Oct. 15, 2005
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EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Pat Davis threw for 228 yards in the second half to bring Lafayette back from a 14-0 halftime deficit, but was matched by a mistake-free performance from Liam O'Hagan, Clifton Dawson and the Harvard offense as the Crimson pulled out a 24-17 victory before a Homecoming crowd of 8,983 on Saturday afternoon at Fisher Field.
The loss ends Lafayette's three-game winning streak as the Leopards enter their bye week at 5-2 (2-0 in the Patriot League). Lafayette will now prepare for four league games to close the regular season. Harvard, which won 13 straight games before falling in its last two outings, improves to 3-2 this season.
Harvard opened the scoring with a pair of second-quarter touchdown passes from Liam O'Hagan to Kelly Widman to give the Crimson a 14-0 lead at halftime.
The Crimson threatened on its first possession of the second quarter, using a five-yard running-into-the-punter penalty on fourth-and-four to continue the drive. O'Hagan hit Alex Breaux for 33 yards on the next play to set up first-and-goal at the three, but the Lafayette defense came up with a goal line stand to take over at the one. Maurice Bennett and Blake Costanzo combined to make the stop on the final two plays from the one-yard line.
Bennett set career-highs with 19 tackles and three sacks for the Leopards, while Dion Witherspoon and Torian Johnson also had career bests with 14 and 11 stops, respectively.
Harvard began its next drive at the 40-yard line after forcing a Lafayette punt. O'Hagan's 19-yard pass to Joe Murt was the key play in an eight-play drive that culminated in a five-yard scoring toss to Widman with 6:31 left in the second quarter.
Jonathan Hurt fumbled on the Leopards' next offensive play to give the Crimson possession at the 36-yard line. Clifton Dawson ran for four yards on fourth-and-one, and carried for 13 yards on the next play to set up first-and-goal from the 10. A false start pushed the ball back to the 15, and O'Hagan found Widman for the touchdown with 4:23 remaining before halftime.
Lafayette, held to 126 yards of offense in the first half, struck quickly to open the third quarter. Harvard received the kick and a 30-yard pass from O'Hagan to Matt Lagace moved the Crimson to the Lafayette 39-yard line. A sack by Bennett and a false start pushed Harvard back and brought up a punt, which gave the Leopards possession at the 17.
Davis, who entered the game at quarterback on the last drive of the second quarter when Brad Maurer left the game with a problem with his contacts, hooked up with Joe Ort for an 83-yard catch-and-run to slice the deficit to 14-7.
Lafayette's next drive stalled at its own 47, but Steve Williams fumbled the punt return and David Nelson recovered at the 25. Davis hit Shaun Adair for the touchdown on the next play to level the score at 14-all with just under five minutes gone in the third quarter.
Harvard capitalized on Lafayette's second turnover of the day, an interception on a tipped ball by Robert Balkema, to go ahead 21-14. Alex Breaux hauled in a 20-yard touchdown pass from O'Hagan with 1:28 go to in the third quarter.
The Leopards responded immediately, as Larry Johnson returned the ensuing kick 40 yards to the 45-yard line. A pass interference flag on an attempted pass from Davis to Ort, and a 21-yard completion to Ort moved the ball to the 17-yard line. Rick Ziska drilled a 34-yard field go to pull Lafayette within 21-17 with 20 seconds left in the quarter.
An exchange of punts gave Harvard the football at its own 42-yard line with 8:18 remaining. The Crimson ran 14 plays, converting a pair of third downs and a fourth down opportunity, to move inside the 20. Matt Schindel gave Harvard a 24-17 lead with a 29-yard field goal with 2:57 left in the game.
Lafayette started its final possession at the 20-yard line, and an intentional grounding call set the Leopards back eight yards. Davis, who threw the ball 13 times on the last drive, ran 10 yards for a first down on third-and-10, converted a fourth-and-six with a 12-yard pass to Travis Hutson, and hooked up with Brandon Stanford for 22 yards on fourth-and-15 to keep the Leopards alive.
Davis found Brandon Hall for 15 yards on the next play, setting Lafayette up at the Harvard 22 with 1:11 to go. An incomplete pass, a sack, and another incompletion brought up fourth-and-16. Davis threw the ball inside the five-yard line, where Steve Williams broke up the play to turn the ball over on downs with 37 seconds on the clock. O'Hagan went to a knee to close the game.
Davis was 16-of-34 for a career-high 263 yards and two touchdowns for Lafayette, with Ort gaining 117 yards on three catches. Stanford caught five passes for 72 yards.
Dawson had 100 yards on 28 carries for Harvard, which ran 53 times for 136 yards in the game. O'Hagan was 17-for-30 for 207 yards and three touchdowns, and found Breaux five times for 89 yards and a touchdown.
Lafayette will be idle next Saturday before returning to action with the sixth of seven home games this season at Fisher Field. Bucknell will be the opponent as the Leopards prepare to defend their 2004 Patriot League championship.
