Crimson seniors finally shake Quakers

PHILADELPHIA — With this frustrating season winding down for Harvard, there was one nagging item remaining on the Crimson’s to-do list, before Tim Murphy’s seniors could call it a career.

Other than fifth-year senior defensive tackle Stone Hart, none of his classmates ever had beaten Ivy League rival Penn. And don’t think they didn’t know it. “I’m from Pittsburgh, about 4½ hours away,” said fellow senior defensive tackle Richie Ryan, after the Crimson jumped to an early 10-point lead, pulled off a key goal line stand, then never looked back on their way to a 29-7 romp at venerable and chilly Franklin Field yesterday. “So this felt like a homecoming game. “Three years not beating them was tough, especially since I almost came here. So it felt unbelievable.” Especially since they hadn’t knocked off the Quakers since 2014. “It’s a rivalry game,” said senior safety Ray Miller after the Crimson forced four Quaker turnovers to break it open. “Coming to Franklin Field these guys always give us a tough game. “For us as a senior class to come out on top of these guys means the world and shows the young guys, ‘This is how it’s supposed to be done.’ ” It hasn’t gone so smoothly most of this season for Harvard, now 5-3 overall, 3-3 in the Ivy League pending their season finale against rival Yale next week at Fenway Park. But after the teams traded interceptions on the game’s first two possessions — Max Jones getting the Harvard pick — the Crimson needed just four plays to go 29 yards, with Charlie Booker taking it in from a yard out to make it 7-0 after just 3:06. Harvard tacked on a 20yard Jake McIntyre field goal just 4:25 later, before its defense came up huge after Penn’s Mike Akai hauled in Ryan Glover’s 32-yard pass just short of the end zone. That proved pivotal when the defense stuffed three straight running plays, before Glover fired over his receiver’s head on fourth down. “The whole D-line, we live for these moments,” Hart said. “Every inch, whether you get it or not we’ll make you fight for it. And it showed there.” Penn never mounted another serious threat until the game was out of hand in the fourth quarter when the Quakers (6-3, 3-3) finally got on the board. Meanwhile, the Crimson added a 9-yard Jake Smith-to-Brian Dunlap touchdown pass just before halftime, then the pair hooked up again from 12 yards out late in the third, making it 22-0. Devin Darrington’s 10yard burst up the middle — following yet another Quaker turnover — sealed the deal, assuring three years of frustration finally would come to an end. Even if there wasn’t as much at stake as when these teams usually meet. “The bottom line was you know late in the season, the second-to-last game you’re playing one of best teams in the Ivy League,” Murphy said. “When I look at the 25 years I’ve been at Harvard, more often than not Harvard and Penn are competing for the Ivy League championship. “Today actually wasn’t that. It was more of a pride game. But we have such great senior leadership that pride stood out. This game meant a lot to them.” As a result, that one thing on their to-do list finally got done.