COUNTING TO FOUR

Early in the game, there were a number of unexpected fourth-down attempts from both teams. But late in the game, after both squads looked eager to take the fourth-down risk, the two suddenly seemed unwilling to go for it.

It started with the unsuccessful fake punt from Harvard, a clear turning point in the contest.

Holy Cross’ multiple—and questionable—fourth-down tries seemed driven by a lack of confidence in its place kicker. In the middle of the third quarter, the Crusaders opted to go for it on fourth-and-four rather than attempt a 43-yard field goal. Senior Matthew Hanson broke up the pass to force a turnover on downs.

The attitude towards the kicker became apparent again in the fourth quarter. Once again in field goal range—the successful kick would have put Holy Cross up by 11 with just minutes left in the game—the Crusaders again went for the chance on fourth. It paid off, and Taggart completed a pass to a wide-open receiver for the first down.

“Taggart was doing a really good job getting the ball out quick, and they were starting to pick up our blitz,” captain Alex Gedeon said.

But the teams lost their taste for fourth-down chances late in the game. With about four minutes to go, the Crimson elected to punt rather than go for it on fourth-and-10.

A few minutes later, with the Crimson out of timeouts, the Crusaders punted on fourth-and-short, opting not to try for a first down that would have ended the game.

The last fourth-down try was a desperation pass from Winters that Holy Cross intercepted to end the game.

“I thought he played extremely well at times and kept us in the game,” Murphy said. “We just got to do more to help him.”

—Staff writer E. Benjamin Samuels can be reached at samuels@college.harvard.edu.