Campus & Community

Crimson collapse

2 min read

Freak fourth-quarter lapse too costly for hosts, Tigers take it, 27-24

O'Hagan, Princeton in the
Harvard quarterback Liam O’Hagan ’08 (with ball) is stopped in his tracks by the Tiger defense, which recorded four sacks on Saturday. (Staff photos Kris Snibbe/Harvard News Office)

A back-and-forth affair marked by four lead swaps, this past Saturday’s (Oct. 22) Ivy League showdown against Princeton offered little in the way of R&R for the host Harvard football team. Or, for that matter, much time to celebrate.

Clifton Dawson ’07 (below) is off and running on his way to collecting 203 yards.

Less than a minute after the Crimson forged a 24-20 lead midway through the fourth quarter on a high-arching, 52-yard touchdown lob from junior Liam O’Hagan to Ryan Tyler ’06, Tiger special teamer Jay McCareins returned the ensuing kickoff 93 whopping yards for a score of his own. Harvard never recovered from the shocking play – the first of its kind allowed by the Crimson since the 1995 season – as Princeton held on for the 27-24 victory.

The loss ended a nine-year win streak for Harvard over the black and orange, and drops the home team to 1-2 in Ivy action (3-3 overall). The Tigers, meanwhile, improve to 2-1 (4-2 overall).

umbrellas and
Colorful umbrellas dotted the stadium against Saturday’s gloomy weather.

Despite the losing effort, junior running back Clifton Dawson further bolstered his campaign to unseat Chris Menick ’00 as Harvard’s career-rushing leader. Against Princeton, Dawson amassed 203 yards on his way to two touchdowns, moving the junior into second place on the school’s all-time chart in rushing with 3,232. He needs just 98 more to topple Menick’s record, and remains on pace to become the first 5,000-yard rusher in Ivy League history.

For the second straight week, O’Hagan was without a turnover. The junior playcaller completed 11 of 16 passes for 183 yards, and successfully managed half of Harvard’s 14 third-down conversions.

Currently tied for fifth place in the Ancient Eight with Dartmouth and Cornell, the Crimson host the Big Green (2-4; 1-2 Ivy) this Saturday (Oct. 29) at 12:30 p.m. Visit http://www.gocrimson.com for the latest scores and Harvard sports information.