Oct. 1, 2011
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EASTON, Pa. - Harvard dealt Lafayette a 31-3 defeat on Saturday in the home opener for the Leopards. Penalties and turnovers hurt Lafayette for a second straight week as the Leopards turned it over three times and were penalized 16 times for 101 yards.
Lafayette (1-4) used two quarterbacks on Saturday, starting the game with Andrew Shoop and replacing him in the third quarter with senior Ryan O'Neil. Shoop finished the game 10-of-17 for 131 yards and an interception, while O'Neil went 13-of-19 for 99 yards in relief. O'Neil also had 11 yards on the ground while Shoop garnered four net yards - a number hindered by four Harvard sacks.
Two Lafayette receivers achieved personal bests on the afternoon. Greg Kessel's team-high five catches and 40 yards receiving both mark career highs, while Kevin Doty set a new personal standard with a team-leading 72 yards on four catches. Mitchell Bennett and Mark Ross also had four receptions apiece, with Ross' 26-yard connection with O'Neil accounting for the Leopards' longest play from scrimmage.
Freshman Ross Scheuerman led the way on the ground with 15 of the Leopards' 42 rushing yards against Harvard's stout run defense. Vaughn Hebron, Pat Mputu and Greg Stripe also shared the load in the Lafayette backfield.
Defensively, Evan McGovern led the way with seven tackles, while Kyle Simmons added six. Mike Boles had two tackles - one for a nine-yard loss followed by a sack on the following play. Leroy Butler had five tackles, a pass defended and a quarterback hurry.
Colton Chapple started under center for the Crimson (2-1) and went 14-of-18 for 121 and a TD before exiting the game at halftime due to a back injury. He was spelled by Michael Pruneay, who was 4-of-6 for 44 yards and a touchdown.
The Leopards and Crimson traded field goals early. Harvard's David Mothander kicked a 26-yarder at 4:20 in the first and Austin O'Brien tied it for the Leopards with a 26-yard field goal of his own nearly five minutes into the second quarter.
On the ensuing kick-off, Lafayette appeared to stop the Harvard returner at his own 25, but the Leopards were whistled for an off-sides call. The re-kick resulted in much-improved field position, as Seitu Smith returned it 41 yards across midfield to the Lafayette 47. Harvard used a six-play drive the ended with Treavor Scales' four-yard TD run and a 10-3 lead with 8:20 left in the half. Scales finished the day with 24 carries for 59 yards.
After a Lafayette turnover on a quarterback sack, Harvard scored just before the end of the half, using a four-yard pass from Chapple to Alex Sarkisian. The 10-play, 52-yard drive took just 1:44, with Sarkisian breaking the plane with just three seconds remaining in the half. The extra point was true, and the Leopards headed to the locker room facing a 17-3 deficit.
After dueling three-and-outs to start the second half, Harvard took possession at its own 23-yard line. The first play was a lateral, which was mishandled by Scales and recovered by Tyler McFarlane to setup the Leopards just eight yards from paydirt. The Lafayette drive moved in the wrong direction, however, as two penalties backed up the Leopards to the Harvard 21. Two plays later, on third and goal from the 13-yard line, Shoop was intercepted in the end zone by Dan Minamide for a Crimson touchback.
The Leopards' defense came through once again with a three-and-out, but once again the effort bore no positive result. Jacob Dombrowski boomed a 54-yard punt for the visitors, which was fumbled by Darius Stafford. Kyle Juszczyk jumped on the ball and, instead of relinquishing possession, the Harvard offense found itself in the red zone with a new set of downs.
Harvard cashed in on the second chance with a four-play, 18-yard drive capped by a two-yard touchdown pass from Pruneau to Cameron Brate.
Now trailing 24-3, O'Neil took the helm at quarterback and led the Leopards on a 12-play, 55-yard drive. The march stalled at the Harvard 25, however, as Lafayette failed to convert on 4th-and-6.
The squads traded defensive stands for most of the fourth quarter, until Harvard's Zach Boden broke free for a 43-yard rush to extend the visitors' advantage to 31-3. The seven-play, 69-yard drive ate 4:31 off of the clock, and the Leopards regained possession with just 2:46 left to go.
Lafayette recorded a first down on a pass from O'Neil to Kessel, but did not move the chains any farther as time expired.
The Leopards will have a bye week to regroup before hosting Yale on Oct. 15 at 6 p.m.
Notes: The No. 53 of Fred Morgan Kirby '42 was retired prior to the game. Kirby was a member of Lafayette's last undefeated team in 1940 and was a long-time supporter of the Lafayette football program. It marks the first time that Lafayette has retired a number in football.
The Leopards were penalized over 100 yards (16-101) for the second straight year against Harvard.
Saturday was the lowest scoring output since shutout vs. Penn (37-0, 9/22/2001); The last time Lafayette was held to just a field goal was Oct. 27, 1990 at Holy Cross (34-3).
