Late-game heroics the theme for Ivy football

Harvard and Brown led off a mostly tight Ivy League weekend with a thriller in Cambridge last Friday night. Trailing by 10 with under a minute left in the fourth quarter, Brown (0=2, 0-1 Ivy) began a furious comeback attempt when versatile wideout Bobby Sewall caught an eight-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero. The Bears were able to recover the ensuing onsides kick, eventually setting up three failed passes to the end zone from the Harvard 25 on the game’s final three plays. The Crimson (1-1, 1-0 Ivy) were led by junior quarterback and first-year starter Collier Winters who accounted for all three Harvard touchdowns in the 24-21 win. This standout performance earned Winters Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week honors.

There was more late-game drama on Saturday at the Yale Bowl, as Cornell (2-0, 1-0 Ivy) held off Yale (1-1, 0-1 Ivy) for a road victory in front of a national television audience. Cornell scored on its first offensive play of the game with a trick play—senior wide receiver Stephen Liuzza hit Bryan Walters for an 81-yard touchdown pass. Yale dominated the rest of the game statistically, completing 15 first downs to Cornell’s three, and running 35 more offensive plays than the Big Red. Nevertheless, Yale quarterback Patrick Witt’s first of three fourth-quarter interceptions was returned for a touchdown by Ivy League Defender of the Week Anthony Ambrosi, stretching Cornell’s second-half cushion to 14-6.

Witt was almost able to make amends in the final moments­—Yale gained possession with 1:37 remaining in the fourth quarter. The sophomore quarterback marched the Bulldogs into the red zone and scored on a third and goal run with no time remaining. However, the two-point conversion attempt to tie the game fell incomplete, ruining the home debut for Yale head coach Tom Williams as the Bulldogs fell 14-12.

Penn (0-2, 0-0 Ivy) also nearly succeeded in another comeback effort Saturday, scoring two unanswered third-quarter touchdowns to force overtime against Lafayette in Easton, Pa. Penn senior Kyle Olson threw for 83 yards and two touchdowns in the third quarter to lead the late charge, while junior linebacker Zach Heller had 13 tackles (3.0 for a loss) and one sack to fend off the Leopards.

In overtime, Penn kicker Andrew Samson missed his second 42-yard field goal of the game, allowing Lafayette (2-1) to convert on their first OT possession with a 28-yarder to seal a 20-17 victory.

Princeton (1-1, 0-0 Ivy) also visited a Patriot League opponent this weekend in Bethlehem, Pa, picking up their first win of the year against Lehigh. Despite losing reigning Ivy League rushing champion Jordan Culbreath early with an injury, Princeton was able to hold onto an early lead to edge out a 17-14 win.

Lehigh (0-3) starting quarterback J.B. Clark was replaced after two interceptions, as the Mountain Hawks’ sloppy play prevented them from capitalizing on their significant possession advantage.

The game was decided for Princeton on two big first-half plays: quarterback Tommy Wornham’s 67-yard touchdown dash and linebacker Steven Cody’s 77-yard interception return for a touchdown.

The only game on the Ivy slate that ended in a rout was Dartmouth’s matchup with no. 6 ranked New Hampshire (3-0). The Big Green (0-2, 0-0 Ivy) stayed in the game early, out-possessing New Hampshire by four and a half minutes in the first half and trailing by just six at halftime.

However, three fumbles lost and two interceptions caught up with Dartmouth, who faced a second-half onslaught and were outscored 24-0 over the final two quarters en route to a 44-14 loss.

Sophomore tailback Nick Schwieger rushed for 119 yards and senior quarterback Alex Jenny was 20-29 with 166 yards and two touchdowns for Dartmouth in the loss.