Football Escapes Columbia, 24-16, To Remain Undefeated

NEW YORK—This Saturday, Harvard football experienced a scare from an unlikely opponent and received salvation from an unlikely source.

The unlikely opponent was a Columbia side that contradicted a recent history of ineptitude with a performance defined by hard-nosed defense and timely offense.

Meanwhile, the unlikely salvation was something more familiar to Lions fans: a substitution penalty on a fourth-and-four with a minute left, preventing Columbia (2-6, 1-4 Ivy) from receiving a punt and potentially mounting a game-tying drive.

All told, the Crimson (7-0, 5-0) triumphed, 24-16. But the going was not always pretty.

“I thought our kids really battled,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “Any time you win on the road, you’ll take it.”

One consistent bright spot for Harvard was freshman wide receiver Justice Shelton-Mosley, who accumulated 270 total yards and two touchdowns.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Shelton-Mosley collected a line-drive punt at the Crimson 14-yard line. He stepped forward, juked one defender, and scampered down the left sideline before disappearing into a multi-player scrum.

Then, to the excitement of the Harvard bench and astonishment of the Columbia crowd, he reappeared, skipping out of an ankle-level tackle to break for the 86-yard score.

“Last week, it was [senior Andrew Fischer] making punt returns, so it’s not really the guy that’s back there,” Shelton-Mosley said. “I was able to get some really good blocks and just keep running, keep moving my feet.”

That Houdini return pushed the score to 24-3, the largest lead the Crimson would enjoy throughout the day.

However, the Lions responded on the very next possession. Two minutes into the fourth quarter, the Crimson brought a heavy blitz, but quarterback Anders Hill released the ball under pressure, finding receiver Cameron Dunn for a wide open 51-yard catch-and-run.

The score stood at 24-9 following a missed Columbia extra point. After a pair of Harvard three-and-outs, the Lions took over at their own 32-yard line. The ensuing drive ended with a three-yard rollout pass to tight end John Hunton, narrowing the deficit to eight points.

Columbia coach Al Bagnoli felt his team made too many mistakes on Saturday, one of which was the substitution infraction that effectively ended the game with just over a minute to go. By Y. Kit Wu

Although the following onside kick rolled into the hands of senior wide receiver Seitu Smith, the final result was not certain until sophomore punter Zach Schmid trotted out for a kick—and trotted back to the sidelines after the 12-man penalty.

“I thought we gave great effort and played with tremendous energy and resolve,” Columbia coach Al Bagnoli said. “But honestly, we made more mistakes than we should be making in week eight.”

Late-game sloppiness mirrored early-game sloppiness for both teams. For the second consecutive week, the Harvard offense failed to notch first-quarter points, had a punt blocked, and missed a field goal in the second quarter. Columbia gave up a blocked field goal attempt of its own.

Still, midway through the second quarter, the Crimson received the ball at its six-yard line with a chance to break a scoreless tie.

Senior tight end Ben Braunecker celebrates after a touchdown catch. He led the Harvard receiving corps with 112 yards in the first half, finishing with 130 yards on the afternoon in a 24-16 Crimson win. By Y. Kit Wu

Harvard seized the opportunity, and on the fifth play from scrimmage, senior tight end Ben Braunecker broke free for a 53-yard touchdown reception.

The score came after Lions cornerback Matthew Cahal slipped while in coverage as the tight end curled up and around. When the ball arrived, Braunecker was unmarked—free to jog the rest of the way to the end zone.

Columbia’s first points also came thanks to a touch of luck—in this case a Hosch interception that bounced off the hands of junior tight end Anthony Firkser and into the chest of defensive back Travis Reim.

After the turnover, Columbia started at the Crimson 43-yard line and soon set up a first-and-goal from the five. But the Harvard defense held and only surrendered a field goal, with senior linebacker Eric Medes making the critical play when he batted away a third-down pass attempt.

The field goal represented Columbia’s first points against the Crimson since 2011.

Earlier in the quarter, a fumble by Shelton-Mosley off an attempted fair catch had also given the Lions a chance to close the deficit. In this instance, the Harvard defense stepped up on the first play, pressuring quarterback Skyler Mornhinweg into throwing a limp interception to linebacker Matt Koran.

However, the Crimson defense was not the only unit to respond when called. The Columbia front seven did just that as well, limiting running back Paul Stanton to a season-low 51 yards on 14 attempts.

“For us, we went into it, we wanted to be able to try and contain the run game,” Bagnoli said. “Force the quarterback to throw the ball and make completions.”

But Harvard made Columbia pay through the passing game. In addition to Shelton-Mosley’s performance, Braunecker tallied 130 yards receiving, and Hosch eclipsed 250 passing yards for the fourth straight contest.

Harvard exhibited this strength late in the second quarter, as the offense moved 72 yards in four plays. The drive ended when Shelton-Mosley caught the ball at the left numbers, lost his defender with a sideline cut, and dove for the pylon. 14-0, Crimson.

Following the score, the game action came to a halt when Crimson defensive back Tanner Lee smashed into a Columbia blocker on a kickoff return. The collision left Lee lying on the ground, eventually forcing an ambulance to drive onto the field and retrieve him in a stretcher.

—Staff writer Sam Danello can be reached at sam.danello@thecrimson.com.