Harvard Takes Down Columbia, 27-12

Despite committing 14 penalties, Harvard dictated the momentum in Saturday’s game at Kraft Field, beating Columbia 27-12 for their fifth-straight Ivy League win and the Lions’ fifth-straight conference loss.

Columbia took the ball first after losing the coin toss, then turned it over after a nine-play drive stalled on the Harvard 29-yard line. Unlike Yale last week, Harvard didn’t waste any time getting their offense into gear. The Crimson moved the ball 71 yards on 13 plays to set up a scoring pass from quarterback Chris Pizzotti to receiver Corey Mazza for the game’s first touchdown.

Columbia answered with an eight-play drive, highlighted by an 18-yard pass from Craig Hormann to Austin Knowlin, but an overthrow on third-and-six forced a Lions field goal, which Jon Rocholl hit from 24 yards.

The Light Blue defense forced Harvard to a three-and-out, but the Columbia offense could only get as far as the Harvard 16 before being stopped on third-and-ten. Rocholl came through with another field goal, this time from 33 yards, to bring the score to 7-6.

Harvard responded on their next possession with a nine-yard run by Cheng Ho for a touchdown, making the score 13-6, which is how it would stay to end the first half.

Harvard opened the second half with a 68-yard touchdown drive. The Lions put up a fight in the red zone, as it took the Crimson four tries from the two-yard line before they finally scored on a quarterback keeper.

The Crimson defense smothered Craig Hormann throughout the second half, sacking the quarterback six times and virtually eliminating the passing game that had been Columbia’s only asset an offense. The Lions didn’t cross midfield once in the third quarter.

Harvard scored their final touchdown of the game on an inside run by Cheng Ho to start the fourth quarter. This put the Crimson in a position where they could play safe and try to conserve their 21-point lead. The Lions narrowed that margin to 15 with a touchdown pass from Hormann to Knowlin, who made a leaping catch in the endzone for the score. Jon Rocholl’s PAT attempt sailed left, making it the first missed extra point from the junior this season.

With 5:33 left in the game, Harvard came on the field prepared for an onside kick from the Lions, but Jon Rocholl knocked the ball to the two-yard line, and an unfortunate bounce put it through the endzone for a touchback. The Columbia defense stopped the ensuing drive, but not before Harvard had burned four minutes off the clock.

Columbia took the ball on their 13-yard line with one last chance to score. On first down, Hormann stepped back, targeted Austin Knowlin, then saw the ball sail into the hand of Harvard’s Doug Hewlett. Harvard would let the clock wind down, heading back to Cambridge with a 27-12 win.

Yale and Harvard now stand alone as the only 5-0 Ivy League teams, while Columbia is the only Ivy team with a winless conference record heading into the last two weeks of the season.