Sunday, November 08, 2015

Saturday Wrap

A look at Saturday's games with a few pithy comments . . .

Harvard 24, Columbia 16
Outscored 148-0 by the Crimson over the past three years, the Lions (2-6 overall, 1-4 Ivy) gave the Ivy League leaders everything they could handle in New York City. They had more first downs (20-15), put up more yards, (404-379), almost tripled Harvard's rushing output (148-55) and had a shot at one of the greatest upsets in Ivy League history before the Crimson (8-0, 5-0 Ivy) recovered an onside kick with just over two minutes left. The player of the day for Harvard was the hero in the win against Dartmouth as freshman receiver Justice Shelton-Mosley had a 25-yard touchdown reception near halftime and an 86-yard punt return for a score in the fourth quarter. The attendance was listed at 5,494 but if Columbia had won there would have been 15,000 people saying they were there in a few years ;-)

Penn 26, Princeton 23 (OT)
Penn quarterback Alek Torgersen passed for 178 yards and the winning touchdown in OT and ran for 96 yards on 13 carries as the Quakers (5-3, 4-1 Ivy) set up a showdown at Harvard Saturday for a share of the Ivy League lead. In a play that will bring back unhappy memories for Dartmouth, Penn's Donald Panciello blocked Princeton's 35-yard field goal attempt as time expired to force overtime. Princeton (5-3, 2-3 Ivy) took the lead in the top half of the overtime with a field goal only to see Torgersen end the game with an 11-yard toss to Eric Fiore. The game was as even as the final score with Penn finishing with 395 total yards to Princeton's 382 and Princeton having the edge in first downs, 24-22. The game drew 11,017.

Yale 41, Brown  14
Yale (5-3, 2-3 Ivy) used a 24-point third quarter to bury Brown and give those eager to see the Bulldogs tame Harvard in two weeks hope. Deshawn Salter ran for three touchdowns for Yale, which got 13 catches for 154 yards from Christopher Williams-Lopez and a 24-yard pick six from Spencer Rymiszewski. Brown (4-4, 2-3 Ivy) was held to 50 yards on 24 rushes and suffered three interceptions. Dartmouth visits Brown Saturday. Attendance was listed at 6,878.

St. Francis 22, Central Connecticut 13
St. Francis (5-3, 3-1 NEC) used five field goals, including a pair of 46-yarders, to post the win. Najee Brown had a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown for Central Connecticut (4-6, 3-2 NEC) in front of 3,113 in New Britain.

Duquesne 41, Sacred Heart 14
A "crowd" of 1,560 in Fairfield saw Duquesne (7-3, 4-1 NEC) jump out to a 28-0 lead early in the third quarter and skate to an easy win over the Pioneers (4-5, 1-3 NEC).