Snoozing Gridders Wake Up to Top Penn, 28-17

PHILADELPHIA--About 15 minutes into Harvard's contest with Penn Saturday, every Crimson player must have felt a sickening emptiness in his stomach--not pain exactly, just the physical manifestation of dread.

It couldn't end this way, could it? Not at Penn of all places, not here, no way.

But with 7:38 remaining in the first quarter. Harvard had lurched, groped and stumbled to a 14-0 deficit at Franklin Field. The first time the Crimson gridders had the ball, quarterback Brian Buckley threw an interception; the second time, halfback Paul Connors fumbled; and the third time, Steve Flach nudged a punt 27 yds. to the Harvard 47 yd. line. It wasn't panic; call it sleep.

This Harvard football team, however, did not fold. Led by the running attack that has saved them so many times before, the gridders rallied late in the first half and came on to defeat Penn, 28-17.

And now no one has to pretend anymore: all that matters is Yale. No more insincere rhetoric about "We gotta take this season one game at a time," and "We never look ahead." They want the Elis; they want them bad, and nothing else matters.

It comes down to this: if Harvard can beat Yale next Saturday at the Stadium, the Crimson will share the Ivy League with the Elis and as many as two other teams. If Harvard loses, it will finish in a tie for second at best. And a loss to Penn would have killed all title hopes outright.

Even though the game will show up as a victory in the standings, Harvard did endure one great loss. Senior captain and defensive tackle Chuck Durst re-injured his left knee early in the fourth quarter. His status is currently questionable for next week, and his loss could hurt the Crimson probably more than that of any other defender.

"We were pressing a little bit," coach Joe Restic understated after the game. Indeed, the Crimson was playing its worst football of the season, while Penn was playing its best.

Harvard took the opening kickoff, and on its third play from scrimmage, Buckley overthrew a wide-open Connors over the middle, and Penn's Mike Murphy intercepted at the Quaker 47.

Running a baffling (for Harvard) version of the Wishbone offense, quarterback Gary Vura took the Quakers down to the Crimson 28. He then broke loose on an option and reached the Harvard 13, where he fumbled to the three, and the Crimson's Mike Jacobs recovered.

But one play later, inveterate ball-dropper Connors coughed the ball up at the seven. Restic had obviously had enough of Connors' fumbling, and the senior scarely saw any action the rest of the way.

Three plays later, Penn halfback Steve Rubin put it over from the two. Harvard's offense went nowhere after the kickoff and Penn took over at its own 47.

And on third and 12, Vura went back to pass and hit halfback John Montesanti over the middle at the Harvard 25. Safety Jacobs and cornerback Pete Coppinger promptly slammed into one another in pursuit of Montesanti, and the halfback waltzed into the endzone untouched midway through the quarter.

While most of the 5914 people in the stands (about one of every 14 seats was occupied) wavered between delerium and surprise, Harvard had one chance to regroup before the situation got totally out of control.

Man in Charge

Calm and restrained, Buckley then led a 12-play, 80 yd. 5:15 drive that brought Harvard to within a touchdown. He ran eight straight running plays--three to Jim Acheson (Connors' replacement), two to Tom Beatrice and two to Jim Callinan--methodically moving the Crimson to the Penn 35. A screen pass to Acheson picked up 17 more and with 1:51 left in this cathartic quarter. Buckley hit Callinan in the right-hand corner of the endzone for a 13-yd. scoring strike.

Bedraggled Ball

The Crimson defense--playing its most bedraggled ball of the season--allowed a 29 yd. Penn field goal on the Quakers' next drive. Now down 17-7, Buckley took the gridders 76 yds. again in 12 plays. Callinan ran the ball three times for a total of 25 yds. on the march, Beatrice five times for 27. Connors put it over from the five with 4:23 to go in the half, and Harvard was down, 17-14.

After a Penn punt the Crimson took over at its own 33 with exactly two minutes to go and proceeded to engage in one of the most peculiar drives of this or any other season. First, Acheson went 53 yards off tackle, only to have the run called back for illegal procedure. But Buckley worked the clock like a master and moved his team and a nine-yd. pass to Beatrice moving Harvard to the Penn three with 32 seconds to go in the half.

There will be a Test

Now, follow closely: one second and ten from the three, Buckley went back to pass and couldn't find a receiver open; he scrambled around behind the line until he was trapped by a pair of Penn linemen. He threw the ball away in what seemed like a text-book case of intentional grounding. But the refs ruled that he was down before he threw the ball, and the clock was still running.

A Good Demon

So Buckley quickly assembled his team and threw a quick pass over Beatrice's head in the end zone to stop the clock. But Penn defensive back Tony Liberatore, possessed by some strange demon, interfered with Beatrice and Harvard got the ball at the Penn one-yd. line with five seconds to go.

Restic elected to try for the touchdown and Beatrice got it--barely. The Crimson had pulled into the lead, 21-17, demoralized the Quaker team and survived its worst few minutes of the season.

The second half seemed to evaporate into desultory football. Neither team put together much offense; it seemed to move crosstown to the Vet, where Penn State came from behind to obliterate Temple. Buckley's 41-yd. touchdown strike to Chuck Marshall with 6:52 remaining in the game put Harvard comfortably ahead, 28-17.

Buckley's winner to Marshall highlighted what was far from the senior signal-caller's best performance. Much like last week against William and Mary, Buckley worked the two-minute drill to perfection, but followed his five-interception effort last week with three more this Saturday.

But Callinan, who trails Beatrice by only 24 yds. for the team rushing lead (Beatrice has 431), continued his emergence as one of the Ivy League's preeminent backs. The junior seems to come up with three yds. no matter what the situation. And the injuryprone Callinan will be healthy for The Game next week--the occasion of his two touchdown, MVP performance last year.

THE NOTEBOOK: One person disappointed by Dartmouth's come-from-behind 28-24 knock-out blow against Brown was Harvard sophomore halfback and kick return specialist Scott McCabe. His brother Jon is a senior offensive tackle for the Bruins and a co-championship in the family looked mighty fine... Harvard seniors got a little deja vu after Penn's opening two scores. Two years ago, the Quakers went up 13-0 in the first quarter before Harvard came on to win 17-13... Two-hundred-fifty pound linemen don't scare them, but Callinan and center John Francis hate airplanes and suffered during the flight home.