Brown provides a scare but Harvard prevails in Ivy League football opener
PROVIDENCE — What appeared to be a typical Harvard romp against Brown turned into something far different on Saturday afternoon.
The Bears had a real chance to stun the Crimson in the final minute at Brown Stadium. What was a 28-point deficit under bright sunshine had been whittled down to a lone score, and Jake Willcox faced fourth down inside the Harvard 40.
Willcox sent a deep shot down the right sideline that ultimately fell incomplete and the Crimson escaped with a 35-28 victory to spoil the Ivy League opener on the East Side. It was their 11th straight win in the series — Brown's last came in a historic September 2010 night game at home.
Why is any of this noteworthy? The Bears scored a pair of late touchdowns in last season’s matchup just to draw to within the 49-17 final. That game was largely noncompetitive on the balance of four quarters. This one wound up anything but routine.
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“We’re a much, much better team,” Brown coach James Perry said. “I see it every day.”
There are no moral victories, of course. Harvard is now 2-0 overall thanks to 282 passing yards and four touchdowns from quarterback Charlie Dean. Aaron Bourget’s 67-yard rush up the middle with 0:42 left in the third quarter looked to seal this one for good.
“I probably got a little conservative,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “That’s probably on me. The reality is in this day and age — certainly with Brown teams — you never have enough.”
That nearly proved true in a frantic final 15 minutes. Allen Smith’s 7-yard touchdown run was followed by a quick three-and-out from the Crimson. Willcox hit Wes Rockett for 16 yards down the left sideline and it was suddenly a 35-21 game with 9:55 to play.
“We executed what was called and things started to work out,” Willcox said. “We settled down a little bit. We were fighting hard and things started to pop.”
Harvard came up empty again on the ensuing possession and Brown offered a touch of the spectacular to pull within one score. Willcox’s 25-yard pass into coverage down the right sideline was tipped in the air and caught in the end zone by a diving Allan Houston III. The Bears had new life with 5:36 to play and were threatening to repeat last week’s double-overtime thriller against Bryant.
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“There are going to be a ton of corrections we can make, but none of them will be effort,” Perry said. “As a coach, I think that’s a great place to be.”
The Crimson were in command early. Dean hit Kym Wimberly Jr. for a pair of 26-yard scores and connected with Haven Montefalco on the right side with a fade pass. Harvard took a 21-0 lead into halftime and struck quickly in the third quarter when Ledger Hatch caught an 81-yard touchdown pass from Dean on a flea flicker.
“Charlie has done a really good job,” Murphy said. “He’s still got a lot to learn, but he’s a very talented kid.”
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Brown (1-1) more than doubled its 112 total yards in the first half, storming to 281 over the final 30 minutes. The Bears committed a lone harmless turnover — an interception on the final play of the first half — after giving the ball away four times against the Bulldogs. They could be poised to offer the University of Rhode Island a tough test in next week’s Governor’s Cup meeting at Meade Stadium.
“They've already put the hard work in,” Perry said. “They’re very obviously a good football team. They practice like a good football team.”
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Brown University falls to Harvard in Ivy League football opening game
