BOSTON - Penn senior linebacker Steve Lhotak capped an outstanding performance as he tackled Harvard's Matt Fratto six yards short of the end zone, allowing the clock to expire in Penn's, 32-24, win over Harvard. The victory secured for the Quakers their record-setting 10th outright Ivy League title.
Lhotak's 16th tackle on the day ended a fourth quarter rally orchestrated by Harvard junior quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick in his first start in five weeks, after suffering a hand injury against Cornell.
"My coaches and teammates put me in a position where I can make plays," Lhotak said. "Under a minute left, that's why we play. I want to be the one out there. Our defense wants to be the ones out there to win the game."
At the start of the game, it did not appear the contest would come down to the last play, as Penn scored the first 22 points.
The Quakers defense shut down the Crimson on their first possession as Lhotak recorded his first of four and a half sacks on the day on third down, forcing the Crimson to punt.
The Penn offense started at the Harvard 32-yard line as a harsh wind affected the Crimson punt. After five plays, Penn senior quarterback Mike Mitchell found senior tight end Brian Adams in the end zone for an 11-yard score and the Red and Blue went up, 7-0.
After the Penn defense held again, it only took one play for the Quakers to get into the end zone. Mitchell found junior wide receiver Dan Castles along the right sideline for a 44-yard touchdown pass, giving Penn a two touchdown lead with more than 10 minutes to play in the first quarter. Mitchell finished 21-for-35 for 271 yards and three touchdowns.
Penn increased its lead less than two minutes into the second quarter as Mitchell found junior fullback Kevin DeSmedt from seven yards out crossing the goal line.
After a bobbled hold on the extra point attempt, junior holder Gabe Marabella -- a high school quarterback -- scrambled and found sophomore tight end Matt Boyer for the two-point conversion, increasing the Penn lead to 22-0.
"We've actually been very good early," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "We were able to convert and make some plays and we've been a big play team."
Harvard responded on its next possession with freshman running back Clifton Dawson rushing for a 2-yard touchdown to finish a 65-yard drive and bring the score to 22-7 before the end of the first half.
The Quakers received the second half kickoff and drove 91 yards before junior running back Mike Recchiuti ran the ball in from two yards out.
Recchiuti -- who played the game despite the recent death of his mother -- scored his first touchdown of the season as he temporarily replaced sophomore Sam Mathews, who was suffering from a thigh bruise and twisted ankle that he suffered during the game.
Harvard's lone third quarter score came on an intentional safety as Bagnoli chose to surrender the two points rather than have junior punter Josh Appell punt into a stiff wind from his own 1-yard line.
The Crimson scored at the start of the fourth quarter as Fratto hauled in a 5-yard pass from Fitzpatrick to narrow the lead to 29-16.
Penn eventually countered with a field goal by senior Peter Veldman, extending the lead to 32-16 with 7:45 remaining in the game.
The game appeared to be in hand for the Quakers as Penn junior defensive end Kevin Junge recovered a fumble by Fitzpatrick at the Penn 8-yard line. Then Penn made it close, yet again.
Harvard used its remaining timeouts as the Quakers moved the ball upfield. However, Mathews was stripped of the ball and the Crimson's Benny Butler took it down to Penn's 1-yard line.
With a little more than two minutes left, Dawson ran in the score and Fitzpatrick ran for the two-point conversion to narrow the score to 32-24.
An onside kick by Harvard was recovered by Marabella as he leaped to recover the airborne ball for the Quakers.
After two rushing attempts, Penn passed the ball unsuccessfully on third down with a little more than 50 seconds to play and the clock was stopped.
"That was my fault," Bagnoli said. "We shouldn't have done that.... It was poor clock management."
After a Penn punt, Harvard was left with 44 seconds, no timeouts and 77 yards to the end zone. Fitzpatrick was able to maneuver his squad down to the Penn 17-yard line before getting off the last play.
Fitzpatrick found Fratto with a pass near the right sideline at the 6-yard line, but the senior tight end could not get out of bounds as Lhotak wrapped him up.
