How many games are won by teams that rush for minus 35 yards in the first half?

It almost happened at Soldiers Field on Saturday, but Harvard's revitalized second-half offense was not enough to overcome Princeton as the Tigers handed the Crimson its fifth consecutive loss, 9-7.

"It's been a long time since I've been in a game like that," Harvard coach Joe Restic said after the game. "There were so many critical plays that hurt us."

In the Sack

There were quarterback sacks and fumbles on crucial plays, penalties to stall Harvard drives, and a big roughing the kicker penalty to pull the Tigers out of a hole at their own eight on a fourth and 15 to close the first quarter.

Lou Vaccarello provided the margin of victory for the Tigers, capping a 74-yd., six play drive with a 40-yd. field goal with Harvard leading 7-6 at 5:06 of the fourth quarter.

Princeton took an early lead after two lackluster possessions by the Crimson. On the opening series, quarterback Burke St. John was sacked twice for a combined loss of nine yards.

Digging A Hole

After exchanging punts, Harvard stood deep in its own territory. St. John sprinted left on an option but fumbled and put the Crimson back at its own five. The ensuing punt gave the Tigers the ball just over the midfield stripe at the Harvard 48.

From there, Princeton's potent back-field of Ivy rushing leader Cris Crissy and Larry Van Pelt went to work. Crissy went off right tackle for 9 and wide left for 7. Tiger signalcaller Steve Reynolds moved the ball on an option to the 22 for a first and ten, but two runs by Crissy and an incomplete pass left Princeton with a fourth and two at the 14.

To the amazement of everybody, Tiger coach Frank Navarro elected to go for the first, which Van Pelt picked up with a yard to spare. "The offense felt we could make it," Navarro explained later. "We've been having trouble with out snaps on kicks and I was concerned with the effect it might have on the team to get that close and come away with no points having tried a field goal when we were that close to the first down."

Van Pelt brought the Tigers to the doorstep with an eight-yd. run on the next play and Reynolds took them over the threshold on a bootleg left from the three. Princeton then showed that Navarro's concern was not for naught when a fumbled snap by Reynolds on the conversion forced a passing attempt that fell incomplete.

The next possession typified the Crimson day on offense. St. John had apparently loaded up his arm on the sidelines and from the Harvard 36 he faked the halfback option and threw over the middle to Al Altieri curling out of the backfield at the 45. Altieri bulled his way into Princeton territory at the 44 where the drive began to stall.

An illegal procedure call on Harvard put the ball back at midfield three plays later for a third and 16. A ripping reception by Tom Beatrice at the 24 kept the drive going momentarily, but mistakes began to take over.

Beatrice recovered his own fumble for a four-yd. loss on a pitchout. A halfback option took Harvard four yards further from the goal line; and on third and 18, St. John was sacked to take Harvard back to the 41 and out of field goal range.