The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 43

OCTOBER 26, 2008 Boston Sunday Globe College football In a flash, Gordon gives Crimson victory I It 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I II 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Harvard 24, Princeton 20 it Princeton NJ.) Stadium Harvard (S-l) 1 7 7 7 24 Princeton (2-4) 14 I 3 20 Culbreath 1 run (Bologna kick), 11:58. -Long 25 FG, 8:39. Culbreath 10 run (Bologna kick), 2:33. Lorditch 15 pass from Pizzotti (Long kick). 8:46.

Pizzotti 33 run (Long kick), 13:19. P-Bologna 23 FG, 2:22. Gordon 6 run (Long kick). 3:34. blasted a yard through a wide right-side gap and Princeton had a 7-0 lead with just 3:02 gone.

Harvard came right back with Pizzotti's 42-yard completion to a backpedaling Matt Luft to the Tigers' 16, but settled for Patrick Long's 25-yard field goal. The Tigers held a 14-3 lead before the quarter was over after Culbreath capped an 80-play march with a 10-yard run. Pizzotti's 15-yard rollout pass to Lorditch narrowed the gap to 14-10 with 8:46 remaining in the second quarter. And the Tigers blew a golden opportunity on the final play of the half when wide receiver Will Thanheiser saw a Brian Anderson pass bounce away and into the hands of Harvard's Matthew Hanson in the end zone. Less than two minutes into the third quarter, Pizzotti took off on a 33-yard dash to the end zone for the Crimson's first lead, with Gordon delivering a key block.

Given a lift "by a personal foul, Princeton marched to the Harvard 2, but settled for Ben Bologna's equalizing 23-yard field goal with 2:22 left in the third quarter. Midway through the fourth, the Tigers' clock-eating 87-yard march ended with Bologna's 28-yard field goal for a 20-17 lead. Undaunted, Harvard charged downfield a Pizzotti 35-yard completion to Luft the big gainer and saw Gordon barrel in for the go-ahead score. Eric Schultz and Glenn Dorris tagged Anderson for a 13-yard sack that crippled the Tigers' final threat, and the Crimson ran out the final 2V2 minutes. day for Crimson senior quarterback Chris Pizzotti and sophomore wide receiver Chris Lor-ditch.

Pizzotti completed 10 of his first 11 passes and wound up 17 of 26 for 247 yards and one TD, on top of a 33-yard scamper for a third-quarter score. Lorditch snared Pizzotti's lone TD toss, a 15-yarder in the second quarter. The Tigers charged to a 14-3 lead in the first quarter, and rallied for a 20-17 edge with 7:16 remaining. But they still fell to 24, 1-2. "In many respects, Princeton outplayed us, at times they probably outcoached us, but we say this all the time it may sound corny, it may sound trite, but we tell our kids, we preach this, we live this, we breathe this, just never, ever give up," said Harvard coach Tim Murphy.

Princeton junior running back Jordan Culbreath came in as the Ivy's leading rusher and added to his gaudy credentials with 29 carries for 154 yards and two scores. But it wasn't enough. "We let too many opportunities slip away," lamented Tigers coach Roger Hughes. "When we needed to make a big stop, or get the ball back, especially at the end of the game, we weren't able to do that. That's basically what the game came down to." Princeton caught an early break when Harvard's Andrew Berry whose twin brother, Adam, is a wide receiver for the Tigers fumbled away a Ryan Coyle punt, and two Tigers pounced on the loose ball at the Crimson 20.

Five plays later, Culbreath ith i 1 1 iC 1 if- i I W') Plymouth State ends Curry streak By Elliott Denman GLOBE CORRESPONDENT PRINCETON, N.J. It took Gino Gordon no time to spot the humongous gap in the middle of the Princeton defense. "I never saw a hole that wide," said the Harvard sophomore running back. And he barreled right through it, scoring from 6 yards with 3:34 remaining yesterday to turn a 20-17 deficit into a 24-20 triumph at Princeton Stadium. "Definitely one of my biggest moments," Gordon called it, after giving credit to his offensive linemen for helping him make it look so easy.

And so Harvard (5-1, 2-1) stayed in the thick of the Ivy League race heading into the homestretch. It was also a big Nothing doing forNU Huskies blanked by Brusko, Bears By Pete Warner GLOBE CORRESPONDENT ORONO, Maine l. ITIf "T1 ween earner, LuJLaMiaAii Northeastern put up 21 first-half points against perennial Colonial Athletic Association power New Hampshire. Yesterday, the Huskies never got on the scoreboard. Junior linebacker Mark Mas-terson stepped in front of a pass by Northeastern quarterback Anthony Orio and returned it 79 yards for a first-quarter touchdown, setting the tone for Maine's 20-0 homecoming victory at Alfond Stadium.

Maine (5-3, 3-2) never let the Huskies get into an offensive rhythm. Northeastern (2-6, 1-3), which again was without end Brian Mandeville, managed only 69 rushing yards. The Huskies, who have dropped three straight, also struggled mightily in the passing game. Safety Lamir Whetstone came up with two of the Black Bears' four interceptions, and cornerback Lionel Nixon had one. "I'd say there's a level of respectability between the two defenses," said Northeastern coach Rocky Hager, who got a game-high 18 tackles from inside linebacker Cornelius Bunch.

"Offensively, we didn't daggone produce." Orio, who took only one snap in the second half after throwing his third interception, had suffered an injury to his left (non-throwing) thumb and was ineffective. He completed only 7 of 20 throws for 93 yards, after be- MICHAEL C. YORK ASSOCIATED PRESS Northeastern's Chris Plum reaches but can't pull in an overthrown pass in the second quarter. Attendance: 10,189 Harv. 16 29-88 247 17-26-0 Prill 24 48-177 176 15-29-1 4-97 2- 13 5-229 3- 24 1-0 37:27 Rushes-yards- Comp-att-inU Punts-average Punt returns- -1-12 Kickoffs- -5-314 1-1 Penalties-yards- Fumbles-lost Possession 22:33 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING Gordon 11-42, Pizzotti 9-30, Jenkins 5-11, Richards 2-5, team 2-0: Culbreath 29-154, Anderson 7-17, McCray 2-9, Thanheiser 1-7, Zimmerman 3-6, Kopoiovich 6-(-16).

PASSING Pizzotti Anderson 12-24-1-147, Kopoiovich 3-5-0-29. RECEIVING Luft 5-103. Richards 4-58, Lorditch 4-40, Miller 2-27, Chrissis 1-11. Jenkins 1-8; Thanheiser 8-1 14. Berry 4-40, Peacock 1-13, Magro 1-11, Zimmerman l-(-2).

Maine Maritime 51, Fra-, mingham St. The visiting, Mariners (5-3, 4-1 NEFC) hammered the Rams (3-5, 1-4) as Jim Bower rushed for 137 yards and two TDs and QB Tyler Angell ran for 128 yards and a score. WNEC 27, Endicott 20 Justin Walz ran for two scores and threw a 78-yard TD pass to Rob Chiaccio as the Golden Bears (2-6, 2-3 NEFC) held off the Po- "1 wergulls (2-6, 1-4) in Springfield. Fitchburg St. 42, Mass.

Mar- itime 31 Marlon Thornton rushed for 203 yards and three touchdowns to lead the visiting Falcons (4-4, 4-1 NEFC) past the Buccaneers (0-8, 0-5). UMass-Dartmouth 33, ols 22 Aaron Russo and J.T. Harold ran for TDs 1:09 apart in the fourth quarter for the visiting Corsairs (5-3, 3-2 NEFC) in a win over the Bison (2-6, 0-5). Bridgewater St. 35, West-field St.

21 Jessy Resende rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns and Tyler D'Ambra" connected with Jesse Teixeira for-two more scores to lead the Bears" (5-3, 4-1 NEFC) past the visiting Owls (4-4, 2-3). Coast Guard 17, Worcester St. 14 Cale Cooper caught an; 80-yard TD pass from Niles Pier- son with 5:30 left to rally the host Bears (3-4, 3-2 NEFC) past the. Lancers (2-6, 2-3). Trinity 34, Middlebury 31 Sam Viering returned a kickoff 85 yards for a TD in the fourth quarter, rallying the host Bantams (6-0, 6-0 NESCAC) to a wild win over the Panthers (3-3, 3-3).

Bowdoin 17, Wesleyan 10 Oliver Kell's 5-yard run with 1:31 to go gave the Polar Bears (2-4 2-4 NESCAC) a road win over the-Cardinals (1-5, 1-5). Amherst 24, Tufts 17 AlexT Vetras passed for 246 yards and two first-half TDs as the host Lord Jeffs (5-1, 5-1 NESCAC)" built a 24-0 lead and held off the" Jumbos (3-3, 3-3). Williams 14, Hamilton 7-Brian Morrissey rushed for 201 yards and the winning TD, a 6-, yarder in the fourth quarter that lifted the visiting Ephs (4-2, 4-2 NESCAC) past the Continentals. -Bates 31, Colby 21 Ryan Ka- -ton passed for three first-half 7 touchdowns and the host Bob-cats (1-5, 1-5 NESCAC) topped the White Mules (3-3, 3-3). WPI 21, Rochester 14 Jus- -tin Wells ran for one TD and passed for another to lead the Engineers (6-1, 3-1 Liberty) past the Yellow Jackets in Worcester.

Husson 49, Gallaudet 0 Jul- ius Williams rushed for two touchdowns and the host Eagles (6-2) throttled the Bison (1-6). Z. Bulldogs down John Sheffield's 7-yard run. The Bulldogs (3-3, 1-2) nev- er again were in Quaker territory -in the first half. Columbia 21, Dartmouth 13" In New York, the Lions 1-2) ended a 13-game losing? streak when M.A.

Olawale re-lieved Shane Kelly at quarterback and scored a crucial third-quar-' 1 ter touchdown. Brown 27, Cornell 7 Mike Dougherty passed for 285 yardsi. and two touchdowns, both toU. Bobby Sewall, as the Bears (4-2, 3-0) rolled in Providence. FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS Plymouth State turned loose its defense against Curry's vaunted attack and got some big plays from its of-NEW ENGLAND fense tQ ROUNDUP stun the visiting Colonels, 28-17, yesterday, ending Curry's 37-game win streak in New England Football Conference play.

Jeff Mack rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns, but quarterback John DeMarco provided the big plays. He was 3-of-4 passing for 130 yards, including a 62-yard TD to J.J. Brooks, and also rushed for a score for the Panthers (7-1, 5-0). Up, 14-3, Plymouth State's defense took over, limiting the Colonels (7-1, 4-1) to just 12 yards rushing. Holy Cross 35, Lehigh 21 Dominic Randolph threw for three touchdowns, including the winner to Jon Brock in the fourth quarter, as the host Crusaders (4-3, 2-0 Patriot) downed the Mountain Hawks (2-5, 1-1).

UConn 40, Cincinnati 16 Donald Brown ran for 150 yards and two touchdowns and set the school rushing mark with 1,324 yards as the host Huskies (6-2, 2-1 Big East) scored 20 fourth-quarter points to thrash the Bearcats Sacred Heart 29, Duquesne 17 Evin Jones caught one TD pass and ran for two scores as the Pioneers (7-1, 3-1 Northeast) overcame a 17-0 deficit to down the host Dukes (2-5, 1-4). Monmouth 30, Central Conn. 20 David Sinisi rushed for 194 yards and four touchdowns as the Hawks (5-3, 4-0 Northeast) built a 27-7 lead and held off the Blue Devils (5-3, 2-2) in West Long Branch, N.J. AIC 43, Assumption 24 Rob Parent passed for 289 yards and a pair of scores and Travis Poole had 10 catches for 185 yards and a TD as the 19th-ranked Yellow Jackets improved to 8-0 (6-0 Northeast-10) with a win over the host Greyhounds (1-7, 1-5). Bentley 30, Saint Anselm 12 Matt Welch ran for two TDs in the final 4:11 and the Falcons (4-5, 3-3 NE-10) rallied for a road win over the Hawks(l-7, 1-5).

Southern Conn. 40, Pace 17 John Weichman rushed for 120 yards and two TDs and the visiting Owls (6-2, 3-3 NE-10) routed the Setters (3-3, 4-4). MIT 34, Salve Regina 19 -DeRon Brown rushed for 248 yards and four touchdowns to lead the visiting Engineers (5-3, 3-2 NEFC) past the Seahawks (3-4, 2-3). Quakers quiet ASSOCIATED PRESS Andrew Samson kicked three second-half field goals as Pennsylvania beat Yale, 9-7, yesterday IVY LEAGUE VI LCMUUt tQ un. ROUNDUP beaten in the Ivy League.

The game was a battle of stingy defenses as Penn (4-2, 3-0) limited Yale to sue first downs, 15 rushing yards, and 92 total yards. Paul Rice's third interception of the season and 25-yard return to the Penn 17 early in the first quarter led to Yale's only touch Wearing black, UMass wears out Bryant II 1 1 1 1 II 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 III II 1 1 1 1 1 II II I Maine 20, Northeastern 0 at Atfond Stadium. Orono. Maine Northeastern (2-6) 0 0 0 0 0 Maine (5-3) 7 7 6 0 20 Masterson 79 interception return (Harvey kick). 3:15.

Williams 14 pass from Brusko (Harvey kick), 7:56. Williams 39 pass from Brusko (kick failed), 6:42. Attendance: 5.968 NU Maim First downs 16 19 52-246 136 10- 14-0 4-228 11- 115 1-0 38:20 Rushes-yards-Passing 19-69 184 3-46 3-8 1-70 10-98 Comp-att-int- Kickoff returns Punts-average- Punt returns Kickoffs Penalties-yards Fumbles-lost Possession 21:40 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING NU, Broomheld 10-39, Abelli 1-16, Griffin 3-7, Orio 2-5, Sperrazza 3-2: Maine, Brusko 13-93, Turcotte 18-68, Fluellen 9-46. Session 8-33, Brown 4-6. PASSING NU.

Orio 7-20-3-93, Sperrazza 10-191-91; Maine, Brusko 10-13-0-136, team 0-1-0-0. RECEIVING NU. Plum 4-83, lott 2-35, Broom-field 7-30, Theoudele 2-23, NU, Abelli 2-13: Maine, Williams 4-82, Turcotte 3-38, Session 2-20, Brusko 1-1-4). ing intercepted only three times in the first seven games of the season. "He was having a tough day, but it wasn't because of the injury," said Hager.

"I can't explain all the reasons why." Senior backup John Sperrazza was slightly better, completing 10 of 19 passes for 91 yards with of 37 yards. Tight end Matt Silver made the most of his lone reception, barreling in for an 80-yard touchdown. The offensive explosion allowed UMass coach Don Brown to clear the bench early. He wound up putting in 67 players, including a trio of backup quarterbacks: Scott Woodward, Scott Wallace, and Spencer Whipple. The latter two each completed the first passes of their careers.

For Brown, the victory took the edge off of last week's 30-15 loss to Richmond, which ended a 16-game home winning streak. Bryant came in with a 4-3 record with a couple of wins over FCS teams, but the Bulldogs are in the first year of a four-year transition to Division 1. "It's our first year playing Div. 1 football," said coach Marty Fine. "We're playing with Div.

2 players." UMass (5-3) had seen Bryant's tendency to play man-to-man coverage on film, but the Minute-men thought they might see a different look come game time. The Bulldogs stayed true to pattern, though. "That's what you pray for as a quarterback-wideout tandem," man Jason Vega, and linebackers Alton Bradley and Craig Kenney. "We've got some injuries and we've got to overcome them," Hager said. "We were not able to show we were caDable of doing that at this point." Masterson's interception return on third and 7 jump-started the Black Bears.

"I kind of read the quarterback's eyes a little bit. I think he just made a mistake and didn't see me," Masterson said. "It was nice to make a play for our team." Nlfs ensuing possession ended on Whetstone's interception at the Maine 1-yard line. Maine extended its lead to 14-0 in the second quarter with an 11-play, 80-yard drive, culminating in Brusko's 14-yard pass to Williams. The Huskies' deficit could have been larger, as Maine freshman Brian Harvey missed field goals of 34 and 28 yards on the Black Bears' first and last possessions of the first half.

The hosts added some insurance in the third quarter on a 39-yard screen pass from Brusko to Williams for a touchdown. downs. The first came on the opening drive, when he hit Home with a 16-yarder. Home zipped past the defense, and hurdled over Michael McGowan at the goal line. On UMass's next possession, Coen connected with Cruz on a 37-yarder up the middle for a score.

Cruz left Bryce Martins far in the rearview mirror on a great move off the pass route. The Minutemen essentially put the game away on the next possession. First, Sean Smalls appeared to score on a 77-yard punt return, but it was called back for an illegal block. No matter: Coen connected with Silver for the 80-yard TD on the next play. Bryant did sustain a good drive at the end of the first quarter, finishing it with a 6-yard Lindsey Gafnble touchdown run.

That was it for the Bulldogs' offense, though, as UMass put down the clamps. Two second-quarter touchdowns, a Tony Nelson 3-yard run and a 21-yard Home reception, made the score 35-7 at the half. Coen played one more series after intermission. He finished it in style with a 54-yarder to Home. one interception.

Maine limited Northeastern to 253 total yards, with linebackers Sean Wasson (nine tackles) and Andrew Downey (seven) leading the way. The Black Bears controlled the ball with a versatile running game and a complementary passing attack. Maine forged a nearly 17-minute advantage in time of possession Junior quarterback Mike Brusko (13 carries, 93 yards) and fullback Jared Turcotte (18 carries, 68 yards) helped Maine churn out 246 rushing and 382 total yards. Brusko also completed touchdown passes of 14 and 39 yards to wide receiver Landis Williams in the second and third quarters, respectively. "Giving the defense so much to look at and to worry about, it helps keep guys fresh, too," Brusko said.

"We did a great job running the ball again today, and hopefully we can continue that and spread the carries around like we did." Northeastern was without five defensive starters safeties Nate Thellen and Elijah Harris, line IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIMIIIMIIINIIIItlllMIIMIIIII UMass 42, Bryant 7 at McGutrk Stadium. Amherst -Bryant (4-4) 7 III- UMass 03 21 14 7 42 UM Home 16 pass from Coen (Cuko kick), 13:21. UM Cruz 37 pass from Coen (Cuko kick), 9:38. UM Silver 80 pass from Coen (Cuko kick), 7:01. Gamble 6 run (Bird kick).

0:20. UM Nelson 3 run (Cuko kick). 10:24. UM Home 21 pass from Coen (Cuko kick). 2:24.

UM Home S4 pass from Coen (Cuko kick), 9:06. Attendance: 12.521 Bry. UMUI 19 34-145 448 15-240 2-39 4-39 7-395 10-85 3-3 24:06 First downs 12 Rushes-yards- 47-126 ..91 Comp-att-int Kickoff returns-. 9-21-0 7-103 1-2. 5-43 Fumbles-lost-.

1-1 Possession 34:12 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING Smith 11.56, Gamble 17-52, Canfora 6-21, Giffune 1-11, Scardelli 1-9, Johnson 2-4. Aponte 2-1, Graber 3-(-U), Spear 4--17): UMass, Davis 12-54, Zardas 8-53, Igwenagu 1-9, Hernandez 3-9. Nelson 3-7, Aguh 2-6. White 3-4, Woodward 1-3. Talley 1-0.

PASSING Spear 7-17-0-70, Graber 2-4-0-21: UMass, Coen 11-18-0-389, Woodward 2-3-0-31, Whipple 1-1-0-16, Wallace 1-2-0-12. RECEIVING Giffune 3-27, Canfora 2-25, Sollmando 1-14, Smith 1-14, Dlnaso 1-8. Emer-zlan 1-3: UMass, Home 5-182, Cruz 3-93, Silver 1-80, Sanford 2-34, Fears 1-31, Igwenagu 1-16. Ki-vis 2-12. said Coen.

"You see what happens. You complete 11 balls for over 300 yards. That's kind of ridiculous." Before the game was eight minutes old, Coen already had gone up top for three touch By Marty Dobrow GLOBE CORRESPONDENT AMHERST For the University of Massachusetts of fense, yesterday's game film could be entitled "The Brotherhood of the Traveling Pants." Wearing black pants for the first time in school history, the Minutemen marched up and down the field at will, churning out 593 yards of total offense and overwhelming Bryant, 42-7. Was the new fashion statement the key? "Absolutely," said quarterback Liam Coen. "They looked sharp." The senior signal-caller, the guy who clearly wears the pants in the UMass family, was plenty sharp himself.

In a little more than a half of work, he completed 11 of 18 passes for 389 yards. He matched his career high with five touchdown passes. The new uniform provided a birthday suit of sorts for junior wideout Jeremy Home, who turned 22 yesterdciy, and celebrated in style. Exploiting overmatched one-on-one coverage, Home caught five passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns. Victor Cruz added a TD grab.