CAMBRIDGE, MA – Harvard tallied five touchdowns in three quarters and never looked back, as the Crimson claimed its fifth victory of the season against Bucknell University, 35-0.
Senior quarterback Colton Chapple tossed two touchdowns and rushed for two scores, while freshman Andrew Fischer registered his first collegiate touchdown in the second quarter.
Bucknell junior quarterback Brandon Wesley was sacked six times, as well as tossed one interception in the loss, while the Bison offense tallied 212-yards of total offense.
Chapple put Harvard on the board at 3:01 in the first when he capped a four-play, 27-yard drive with a six-yard score.
Harvard added to its lead midway through the second when Chapple connected with sophomore Cameron Brate for a 14-yard touchdown reception before Fischer made it a three-score game with a 58-yard run on the ensuing possession.
The Crimson scored once more before the first half concluded, as Chapple hooked up with senior Kyle Juszczyk for a 59-yard strike, which provided Harvard with a 28-0 cushion at the break.
Once the second half commenced, Chapple secured the win on the team’s first possession of the second half with a 59-yard touchdown run.
Bucknell’s only score occurred during the final minute of the contest when senior Jeremiah Young capped a nine-play, 91-yard drive with a one-yard score.
Harvard will return to the gridiron next Saturday when they travel to Princeton, while Bucknell will head to Lehigh – both games are slated for 1:00PM starts.
CAMBRIDGE, MA – From the start, it seemed we were in for a low scoring affair.
Bucknell and Harvard commenced their non-conference tilt with punts and interceptions. Yet, on their fourth offensive series of the afternoon, the Crimson located the end zone when quarterback Colton Chapple capped a four-play, 27-yard drive with a six-yard score.
Harvard ballooned their lead with three more touchdowns in the second – two strikes to Cameron Brate and Kyle Juszczyk and a 59-yard rushing score by Andrew Fischer, which provided Harvard with a 28-0 lead at the break.
Bucknell’s offense executed 29 plays for 90-yards of total offense, while Harvard concluded the first half with 320 yards of 32 plays.
Harvard is the second team this season to score 20 or more points against Bucknell – Lafayette posted 20 points in a game against the Bison earlier this season.
CAMBRIDGE, MA – It’s been roughly one month since No. 24 Harvard took the field in preparations for their Ivy League title defense, and on Saturday the Crimson commenced another season with a 28-13 victory against the University of San Diego.
The win wasn’t exactly the prettiest, as Harvard’s offense only produced points in the second and fourth quarters, while their defense struggled to contain San Diego in the first and third. Harvard’s offense and defense also racked up 119 yards on eight penalties, which didn’t please head coach Tim Murphy.
“There’s no excuse,” exclaimed Murphy. “We talked about it coming in and our style of football is make people beat us, don’t beat yourselves.
“Don’t beat yourselves with turnovers, don’t beat yourselves with metal mistakes, and don’t beat yourselves with penalties. The penalties we had today were completely unnecessary. Sometimes you get an aggressive penalty and today they were completely unnecessary and really put us in a bind on two drives in the first half and we will address it.”
Yet, penalties aside, the Crimson were still able to overcome their mistakes by producing 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, which secured the win.
Quarterback Colton Chapple, who appeared nervous at times, began the final frame with an eight-yard pass to Kyle Juszczyk, which was followed up by two rushing touchdowns during the final six minutes by Treavor Scales (19 carries, 177 yards, 2 TDs).
“There were some definite tangible adjustments [throughout the game],” said Murphy. “Eventually we were able to run the football and we also got a couple breaks on some penalties, so a combinational of those things were the difference.”
San Diego began the contest with a 19 play, 81-yard drive, which didn’t result in six points, but instead an Ernie Collins field goal.
The Crimson answered in the second quarter with a touchdown pass from Chapple to Cameron Brate that provided Harvard with a 7-3 advantage at the break.
Once the second half commenced, Chapple, who completed only one pass on three attempts in the third quarter, fought to move his team up field, but the Crimson’s offense stalled and the Toreros mustered 10 points on back-to-back drives, which gave them their only lead of the contest before Harvard’s offense went to work in the fourth.
“Hats off to Harvard playing a good game when it mattered most,” said San Diego head coach Ron Caragher. “[The] second and fourth quarter I thought they really played solid football.”
Game Notes:
* With the win Saturday, Harvard has now won 12 consecutive home openers at Harvard Stadium.
* Harvard is now 59-2 when leading at halftime. That record began in the 2003 season.
* San Diego quarterback Mason Mills completed the game with 354 yards. Harvard has not allowed an opposing quarterback to throw more than 300 yards since 2003.
* The Crimson defense finished the contest with 14 pass breakups and seven sacks.
CAMBRIDGE, MA – Two quarters of Saturday’s Harvard-San Diego contest are in the books. The Crimson leads 7-3, and below are a few thoughts on the first half.
* The first meeting between these two squads didn’t exactly start with a bang, but a 19 play, 81-yard drive, which resulted in three-points for the Toreros. San Diego had all the momentum on their side, but Harvard’s defense pressured quarterback Mason Mills (19-for-28, 164 yards, 1 INT) to misdirect his pass to Colin King.
* Harvard’s gunslinger Colton Chapple (9-for-16, 107 yards, 1TD)began the game 2-for-4, but rebounded on his team’s second drive with a 29-yard touchdown strike to Cameron Brate.
* Both teams struggled on third downs and ended the half a combined 6-for-17.
* Harvard was flagged five times, while San Diego was whistled once.
* Finally, after both teams registered points, their offenses stalled. The defenses have been the biggest story of the game thus far, especially San Diego’s, which has held Harvard to 149 yards on 26 plays.
On Tuesday, the Ivy League unveiled its “preseason prognostications” for the upcoming football season. And for the fourth time in five seasons, Harvard was chosen as the favorite to win the Ancient Eight.
Last season, the Crimson finished their season 9-1 overall, and 7-0 in league play, which helped them earn their 14th Ivy League title.
When asked to describe his team for the upcoming season, which will begin its defense against San Diego on Saturday, September 15, head coach Tim Murphy described Harvard as a “solid” unit that is eager to begin their season.
“I think I speak for all of our coaches and all of our players that we are excited to get going,” said Murphy via the league’s teleconference call on Tuesday. “As far as our team is concerned, we expect to have a very solid team. How much better than that? I’m not sure because we certainly do have some question marks, but as a starting point, we always start with our defense and we expect it to be a very solid defense.”
Murphy’s defense was one of many factors last season, which helped the Crimson cruise to a perfect record in league play. Yet, despite the various 11 men on the opposite side of the ball, rising senior Colton Chapple, who was a backup to Collier Winters last year,displayed flashes of brilliance, especially when he tossed five touchdowns against Bucknell. Those five strikes marked the first time since 1953 that a Harvard quarterback had thrown that many touchdowns in a span of 544 games.
“Colton [Chapple] is one of those guys who has just gotten better and better and if he continues on his trajectory, we expect that he can be one of the best [quarterbacks] in the league,” exclaimed Murphy. “He was only a solid thrower when he got here – we took him as a tough guy with potential. Clearly it’s Colton’s team.”
Another player to watch this season, according to the Ivy League, is rising senior Kyle Juszczyk, who is a preseason All-America selection by various media outlets. Juszczyk, who is listed as a tight end, will also be spotted at halfback and wide receiver this season, which should pose problems for opposing coaches and defensive coordinators, especially when crafting a game plan. The senior tight end led the receiving core last season with 37 receptions for 512 yards and seven touchdowns.
“In Kyle, we thought he was terrific in high school and he has turned out even better in college. There are very few guys, who can line up at multiple positions. It is so rare and when we have one of those guys, we’d better use him [the right way],” said Murphy.
Of course, Chapple and Juszczyk are just a few names to note, but don’t forget seniors Joshua Boyd, Brian Owusu, Nnamdi Obukwelu and Treavor Scales, as well as junior Cameron Brate.
“All in all, we have the nucleus and the foundation of being a very solid football team,” stated Murphy.
CAMBRIDGE, MA — On a bone chilling November afternoon, Harvard University’s football team celebrated “Senior Day” by extending their winning streak to eight games, beating University of Pennsylvania, 37-20, and clinching the Ivy League crown for the 14th time in school history.
“[I’m] just unbelievably proud of our coaches and our kids. I thought our coaches did a great job in terms of preparation and game plan, and I thought the conviction and the intensity our kids played with was very impressive,” said Harvard’s head coach Tim Murphy.
“It feels great [to win it again],” said Harvard’s fifth-year senior quarterback Collier Winters. “This was definitely a game we marked on the schedule, and [we were] just hoping we’d be in this position, and be able to play for the championship, and it means a lot to win an Ivy League championship, and it personally means a lot to beat Penn to do that.”
Both teams struggled to gain any sort of momentum during the opening quarter, but after Harvard’s sophomore cornerback Chris Splinter was flagged on a critical third down for holding, Quakers junior quarterback Bill Ragone capitalized on his opponents mistake by leading his team down the field, and connecting with senior wide receiver Ryan Calvert for his first of two touchdowns.
Harvard quickly regrouped and registered 17 unanswered points prior to intermission, as Winters tossed his only touchdown of the game to sophomore Cameron Brate, which was followed up by a 14-yard dash by freshman Zach Boden,and a 35-yard field goal by sophomore placekicker David Mothander.
“We lost a lot of momentum [in the second quarter], and it goes back to turnovers,” said Penn head coach Al Bagnoli. “You can’t go against good teams, especially on the road, and get yourself in a scenario where you’re going to turn the ball over three or four times and make a lot of mistakes.”
The Crimson continued their dominance in the second half with two back-to-back rushing scores by Winters and junior running back Treavor Scales before junior line backer Alexander Norman picked off Ragone, and sprinted 34-yards to the end zone.
“[Saturday was] one of the better defensive efforts we’ve had here in a long time, and against a very good football team,” said Murphy.
Ragone and his teammates then attempted a small comeback during the final minutes of the fourth quarter, as he rushed for a one yard score, and connected with Calvert for his final strike of the game before the referees blew their whistles to conclude the afternoon affair.
The Crimson season will conclude next week when they travel to New Haven, Connecticut to face-off against their archrival, Yale University, and you can certainly bet that Harvard has their eyes set on capturing their ninth win of the year.
“A great thing about football as compared to maybe golf or tennis or some sports is you get to share with so many people. The other thing is when you win a championship with such a close group like that [it’s special],” said Murphy.
GAME NOTES:
* Harvard has now won the Ivy League three times in the last five seasons. Coach Murphy has now won the Ancient Eight crown, (Ivy League Title) six times at Harvard
* Against the Quakers, the Crimson tallied 37 points, and according to school records, Harvard is now 279-5-1 all time when scoring 30 or more points.
* Harvard has now beaten Penn six times in the last 11-years, and has won three of the last four meetings at Harvard Stadium.
Harvard's Colton Chapple has tossed 17 touchdowns this season and has been a major part of the Crimson's success! (Photo courtesy of Harvard Athletics)
By NoontimeSports.com
It’s hard to believe, but seven weeks of college football are officially in the books.
There have been some interesting matchups, surprises and outcomes, but now, it’s time to break down a few things that we’ve learned from the first half of the season, as well as dish out some statistics too.
Here’s our “halftime” edition of our Massachusetts College Football Coverage, enjoy.
* Endicott College scooped up their seventh win of the season last Saturday, as well as their fourth New England Football Conference (NEFC) victory against Fitchburg State, 49-0. The Gulls have averaged 45 points per game this season, and have outscored their opponents, 315-82. Senior quarterback Phil Konopka in on pace to shatter his touchdowns and passing yards from last season, especially since he’s registered 19 passes to the end zone and 1,626 yards through the air this year. Overall, the Gulls offense has been a machine, and has recorded 1,658 rushing yards, 3,376 total offensive yards and 36 touchdowns. Expect their offense, and prolific defense to continue their success for the remainder of the season.
* Harvard’s football team hasn’t lost a game since dropping their season opener against Holy Cross, 30-22. Backup quarterback Colton Chapple has been quite impressive, especially this past weekend against Bucknell, as he tied a school record with five touchdowns in a game, and became the first Crimson quarterback to throw four touchdowns in back-to-back contests. The Crimson defense has also played quite well this year too, as well as smothered opposing quarterbacks with 18 sacks and eight interceptions. Finally, sophomore tight end Cameron Brate has been a nightmare for opposing defense and currently leads his receive core with five touchdowns.
* According to D3Football.com – Endicott College is the only school receiving “other votes,” while Trinity College (CT) is also in the same category.
* Merrimack College’s senior linebacker Shawn Loiseau, who leads the Warriors defense with 96 tackles, (46 solo) is currently the top defensive tackler in the Northeast-10 Conference and averages 12.8 tackles per game. Last year, Loiseau finished the season with 133 tackles, five sacks, one fumble recover and three forced fumbles.
* Framingham State running back Melikke Van Alstyne currently leads the NECF with 15 touchdowns and 1135 yards. Against Maine Maritime this past weekend, Van Alstyne rushed for season high five touchdowns, as well as 251 yards on 31 carries. The Rams currently remain in first place in the Bogan Division.
CAMBRIDGE, MA – This probably wasn’t exactly how the Bucknell University head coach Joe Susan envisioned his school’s ninth meeting with the Harvard University, as he watched his team get decimated by the Crimson, who picked up their fourth win with a 42-3 drubbing.
Crimson junior quarterback Colton Chapple tied a school record with five touchdown passes, while Harvard head coach Tim Murphy’s defense recorded four interceptions, four sacks and one forced fumble, which held Bucknell’s offense to a season low 140 total offensive yards.
“[This was] a very solid team effort,” Murphy said. “This was a team we felt we should have beat, but none the less came in and played with a great deal of focus and intensity right from the start. [We were] led by our defense – our defense just never gave them a chance today.”
“We didn’t do a very good job protecting the passer,” Susan said. “It’s a beautiful place to play, but it’s not beautiful when the score reads the way the score reads right now.”
Chapple and his offense overcame a lackluster start that featured a fumble and missed field goal, as he connected with junior tight end Kyle Juszczyk on the team’s third offensive series to give Harvard their first and only lead of the game. Chapple then followed up with three more touchdowns, two to sophomore tight end Cameron Brate and one to wide receiver Alex Sarkisian, which gave the home team a comfortable 28-0 cushion at the intermission.
Entering the second half, Chapple capped off a four play drive and reconnected with Juszczyk for his fifth and final touchdown of the game before Murphy swapped him for sophomore quarterback Michael Pruneau.
“I can’t take single credit for all [my success because] my offensive line has been great all year long,” Chapple said. “[I’ve] got an extremely talented wide [receiving] core and including tight ends.”
Bucknell finally got on the board when senior kicker Drew Orth kicked alate third quarter field goal before Harvard’s Seit Smith III delivered the Crimson’s final touchdown of the day on 91-yard kick-off return on the ensuing possession.
“Our defense gave us great field position, they gave us great energy and we didn’t have a great day offensively, but if you look at our halftime [statistics], the thing we did do was we got our run game going and that was the biggest thing. They’re a very solid run defense team. If we can run the football, we know we can throw the football, so we’re making progress offensively,” Murphy said. “We’re not where we want to be, but we’re making progress.”
The Crimson will return to the comforts of Harvard Stadium next Saturday against Princeton University, while Bucknell will also return home to host Holy Cross – both games will be played at 1:00pm.
GAME NOTES:
* Harvard entered today’s game [3-1] when leading at halftime, while Bucknell was [0-2].
* Chapple was the first Harvard quarterback in the school’s history to throw for at least four touchdowns in consecutive games and the second quarterback to throw for five touchdowns in one game. Carroll Lowenstein was the last Crimson quarterback to register five touchdowns against Davidson in 1953. Also, according to Harvard Athletics, 544 games had past between both five-touchdown games in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
* Harvard now leads the season series against Bucknell, [5-3-1]. The last time these two teams met was in 1997, and the Bison won, 24-20.
CAMBRIDGE, MA – Here at Harvard University, the college learning process never ends.
After Friday’s win against the Brown University Bears, Harvard’s head coach Tim Murphy explained that he learned something about his football team – they’ll do whatever it takes to win a physical, tough game.
“I think we developed an identity and that is we’re a tough, physical team,” Murphy said. “We made a lot of mistakes on offense – today at times, but the bottom line is our kids just played so hard and if you play that hard and you can force some turnovers, you get a chance to be [in] every single game. I’m really proud of our kids.”
Murphy should be proud of his team’s effort, especially since the Crimson tallied 366 yards of total offense, (159 rushing yards and 207 passing yards) against a Brown team that has allowed their opponents to rack up at least 300 yards or more this season.
Protecting the Ball: Harvard managed to hang onto the football on Friday, despite the inclement weather. Murphy talked about the importance of not turning the ball over, however, according to stat sheet, quarterback Colton Chapple was the only member of the Crimson to register a turnover.
“The last thing I said, when I spoke to the team last night was [when] you takeaway just the turnovers in the Holy Cross game it’s probably a different game. It was a seventeen point differential, so I said, the bottom line is ball security is a team thing. We’ve got to do a great job protecting the football on offense and special teams and then defense and special teams have to knock it loose,” Murphy said.
The coach continued to discuss the impact of Friday’s turnover battle by stating, “I just thought our kids did a great job – just really fighting, smacking [and] just doing the little things to try to give us an opportunity to get a short field.”
Quarterback Swap: Prior to Friday’s contest against Brown, Murphy and his staff decided to forgo starting quarterback Collier Winters and instead, start backup Colton Chapple. Winter apparently sustained an injury against Holy Cross last weekend, which prompted Chapple to start in his place.
“I made the decision really early in the week because it wouldn’t have been fair to the team to invest practice time in him if he was going to go down. It wouldn’t have been fair to him or the team for him to get hurt and have a season ending [or] in his case, career ending injury, so it was an easy decision,” Murphy said.
Chapple finished the game completing 15-of-26 passes for 207 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
“Coach [Joel] Lamb and Coach Murph talked to me Tuesday, our first practice [and] just being a backup, you always got to be ready because you never know when you’re going to go in,” Colton said.
Chapple played quite well, as well as looked like a natural, especially when he hooked up with sophomore Cameron Brate and senior Adam Chrissis for touchdown strikes.
“This is a kid’s dream playing in front of 20,000 people under the lights with his teammates that [I’ve] been working all summer with, so from that standpoint I felt like I didn’t have to win the game, [but] had to manage the game, had to put ourselves in a place to win and along with the help of the defense,” Chapple said.
All in all, I think it’s fair to say, the young man impressed many, as well as exhibited that he can win games, and engineer an offense to success.
Interesting Statistic: With this particular win against the Bears, Harvard improves to [9-0] after a loss. Also, the Crimson has not lost consecutive games since weeks 9-10 of the ’06 season.
Next Opponent: The Crimson will look to build off their exciting win next Saturday, as they travel to Lafayette for a 1:00pm kick-off.
It's Harvard and Brown on Friday evening! (Photo courtesy Harvard Athletics).
By Matt Noonan
CAMBRIDGE, MA — Harvard University earned an impressive win against the Brown Bears on Friday, as the Crimson won 24-7, as well as picked up their first conference win of the season too. Here’s a rapid reaction, quarter-by-quarter breakdown of the action.
First Quarter: Harvard 7 – Brown 0
Harvard Scores First: Harvard’s running back Treavor Scales registered his first touchdown of the season on a one-yard run.
Quick Observation: Both teams struggled to maintain any sort of momentum during the opening 10-minutes, but once the Crimson found the end zone, the arrow shifted toward Harvard. Also, Brown was flagged four times in the opening quarter, which allowed the men dressed in maroon and gold, (Harvard) the opportunity to continue their various drives.
Stat of the Quarter: Treavor Scales rushed for 54-yards on eight carries, as well as one touchdown.
Harvard Scores…Again: The Crimson began the second quarter by capping off a six play, 80-yard drive, as tight-end Cameron Brate registered the team’s first touchdown reception of the game. Brate finished the first two quarters with three receptions for 75 yards.
Mother Nature vs. Brown: The Bears struggled to move the ball in both the first and second quarters, as they converted 3-of-8 third downs, and lost one fumble too. Running back Mark Kachmar recorded 53 yards on 10 carries, while quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero completed 12-of-24 passes, as well as tossed one interception.
Stat of the First Half: Crimson running back Treavor Scales rushed for 70 yards on 12 carries, and a touchdown, which was the main statistic of the second half.
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Third Quarter – Harvard 14 – Brown 7
Brown Finally Scores: The Bears managed to put some points on the board in the middle of the third quarter, as Newhall-Caballero found junior wide receiver Tellef Lundevall streaking down the sidelines for a 30-yard touchdown strike.
Newhall-Caballero Magic: Brown’s quarterback finally came to life during the third quarter, as he helped his team register their first score of the game. His passing game clearly opened the running game, as junior Mark Kachmar ended the third quarter with 76-yards on 16 carries, as well as five receptions for 47-yards too.
Fourth Quarter Optimism for Brown: The third quarter was all about the Brown Bears, as they stole Harvard’s thunder and gained some offensive optimism and momentum. We’ll see if the Bears can make this a ballgame in the fourth quarter, but in the meantime, this quarter wasn’t exactly the greatest for the Crimson’s offense or defense.
Harvard’s defensive pressure: The Crimson defense ramped up their pressure during the final 15-minutes, as Norman Alexander recovered a fumble, and John Lyon and Bobby Schneider both recorded interceptions. Two of the three turnovers resulted in points for Harvard’s offense.
Colton Chapple Tosses Another Touchdown: Chapple registered his second touchdown pass of the game to Adam Chrissis. Chapple finished the game with 15 completions for 207 yards and two touchdowns, as well as one interception.
Brown’s Turnover Woes: The Bears finished Friday’s contest with five turnovers, (three interceptions and two fumbles lost), which clearly was the major reason why the Bears lost.
