JV Gridders Squander Lead, Lose to Terrier Squad, 21-20

Though at one point the Harvard gridders enjoyed a 14-point lead, the Crimson junior varsity football squad lost to Boston University, 21-20, Monday.

Two fourth-quarter touchdown passes--long bombs against reserve defensive backs--put the Terriers back in the ball game. And the final insult of a two-point conversion after the second score broke the tie for B.U.

Tom Hagerty was a standout for the Crimson, playing at split end and scoring with two touchdown passes. He took an eight or nine yard flip over the goal line in the second period, and went all the way with a long bomb in the third quarter. Doug Gordon and Mike Lynch, Crimson quarterbacks, both turned in fine performances, each responsible for one of Hagerty's scores.

Harvard lost two points when two conversion kicks went wild. With them went chances for victory. Although a safety enabled the Crimson gridders to make up for the lost points, BU's two-point conversion in a fourth-quarter rally prevented a Harvard victory.

The safety came when a Terrier running back was tackled in his end zone--on the first play from scrimmage after a B.U. punt receiver had been tackled on his own two-yard line. He had tried to run with the ball, rather than opt for the touchback. "He was trying to be a hero, and he goofed," Restic said.

Despite the loss, Head Coach Joe Restic doesn't regret his policy of playing all his men. "We use our JV team as a training squad, to expose our men to competition," Restic said. "We feel it's helped a lot of players, and it keeps up their interest in the program."

BU's coaching philosophy for JV games differs widely from Restic's easy-going outlook. As he said, "Though it's nice to win, here we try to play everybody who didn't get in on Saturday." BU, however, put some of the Saturday ballplayers into Monday's game.

Crimson fans can remain certain of their team's superiority if it takes such a mismatch of varsity and junior varsity ballplayers for B.U. to eke out a 21-20 victory.