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Football Weekly Release - Season Recap
Complete Ivy League Football Weekly Release
Princeton photos courtesy of Beverly Schaefer, Princeton Athletic Communications
PRINCETON, N.J. -- Harvard highlighted the final Saturday of the 2011 Ivy League football season with a dominant 45-7 win over Yale in the 128th edition of The Game.
The Crimson, which had already clinched its 14th Ivy title the previous weekend, continued its recent domination of Yale, winning its sixth-straight at Yale Bowl, fifth-straight in the series and 10th in the last 11 meetings. It marked the highest offensive output against Yale since an identical score of 45-7 at Cambridge in 1982. Harvard amassed 506 yards of offense in the victory as the Crimson set a school single-season scoring record with 374 points, just one point from the League record of 375 set by Brown in 2000.
Harvard's win sealed the 21st perfect Ivy season in the 56 seasons of Ivy League football, giving Harvard five of those unblemished seasons (1997, 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2011) and marked the third-straight season, eighth time in 12 years and 12th time in 22 years the League saw its champion go undefeated in conference play.
Five different Ivy teams have ended the season with 9-1 overall records in six of the seven seasons since 2004 -- Brown in 2005, Princeton in 2006, Yale in 2007, Harvard in 2008 and 2011 and Penn in 2010.
Brown, Penn, Yale and Dartmouth finished in a four-way tie for second place with identical 4-3 Ivy records. Brown and Yale finished tied for the runner-up spot for the second-consecutive season with the Bears landing in the top four to close the season for the fourth-straight season. Cornell's League finish was its best since 2000 when it sat alone in second in the final standings. Dartmouth won its final three games, its longest winning streak since taking four straight during the 2003 season. The Big Green posted an identical record to that 2003 squad at 5-5 overall and 4-3 League games, also ending the year in a four-way tie for second place.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Cornell sophomore quarterback Jeff Mathews
(Camarillo, Calif.) had another record-setting day in the Big Red's
48-38 win at Penn. Mathews completed 35-of-45 passes for an Ivy
League single-game record 548 yards and five touchdowns. His first
four touchdowns all came in answer of Penn's scores to take the
lead, either tying or putting Cornell back ahead. His last,
matching his own school record for touchdown in a game set last
weekend, gave the Big Red a 10-point lead with 1:24 to play. He
became only Ivy League quarterback in history to have two 500-yard
passing games in a career and the first to do it in consecutive
games. His total also put him at 3,412 for the season, breaking the
Ivy League season mark of Brown's James Perry, who
had 3,255 yards in 1999.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Columbia senior linebacker Evan Miller
(Cincinnati, Ohio) put up a career day in his final game for the
Lions, a thrilling 35-28 double-overtime win over Brown. Miller
posted a career and Columbia season-high 19 tackles, 11 of which
were solo and 2.5 were for losses behind scrimmage. He had a hand
in on the biggest play of the game, first assisting on stop of the
Bears' third-and-goal attempt from the one-yard line in the second
overtime. On fourth-and-goal, Miller was among a pile of Lions in
on the stop to secure the win and give Columbia its first victory
of the season.
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Princeton junior defensive lineman Caraun Reid
(Bronx, N.Y.) made his presence known on special teams, in addition
to his strong play from his defensive line position, in the Tigers'
loss at Dartmouth. Reid blocked two extra points, nearly returning
one for a two-point conversion. He recorded eight tackles,
including 2.5 for loss, a sack, a fumble recovery and a pass
breakup. He had one of Princeton's best defensive seasons in years,
leading all Ivy League defensive linemen with 68 tackles and
finished second in the League in tackles for loss (16.0) and third
in sacks (8.0).
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Princeton freshman quarterback Quinn Epperly
(Knoxville, Tenn.) accounted for 166 yards (93 passing and 73
rushing) in the Tigers' season-ending loss at Dartmouth. Epperly
became the first Princeton quarterback to start as a freshman since
2000. He completed 9 of 19 passes for 93 yards. Epperly led
Princeton in rushing with 73 yards on 16 carries. His touchdown
runs were of 13 and 11 yards.
HONOR ROLL
Sean Brackett, Columbia, Junior, Quartback (Brooklyn,
Conn.)
15-24-0, 136 yds., 1 TD, 4 rush TDs
Rashad Campbell, Cornell, Senior,
Cornerback/Return Specialist (Cheltenham, Pa.)
112 KOR yds., 8 tkls. (6 solo), 2 INTs
Bronson Green, Dartmouth, Sophomore, Linebacker
(Los Angeles)
13 tkls. (8 solo)
Matt Hamscher, Penn, Senior, Defensive Back (Whitehall,
Pa.)
9 tkls. (6 solo), 2.5 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 FF
Jordan Haynes, Yale, Senior, Linebacker
(Folsom, Calif.)
11 tkls. (10 solo), 1.0 TFL
Kyle Juszczyk, Harvard, Junior, Tight End
(Medina, Ohio)
7 rec. for 107 yds., 1 TD
Clayton McGrath, Brown, Senior, Defensive End
(Longmeadow, Mass.)
5 tkls. (4 solo), 2.5 TFL, 1 sack
Kyle Newhall-Caballero, Brown, Senior,
Quarterback (Gilbert, Ariz.)
32-44-3, 262 yds., 3 TDs
Billy Ragone, Penn, Junior, Quarterback
(Chesire, Conn.)
23-of-40, 253 yds., 1 TD, 2 rush TDs
Nick Schwieger, Dartmouth, Senior, Tailback
(Norton, Mass.)
30 car. for 157 yds., 1 TD, 31 rec. yds.
Andrew Starks, Princeton, Junior, Linebacker
(Plainfield, Ill.)
13 tkls. (5 solo), 3.5 TFL, 2 sacks
Jaron Wilson, Harvard, Sophomore, Defensive
Back (Carmichael, Calif.)
2 tkls., 1 FR, 1 INT
Collier Winters, Harvard, Senior, Quarterback
(Claremore, Okla.)
27-42-0, 355 yds., 2 TDs, 1 rush TD
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Tuesday, November 22
Postseason Awards Announcement (Rookie of the
Year and All-Ivy)
Tuesday, November 29
Postseason Awards Announcement (Offensive and
Defensive Players of the Year Finalists)
Monday, December 5
Asa S. Bushnell Cup Presentation (Offensive
and Defensive Players of the Year), 11:30 am
Hilton Room, Waldorf=Astoria Hotel, New York
