to the ten-yard line, only to have the play called back because of a holding penalty. However, on the next play from scrimmage, Brown hit Ralp Polillio curling in on the left sideline for an 18-yd, gain that set up the score.

After Columbia regained possession, there followed two of the most spectacular offensiveseriessince the Heidi Bowl. With 6:15 gone in the third quarter, Moffie dropped back and unfurled a picture-perfect bomb to Freddie Sullivan streaking down the sideline. Sullivan cradled the ball and outlegged Crimson captain Steve Potysman the last 15 yards into the endzone for a 51-yd. TD play.

Columbia then went for the two-point conversion and caught the Crimson defense napping as Ciulla took the snap from center and carried the ball over. The Lions now led 14-6.

One play later Harvard was right back in the game. After Dave Kinney fielded the kick-off at the 27-yd, line, Brown called "aces left, full loose 27 veer pick crack on the quick count" in the huddle. Wayne Moore took the hand-off, accelerated around right end, cut back against the grain, dodged several tacklers, and then gambolled 83 yards to the endzone to the Crimson to within two points, 14-12. Harvard tried to knot the score with a two-point conversion of its own, but failed when Brown rolled right and lateraled to Moore who was stopped short of the goal line.

Veering Around

The Crimson defense simply could not shut down the veer running game with Ciulla, Britt and Gerry Fitzpatrick each gaining over 80 yards rushing. The Lions took a commanding 21-12 lead on the mathematical seven-play, 35-yd. drive after Harvard was forced to punt from inside its own ten.

On its next series, the Crimson quickly relinquished the ball when Brown's pass glanced off Moore's hands and into the arms of Columbia's Rich Witherspoon, with 3:50 to 90. Columbia was forced to punt and the Crimson offense proceeded to show its competitive fiber.

Brown completed a pair of passes to Horner and John MacLeod. Then, on second and ten at the midfield stripe, Brown uncorked a perfectly-timed bomb to Polillio who flitted by the double coverage for a sudden six. Bosnic's PAT made it 21-19, and with 1:20 showing on the clock, a field goal held out the prospect of victory snatched out of the fire.

Bosnic predictably tried an onside kick, but the ball only squirted a few yards. The Lions recovered, ran down the clock, and secured their momentous victory.

Restic said by way of a post-mortem, "I said we could make the big play and we did. But we have to get the ball more and when we get it we have to control it."

Saturday's loss certainly wasn't the Crimson gridders' swan song for this season. There are still eight games left to play. One thing is certain, though. No matter what Columbia's team does the rest of the season, last Saturday in Harvard Stadium will long be remembered in Morningside Heights as a Broadway melody of 1978.