Like the Stadium’s FieldTurf surface, this fall’s Crimson football team seems to be weatherproof. Unfazed by a rainstorm that intensified as the game progressed, the gridders gave Brown a 24-7 dunking in an exciting night game on Friday evening.
The defensive unit excelled, hammering the Bears’ former all-Ivy quarterback, Kyle Newhall-Caballero, and forcing five turnovers that wiped out Brown drives.
Coach Tim Murphy, whose teams have defeated Brown in 10 of the last 12 encounters, saw this one as a moment of self-discovery. “We always talk at the beginning of the year that we have to develop an identity,” he said after the game, “and I think tonight we developed an identity. We’re a tough, physical team.”
Senior quarterback Collier Winters, the linchpin of the Crimson offense, had his picture on the cover of the program but could not compete because of a hamstring pull. Junior Colton Chapple, who started three games as a third-string backup a year ago, stood in for him. Chapple directed the offense with authority, completing 15 of 26 passes for a career-high 207 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted just once.
Chapple was at his best when the weather was worst. Midway through the final quarter, in driving rain, he uncorked a 56-yard scoring pass to receiver Adam Chrissis ’12, giving Harvard a commanding 21-7 lead.
Chapple had set up the Crimson’s first touchdown in the opening quarter, taking the snap on a fake field goal attempt at the Brown 6-yard line and running for a first down at the one. Halfback Treavor Scales ’13 scored on the next play.
On Harvard’s following series, a 25-yard run by the hard-driving Scales put the Crimson in Brown territory again. Chapple then lofted a 20-yard pass to sophomore tight end Cameron Brate, who made a stunning one-handed catch and toppled into the end zone.
Harvard’s 14-0 lead was imperiled when Brown advanced to the Harvard 9-yard line later in the period, but an end zone interception by safety Dan Minamide ’12 ended the threat.
Brown’s only score came in the third period, on a 30-yard pass from Newhall-Caballero to flanker Tellef Lundevall. Newhall-Caballero, who missed most of last season with a broken wrist, made 52 pass attempts and completed 28 for 269 yards. He was intercepted three times, twice in the final quarter.
The Bears came within one yard of tying the game as the final period opened, but freshman defensive end Zach Hodges knocked the ball loose on a handoff to Brown halfback Mark Kachmer. Linebacker Alex Norman ’13 recovered. Hodges, a fiery competitor who also plays on the kickoff team, was credited with three tackles, three quarterback hurries, and a pass breakup.
Linebacker Josh Boyd ’13 led the defense with 11 tackles and a forced fumble. Bobby Schneider ’13, another linebacker, and defensive end John Lyon ’13 made fourth-period interceptions for Harvard.
With a hefty and disciplined line opening holes for him, Scales rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown. He also had two pass receptions. Cameron Brate, teaming with Kyle Juszczyk ’13 in an effective two-tight-end offensive set, caught five passes for 93 yards.
David Mothander ’14 booted a 31-yard field goal for Harvard’s final points. Despite the wet conditions, the offensive unit and the kicking teams survived the evening without fumbling.
The game was the Ivy League opener for both teams, and the first loss for Brown. The Bears had come from behind to edge Stony Brook, 21-20 in their opening game. Harvard had lost to Holy Cross in its opener, 30-22.
Since the 2006 season, Crimson teams now have a 9-0 record in games following a loss. Harvard is 5-0 in night games at the Stadium.
In other weekend games: Yale bested Cornell, 37-17. Other Ivy teams were defeated by nonleague opponents. Pennsylvania lost to Villanova, 30-21, Princeton lost to Bucknell, 34-9, Dartmouth lost to Sacred Heart, 24-21, and Columbia lost to Albany, 44-21.
Next weekend: Harvard faces Patriot League rival Lafayette at Easton, Pennsylvania, on Saturday (kickoff at 1 p.m.). After losses to North Dakota State and Georgetown in their first two games, the Leopards upset Penn, the defending Ivy champion, 37-12. Lafayette then lost to Stony Brook, 37-20.
The Harvard-Brown score by quarters:
Brown 0 0 7 0 — 7
Harvard 7 7 0 10 — 24
Attendance: 18,565 soggy spectators.
