Harvard vs. Penn, Live Game Updates (11/15)

Good afternoon from Franklin Field, Matt Flegenheimer here for an Ivy showdown between two 4-1 teams looking to break out of a three-way tie atop the conference. As has become a theme for home games this season, the wireless connection in the pressbox has been temperamental to say the least. We're already early in the second quarter, with neither team on the board yet. Penn came closest on its first drive, but saw a scoring chance slip away when Keiffer Garton's jump-ball lob to wideout Kyle Derham was deflected, then picked, by the Harvard secondary. Keep it with the Buzz the rest of the way for live updates on all the action.

Harvard 24 Penn 21, FINAL

Unbelievable. Garton was tremendous all drive, moving the chains with his legs and his arm to get Penn down to the 12. Then, with 16 seconds left, he overthrew Lawrence in the end zone, and the ball found the stomach of a Harvard defensive back. What a heartbreaker.

Harvard 24 Penn 21, 3:23 Q4

Drew Goldsmith and Joe Goniprow absolutely sandwich Pizzotti on first down for a five-yard loss, setting the stage for a quick three-and-out. Penn uses its last timeout with 3:29 left and takes over from its own 25 after a fair catch from Wynn. Does Garton have one more drive in him?

Harvard 24 Penn 21, 4:36 Q4

Penn gets another stop, and Garton cashes in this time. Beginning the drive at his own 46, Garton hit Lawrence for a couple of nice pickups, before calling his own number from the 13 with a run up the middle, carrying a couple of Crimson defenders into the end zone with him. It'll take another stop, but the Quakers have fought back valiantly in the second half.

Harvard 24 Penn 14, 7:27 Q4

One heartbreak after another near the goalline. Garton is sharp again on the ensuing drive, picking up a key first down to Blackmon on a broken play to get the ball to midfield, then hitting Tyler Fisher and Marcus Lawrence for sizable gains to get the ball to the 4. After a failed option toss to DiMaggio, Garton fired a bullet to Derham on 2nd and goal from the 6, which Derham appeared to corral for the score. The official, though, ruled the ball hit the turf first. Garton and Derham were both pleading their cases after the fact, but after another incompletion on third down, Penn was forced to settle for an Andrew Samson field goal attempt.

Which the kicker promptly pulled right of the goal posts to keep Penn down 10. Ugh.

Harvard 24 Penn 14, 11:43 Q4

Talk about a buzzkill. Fresh off of Garton's spectacular play, Harvard completes one of its own, a 42-yard bomb to 6-foot-6 wideout Matt Luft, with Chris Wynn all over him, down the left sideline to the 10. Two plays later, Pizzotti hits tight end Nicolai Schwarzkopf from two yards out for the score.

Harvard 17 Penn 14, 13:39 Q4

Wow, what a play! After big stop from the defense gives Penn the ball at its own 37, Garton corrals a bad snap, looks at Blackmon for a potential option toss, then keeps it himself, barreling up the middle, colliding with a blocker, then finding a seam out left with nothing but green in front of him. A Harvard defender caught up briefly for the last 20 yards or so, but Garton trudged down the left sideline for the score. The 63-yard scamper was Penn's longest play of the season.

Harvard 17 Penn 7, 0:43 Q3

Where was this all day? Garton looks sharp on a 12-play, 74-yard drive that finally gets the Quakers out of goose egg territory. The play of the drive came on a third down from the Harvard 39, when Garton found space on the left side and sprung free for 29 yards to set up first and goal. Three plays later, DiMaggio punched it in for pull the Red and Blue within 10.

Harvard 17 Penn 0, 6:55 Q3

The defense holds Pizzotti's attack to three, but it's now a three-possession game. Don't see how the Quakers can claw their way back into this one.

Harvard 14 Penn 0, 9:52 Q3

That might do it. Penn gets the three-and-out it desperately needed, but taking over from his own 30, Garton throws a pick on the first play of the drive, a badly underthrown ball inteded for Derham over the middle near midfield. Harvard corner Ryan Barnes barely has to move for the interception, and his return takes him down to Penn's 28.

Harvard 14 Penn 0, 10:56 Q3

A little life on offense for the Quakers, but no true threat. DiMaggio opened the drive with downhill runs of 11 and 12 yards, but the drive stalled before the Red and Blue could cross midfield. On third-and-five from the Penn 46, Garton tried to set up a screen for DiMaggio, but Crimson corner Collin Zych sniffed it out, dropping the Quakers' back for a loss. Harvard takes over with a chance to really put it out of reach.

Harvard 14 Penn 0, 14:38 Q3

Penn badly needed a stop to open up the second half. It didn't get one. On the second play from scrimmage, Harvard tailback Gino Gordon, on his first carry of the day, slid through the defensive line, juked out right and got past safety Jordan Manning--the Quakers' last hope on the play--to reach paydirt from 63 yards out. Considering the Red and Blue's offensive futility thus far today, the two-score deficit may be too much to overcome.

Harvard 7 Penn 0, Halftime

The Crimson are content to call a few runs and head into halftime with a lead. The Penn defense, frankly, has been strong as usual, often having to face Pizzotti's attack on a short field. The offense, though, has been anemic, showing few signs of life after an encouraging opening drive that ended in the Garton pick.

Halftime stats:

Penn

Garton: 7-8, 32 yards, INT

DiMaggio: 7 rushes, 20 yards; Garton 9 rushes, 26 yards

Derham: 2 catches, 18 yards

Harvard

Pizzotti: 8-11, 67 yards, TD, INT

Pizzotti: 4 rushes, 22 yards

Lorditch: 2 catches, 25 yards

Harvard 7 Penn 0, 1:34 Q2

Penn's offense can't get out of its own way. After a promising start to the drive--Bradford Blackmon, who's been lining up as a slot receiver on nearly every play, took a reverse for nine to set up a Matt Hamscher first-down run--an ilegal shift negates a nice completion from Garton to Blackmon that would have moved the chains again. Harvard takes over from its own 10 with one last scoring chance. We'll see if they choose to simply run out the clock.

Harvard 7 Penn 0, 6:04 Q2

Pizzotti makes amends with a touchdown toss, aided by a questionable penalty call. Defensive lineman Joe Goniprow was whistled for roughing the passer on the second play of the drive, which set up a PIzzotti strike to Richards on a 9-yard crossing pattern. Defensive back Tony Moses made a diving attempt to break the play up, but Richards had plenty of separation to give Pizzotti a passing window.

Harvard 0 Penn 0, 6:56 Q2

Huge play from Chris Wynn with the Crimson threatening. Harvard quarterback Chris Pizzotti had led a methodical drive deep into Quakers territory, but on second down from the Penn 15, Pizzotti found Wynn--the Red and Blue's All-Ivy corner--instead of intended receiver Levi Richards. Wynn read the play beautifully, leaving his own man to cut into the passing lane, then tipping the ball to himself with the right hand and securing it a couple of yards into the end zone.

Penn goes backwards on its next drive, though, and a poor punt from Scooter Belasco (who botched a perfect snap earlier in the game) gives the Crimson the ball back on the Penn 34.