Box Score Box Score
Postgame Press Conference Video - Part 1 I Part 2
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Freshman quarterback Jeff Mathews tossed a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns, but Cornell's rally fell short in a 31-17 defeat to Harvard on Saturday afternoon at Harvard Stadium. The Big Red slipped to 1-3 overall (0-2 Ivy), while Harvard improved to 3-1 (1-1 Ivy) with the victory.
Cornell trailed just 10-3 heading into the final stanza, in a defensive struggle, but the fourth quarter was an offensive track meet as both teams' defenses tired. Harvard recorded 314 rushing yards and 505 total yards, but the Big Red defense forced three turnovers.
Mathews ended the day 16-of-33 passing against relentless pressure from the Harvard defensive charge, which recorded eight sacks against a Big Red team starting freshmen at both offensive tackles, a sophomore at center and a freshman taking the snaps behind him. The Big Red never quit, however, posting touchdowns on a pair of four-play drives in the fourth quarter. It wasn't enough to top a Harvard offense that broke through in the final quarter, scoring 21 points to claim the victory.
Mathews hit Ryan Houska for a 13-yard score and Shane Savage for a 7-yard touchdown, then hit the junior receiver on the ensuing two-point conversion play for the final margin. Both scoring drives lasted just over a minute.
Savage led the receiving corps with seven catches for 55 yards, while Nick Booker-Tandy had 53 yards on four carries, including 39 on one jaunt. Troy Lewis chipped in 42 yards on five carries against one of the nation's staunchest defenses against the run.
Cornell's defense was strong, particularly in the first three quarters as spearheaded by the linebacking trio of Zack Imhoff (nine tackles, sack, forced fumble), Brandon Lainhart (11 tackles, sack) and Dempsey Quinn (10 tackles, pass breakup and fumble recovery). Both Ben Heller and Emani Fenton recorded interceptions, with Fenton breaking up two passes. Rashad Campbell also had a pair of pass breakups to go along with seven tackles.
Harvard's Benjamin Graeff had four sacks to lead the defensive charge, while the duo of Gino Gordon and Treavor Scales combined for 251 yards on 32 carries. Gordon, Sclaes and Rich Zajeski each had runs of at least 43 yards in the contest.
Defenses ruled in the first half, as the two teams combined for just 294 yards of total offense, including just 80 yards by the Big Red. The Cornell defense did the job, however, as both Fenton and Heller intercepted passes to kill potential Crimson scoring drives. Lainhart was all over the field in the first 30 minutes with 10 tackles and a sack. For the offense, Mathews completed 6-of-13 passes for just 29 yards and was intercepted once on a trick play. Troy Lewis had six rushing attempted for 33 yards, including a 17-yard run.
The Big Red was able to pressure Chapple during the early part of the game, forcing the quarterback into a 10-of-25 passing half for 114 yards and two interceptions. Crimson running back Gino Gordon was able to pick up 79 yards and the game's long touchdown on a 19-yard run with 3:35 left in the first quarter.
Despite moving the ball on its first two drives, the Big Red wasn't able to get into scoring territory after facing long fields due to outstanding Crimson punting. Cornell posted 58 of its 80 yards in the half on the first drive alone before failing to convert a fourth-and-short from the 41. Ultimately, Harvard was able to win the field position battle. Harvard used a short field to get on the board, as Gino Gordon took a direct snap and went the final 19 yards to give Harvard a 7-0 lead.
Fenton's interception after the Big Red flushed Chapple out of the pocket gave the Big Red life with less than a minute to play in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Heller's pick with under a minute to play in the half kept the Crimson off the scoreboard and sent the visitors in the locker room with momentum and an opportunity to take the ball to open the second half.
The Big Red picked up two third down conversions to move the chains, and after punting, pinned the Crimson in its first set of downs with poor field position after the fair catch at the 14. After forcing a Harvard punt, a pair of penalties on the kick gave the Big Red the ball at the Harvard 34. After an intentional grounding penalty and a sack, the Big Red was forced to punt. Harvard too the momentum from its defensive stop onto offense, and Treavor Scales went 51 yards to the Cornell 28 on the first play. The drive stalled, but not until a short field goal of 25 yards by David Mothander was true to make it 10-0 with 6:59 left in the third.
After Cornell punted, the Big Red defense again did its job, with Imhoff forcing a fumble that was recovered by Dempsey Quinn at the Crimson 5. The Harvard defense was able to hold the Big Red in check and forcing a 27-yard field goal attempt by Brad Greenway. The senior converted the kick, ending the shutout bid and making it 10-3 with 19 seconds left in the third.
Harvard answered the field goal with a touchdown, as Chapple perfectly led Levi Richards from 21 yards out for a score to make it 17-3 after the extra-point with 11:09 remaining in regulation. The 10-play, 87-yard drive was followed by a three-and-out by the Crimson defense that included sacks on each of the first two plays. Cornell faced a third-and-1 defensively, but Rich Zajeski was able to crack through the line and beat the defenders who were stacked at the line for 43 yards and another score to essentially put the game out of reach with 8:29 left in the fourth.
Except, no one told the Big Red that. Not quite done, Nick Booker-Tandy took a hand-off around the end and went 39 yards for the team's longest lay from scrimmage. Another play that ended with a sweep to Shane Savage picked up 8 more yards down to the 13. An incomplete pass brought up a third-and-2, and Mathews hit Houska on a slant pass for the touchdown with 7:08 left. Greenway's extra-point kick was blocked to make it 24-9.
Harvard again was able to get a big play to quiet the Cornell faithful. This time, Gino Gordon slipped out of a backfield tackle, then another at the line of scrimmage en route to a 65-yard run down to the Cornell 14. Two plays later, Chapple faked a hand-off and went untouched for a 2-yard score. The kick made it 31-9.
The Big Red had some fight left in it, and with the clock ticking down, Mathews found Savage inside the 10 to put more points on the board. The two connected again for the two-point conversion to provide the final margin.
The Big Red returns home next weekend to face Colgate on Saturday, Oct. 16 at 12:30 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field.
