Football halfway to bonfire

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – As 12,000 fans filed out of Harvard Stadium late Saturday afternoon, chants of "Our house! Our house!" reverberated up from the center of the field. But the players bellowing those words were not proud Crimson football players laying claim to their home turf.

Instead, it was the visitors from Princeton who made all the noise on this day, celebrating a 27-24 victory in a rivalry that has long been dominated by its opponent. The Tigers' victory snapped a nine-game losing streak against Harvard dating to 1995, the longest such stretch in a series that began in 1887.

As was true of many of those nine losses to the Crimson (3-3 overall, 1-2 Ivy League), the game was close throughout. This time, though, it was Princeton (4-2, 2-1) that made the big fourth-quarter plays necessary to walk away with a win.

After a 52-yard touchdown pass gave Harvard a 24-20 lead midway through the fourth quarter, it looked as though the Tigers might let yet another one slip away against the Crimson. But senior cornerback Jay McCareins returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards down the right sideline for the go-ahead touchdown, crossing the goal line with seven minutes, seven seconds left to play and giving Princeton a 27-24 lead it would preserve for the win.

McCareins' heroics overshadowed the outstanding performance turned in by Harvard running back Clifton Dawson, who torched the Tigers for 203 yards and two touchdowns on 35 carries.

But big plays would ultimately carry the day for Princeton, and the Tigers wasted no time making one on their opening drive. On the first play from scrimmage, junior quarterback Jeff Terrell handed the ball to senior wide receiver Derek Davis on an end-around.

After nearly being tackled for a five-yard loss, Davis turned upfield, jumping over one tackler and spinning past another before tiptoeing his way down the right sideline while two Crimson defenders tried in vain to bring him down from behind. Some 72 yards later, Princeton had a 6-0 lead — senior kicker Derek Javarone missed the extra point.

Action on the next kickoff gave the Tigers another reason to celebrate, as McCareins recovered a fumble to give Princeton the ball on the Harvard 33-yard line. The Tigers, however, were unable to capitalize on their good fortune and gave the ball back to the Crimson after failing to pick up a first down.

After exchanging field goals, Princeton got the pigskin back with exceptional field position at Harvard's 43 following a failed fake punt. The Tigers moved toward the end zone until they found themselves with a third-and-goal only inches from the end zone. But after a five-yard false start penalty, a shotgun snap sailed over Terrell's head and was recovered by the Crimson on its 22-yard line.

The miscue killed any Princeton momentum and was reminiscent of the mistakes that doomed the Tigers in previous games. Harvard continued Princeton's pain by marching 78 yards down the field for a touchdown. Dawson picked up 56 yards on the drive, including a 20-yard touchdown run to give the Crimson a 10-9 lead.

With the momentum dangerously on Harvard's side, the Tigers got the ball back on their own 34-yard line, looking to right the ship. After a first down, Princeton was boosted by another big play. While scrambling to his left to gain time, Terrell spotted sophomore wide receiver Brendan Circle streaking into the back left corner of the end zone and lofted a perfect pass for a 34-yard touchdown reception.

The Tigers went for a two-point conversion, and, after spreading the defense thin with four wide receivers, Terrell snuck untouched up the middle to put Princeton up by seven, 17-10.

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The Crimson knotted the game on its second possession of the third quarter with an 80-yard march capped by Dawson's second touchdown of the day, a 29-yard scamper.

The Tigers responded with a 64-yard drive for a field goal, highlighted by a 40-yard completion from Terrell to junior wide receiver Brian Brigham, and went into the fourth quarter clinging to a tenuous 20-17 lead.

Those three points might as well have been none. Harvard began the quarter with the ball on Princeton's 21, in the midst of a long drive down the field propelled by the running strength of Dawson. The Crimson moved the pigskin to the five-yard line, setting the stage for a fourth-and-two play on which Harvard coach Tim Murphy decided to go for the touchdown rather than take the easy three points.

On the biggest play of the game up to that point, the Crimson handed the ball off to Dawson, who had been consistently gaining at least four yards per carry all day. But Dawson was stuffed at the line by a mass of white jerseys, giving the ball back to the Tigers on downs.

After Princeton's next drive stalled at midfield, Harvard needed all of three plays to pick up 91 yards and a touchdown. Following a two-yard run by Dawson, Crimson quarterback Liam O'Hagan completed passes of 37 and 52 yards, the latter a touchdown strike that gave Harvard a 24-20 lead. Those two completions excluded, the Tiger defense effectively contained O'Hagan all afternoon, as he picked up just 94 yards through the air the rest of the day.

But Princeton lost the lead only for a few seconds, as McCareins — who had been relatively quiet all day — showed once more why he is the most feared player in the Ivy League. McCareins took the following kickoff from the right hash and, after a few timely blocks, outran four Crimson tacklers grabbing at his shoulder pads down the right sideline to give the Tigers the lead for good.

On the ensuing Harvard drive, a visibly tired Dawson was no match for the revitalized Princeton defense. The Tigers forced the Crimson into consecutive three-and-outs and got the ball back for the final time with 2:19 remaining. Toresco gained 23 yards on five rushes, which was enough for two first downs to seal the victory. With seconds remaining, Terrell knelt down to run out the clock and send the Princeton players rushing onto the field in celebration.

For the first time since 1995, the only obstacle between the Tigers and a bonfire is Yale — the Elis visit Princeton Stadium on Nov. 12. But in defeating last year's Ivy League champions, Princeton also kept another dream alive: its first Ivy League title since that same 1995 season.