Brown Falls at Harvard in Ivy League Opener

Friday, September 24

Boston, Mass.

7:00 PM

Brown University

0-2 , 0-1

Harvard

2-0 , 1-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Brown

Harvard

9/24/2021 11:19:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. – The Brown football team was unable to overcome a strong first half by Harvard as the Bears fell to the Crimson 49-17 under the light at Harvard Stadium on Friday night. The Bears outscored Harvard 17-7 in the second half and put up 208 yards of offense over the final two quarters, while Brown's defense totaled nine tackles for a loss.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

Sophomore Graham Walker led all receivers with a career-high 126 yards on eight receptions and scored his first career touchdown.
Junior Wes Rockett scored his second touchdown in as many games as part of a six-catch, 54-yard performance.
Senior quarterback EJ Perry was 34-for-45 through the air for 346 yards and two touchdowns.
Brown came away with nine tackles for a loss and a pair of sacks on the night, including 1.5 sacks from senior Jarred Daul.
Joseph Shell tied for a game-high with nine tackles. Junior Gafa finished with seven tackles, including 1.5 for a loss, while Jack Kosar and Callum Flanders each collected six stops.
Camden Gagnon picked up three tackles and assisted on a sack.
Harvard outgained Brown 451-360 while Brown held a 346-208 edge through the air.
Harvard scored 21 points off turnovers.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

After Harvard punted on its opening possession, Brown took over at its own four-yard line, but fumbled the ball away on its second play, and the Crimson capitalized on their first play after the turnover with a four-yard touchdown run by Aaron Shampklin.
Harvard took over on its own 34-yard line following a missed field goal and marched down the field and scored on a 44-yard touchdown pass from Charlie Dean to Kym Wymberly, capping a five-play drive in 1:38.
The Crimson struck once again just over four minutes later to go up 21-0 with 8:31 left until halftime. After a 40-yard pass set up first and goal at the four-yard line, Brown's defense made three consecutive stops to bring up fourth down, but the Crimson left their offense on the field and converted the fourth down chance into a touchdown with a two-yard run.
Harvard came away with an interception deep in its own territory after a lengthy Brown drive, and returned it 77 yards to the Brown 18. Four plays later, the Crimson stuck it in the end zone on a three-yard run by Aidan Borguet to go up by four scores with 3:09 left until halftime.
Harvard scored two more touchdowns before the end of the half in less than a minute to hold a 42-0 lead at the break.
Brown broke through on its second possession of the third quarter with an eight play, 47-yard drive, capped by a 35-yard field goal by Christopher Maron. Perry completed 4-of-5 passes on the drive for 42 yards, including a 27-yarder to Jordan McIntyre.
Brown dented the scoreboard once again at the 9:30 mark of the fourth when Perry found Walker for a 43-yard yard strike down the middle of the field, which Walker hauled in with a diving catch across the goal line. The strike capped a seven play, 71-yard drive.
Brown concluded the night with its final touchdown on the last play of the game. After a penalty gave the Bears one untimed down, Perry found Rockett for a two-yard touchdown pass in the left side of the end zone.

QUOTES FROM THE COACH – JAMES PERRY:

"Hats off to what was a terrific Harvard football team that played very well today. I think as we build a program here at Brown, the good thing is our guys are a terrific group and they really answered the bell when we came in at halftime. The kids were really hungry to go back out there and play, and they showed that. We showed some resilience and we'll look to make improvements for next week."
"Harvard just played extraordinarily well. Our turnovers were a result of terrific ball play by Harvard. The turnovers against Rhode Island last week were the result of unforced errors, but this week they were all forced."
"We have a very good offensive line and will play good football this year. Our guys work and are a cohesive unit. Tonight, was a great performance from Harvard's defensive line. Once we became one dimensional, it put a lot more stress on our offense. Our guys are practicing well, we have a good unit, but we were up against it tonight."
"Enthusiasm is not our problem. We need to execute at a better level. As a coach, I had a few horrific blunders and we didn't execute at a high level, and we were playing a really good team. At halftime we had to reset and I think after that we played a good half of football."

Brown will return to action next Saturday, October 2 with a non-conference matchup on the road at Bryant. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Gallery: (9-24-2021) Football at Harvard, 9/24/2021