The Chronicles of Rock: Part II

[iou1]

Dartmouth Holds On, 49-47
Failed 2 point conversion drops Crimson to 0-5

Hanover, NH - Here are the Cliff Notes...down 14 with about 3 to play. Ben Moore picks off a pass and returns it 50 yards for a score. Our D forces a 3 and out (might have been their only one all game). Gino releases out of the backfield and Butler finds him in the end zone with 0:00 on the clock. Down 2 we decide to put the ball in Gino's hands on a Toss Sweep. Dartmouth gets a "Great Jump" and stuffs him for no gain. Game Over.

Great Game Score of 1,086. Great Game my ***...our defense was miserable all freaking day. Yet another QB shredded us for what I have to assume was a career day. Russ Clarett was 16 of 27 for 393 and 4 TDs...Josh Thompson had 132 yards and a TD on 26 carries to become the 3rd back in a row over 100 against our D. I am in SHOCK that we are somehow 0-5 this year. The losing streak matches the 0-5 skid we went through back in 2008 and it drops my career record with the Crimson to 14-16. Due to a scheduling fluke...we have 2 BYE weeks in a row before we host Cornell. Hopefully that will give us some time to get stuff worked out. Thanks for following!

[iou1]

Harvard Downs Cornell, Breaks 5-Game Skid
Butler sharp, Defense dominant in 1st win of 2010

Cambridge, MA - It took a helluva lot longer than it should have, but we finally notched a mark in the W column with a convincing 52-7 win over Cornell. Butler wasn't spectacular at QB, but he was an efficient 10 of 17 for 173 yards...Gino Gordon continued to impress with 231 yards and 4 TDs on 30 carries. Gosh dang that kid seems to just keep getting better and better each week.

We actually gave up a long TD pass on the game's opening drive and trailed 7-0, but our kids really did a nice job of answering the bell after that. Can't say enough about our defense...11 sacks and negative net rushing yards will win quite a few ball games. We didn't really change any of our game plan at all...I just think that our kids, especially our young guys, are continuing to develop. Having back to back BYE weeks allowed us to get through another in-season development cycle (Weeks 4, 8, 12 in good old PS2), and the increased awareness is HUGE...especially for Butler at QB and the young guys on our O-Line. Hopefully the ship has been righted and we can keep it rolling. Thanks for following!

[iou1]

Crimson Pick Up Win #2, Beat Yale in "The Game"
Bulldogs no match for Gordon, Butler

New Haven, CT -Gino Gordon scored a career high and school record 5 TDs on the ground, and Joseph Butler had his best day in a Harvard uniform completing 14 of 17 for 270 and 2 TDs in our win over Yale. I don't want to jinx it, but Butler's play in the last 2 games has been everything that I had hoped for. We are still calling all of the same plays, but his decision making has improved by leaps and bounds. Our guys up front have also been able to keep him clean...and that helps a ton.

The other thing that stands out is the improved play of our defense. I tweaked our run/pass %'s and aggressive/conservative mix during the off weeks, but it is still the same 11 guys that gave up over 40 to Dartmouth and Army. More than anything, I just think that our AWR #s are up from the beginning of the season and that makes all the difference in the world when it comes to coach mode. It feels like we have turned the corner a little bit these last two weeks. Thanks for following!

[iou1]

Crimson Tame Lions, 42-6
Gordon eclipses 60 career TDs in win

Cambridge, MA -Gino Gordon shredded Columbia's defense for more than 300 yards for the second time in his career and Harvard quietly moved into a 3-way tie for the Ivy League lead today at Harvard Stadium. Gordon carried the ball 22 times for 314 and 4 scores. His 84 yard TD run in the 2nd quarter matched a career best and his 4 TDs give him 63 total. After losing 5 straight to start the season, we have quietly won 3 in a row over Ivy League foes. Our 3-1 Ivy record puts us in a 3 team log jam with Dartmouth and Princeton..also both 3-1. We still get to play Princeton, but Dartmouth owns the head-to-head with us, so we are still going to need to win out and get some help along the way if we are going to defend our conference crown. Thanks for following!

[iou1]

Crimson Slip by Bears Late, 33-21
Keep Ivy Crown Hopes Alive

Providence, RI - Today was U-G-L-Y...Ugly. Butler was an anemic 8-24 for less than 100 throwing the ball. Granted our receivers didn't help him by dropping 6 balls, but C'mon!! He had been playing so well lately too... Thankfully we have Gino to pick up the pieces offensively. The junior from California had 233 yards and 4 more TDs to get us the win. His 2 TDs in the 1st quarter gave us a 14-7 lead, but Brown score a TD in each of the next 2 quarters to lead 21-17 after 3. That's how things remained with about 3 minutes and change to play. We were faced with a 4th and 6 on the Brown 35. Somehow Butler found TE Andy Murray for a 12 yard gain. It was Murray's only catch on the day, and we have already talked about Butler...so the 4th down conversion was a little surprising. Brown must have been stunned as well, because Gino scored in the next play to give us a 24-21 lead. Collin Zych recovered a Bear fumble on the ensuing KO and Gordon scored again to give us some insurance at 31-21. Our D recorded a safety late to put the icing on the cake. Other than Gordon, our D was the story of the day. Coach Erickson dialed up the pressure and kept it on Brown all game to the tune of an NCAA Record 19 sacks. Thanks for following!

[iou1]

Harvard Holds Off Princeton, 42-35
Late Tiger Rally Falls Short - Crimson Wins 5th Straight

Princeton, NJ - As bad as we were last week against Brown, we were as sharp today as we have been all season. Gordon ripped off an early TD run, Butler connected with Cook on a great TD pass, and Price returned a KO 100 yards to the house...all in the opening quarter that saw us take a 21-7 lead. The two teams matched each other's TDs in the 2nd and we still held a nice 14 point lead at the half. Another Butler TD pass stretched our lead to 21 at the end of 3, but with an outside shot at an Ivy Title on the line the Tigers didn't go quietly. They outscored us 21-7 in the final quarter and we had to recover an onside kick to seal the deal.

I wouldn't trade Gino Gordon for anybody, but Princeton's Dee Bruner is a STUD! I don't know where that kid transferred in from, but he is legit. Brittain isn't even their #1 QB and he went 8 of 9 with 2 TDs...and he is YOUNG. I think that over time, being the only Ivy League school in a decent population state (not counting Columbia and Cornell in NY) is going to help Princeton. Jersey produces some quality talent...hell we've taken 16 kids from there so far, 10 last year alone. They finished 3rd last year, but a lot of people forget that they won the Ivy in '08.

The win, our 5th in a row after losing just as many, evens our season record at 5-5 and moves us to 5-1 in the Ivy...tied with Dartmouth, but the Green hold the head to head tie breaker with us. Thanks for following!

[iou1]

Cornell Upsets Dartmouth!!!
Harvard Alone in Ivy Driving Seat...

Ithaca, NY - Do you believe in miracles?!?! Dartmouth's inexplicable loss to Cornell wraps up their Ivy season and gives them a 5-2 league mark. Not sure who the other loss came to...will have to check on that. The loss to Cornell drops Dartmouth into a 2nd place tie with Princeton who also has 2 losses and leaves us alone at the top with a 5-1 record. Essentially, a win over Penn next week gives us the outright Ivy Title for the 2nd year in a row. A loss to the Quakers would throw us into a dumpster fire with Dartmouth for sure, possibly Princeton, and maybe even Yale. Thanks for following!

[iou1]

Crimson Handle Quakers, 48-23
Reynolds, Harvard Clinch Back-to-Back Ivy League Titles

Cambridge, MA - Talk about a tale of two seasons...we opened 2010 with 5 consecutive losses but somehow managed to keep the ship afloat. There wasn't any finger pointing or placing blame...just kept the guys showing up to practice everyday and constantly trying to get better. We didn't change our schemes or our personnel...and we were rewarded with 6 straight wins and our second IVY LEAGUE TITLE!!! I know that doesn't seem like much compared to what people are accomplishing in the other dynasties on the board, and congratulations to those guys their dynasties are awesome to read, but I am going to take a little bit of pride in sticking with this one through this season and not calling my own plays or trying to thumb jockey the results...and THANK YOU SO MUCH to the guys who are taking the time to give this a read. I appreciate it a ton!
As far as the game goes, Gino had another nice day, Butler is slowly becoming better and more consistent, and Price set an NCAA record with his 84 yard punt return. Penn is another team (like Princeton) that scares me a little bit down the road with transfers and in-state recruits. Their halfback (Miller) is tough, not as fast as Bruner from Princeton, but he runs harder and breaks more tackles. We may have won our 2nd Title in a row, but I don't get the feeling that we are running away from the rest of the conference by any means...especially if you take Gino out of our lineup. Thanks again for following!!!