Three yards isn't very far. Three yards is practically nothing. In fact, when most people lose the remote control between the couch cushions, they have to walk more than three yards just to change the channel on the television. But last weekend, three yards was just enough to preserve a Yale victory. As time expired, free safety Tim Reed, SY '97, made the stop on Brown receiver Costa Panagos from the goal-line to give the Bulldogs a 42-38 victory.
In a game that was plagued by sloppy play on both sides of the ball, Yale managed to prove that they have the power to compete in the Ivy League this season. Although careless at times, the Bulldog offense moved the ball with great effectiveness. The defense was equally successful, giving up only two touchdowns to the normally high- scoring Brown offense. Throw in some spectacular individual performances and you have a Yale team that appears ready to compete for the Ivy League title.
Following an interception by captain Tony Mazurkiewicz,TD '96, Yale jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a 25-yard field goal by John Lafferty, TC '97. On the following Brown drive, Mazurkiewicz pulled down his second interception of the afternoon. Yale coughed up four fumbles and two interceptions while Brown quarterback Jason McCullough threw three interceptions.
Brown capitalized on a Kena Heffernan, ES '96, fumble by kicking a field goal to tie the game at three. Their offense would not score again until late in the third quarter. Fortunately for the Bears, their defense was able to put points on the board as well. With 3:16 remaining in the first quarter, Yale running back Renard Craigwell, JE '98, fumbled. The Bears scooped up the ball and returned it 29 yards to give them a 10-3 lead that they would carry into the second quarter. It was then time for the Y ale offense to go to work. The Bulldogs rattled off 24 unanswered points to take a 27-10 halftime lead.
The Bears came back with a vengeance in the second half and took a lead at 38-27 on a 41-yard interception return by Brown's Greg Parker. The tension mounted, but Yale was up for the challenge. Quarterback Chris Hetherington, JE '96, took control along with Craigwell. Craigwell scored a touchdown on an 8-yard run with 10:36 left in the game and even put the finishing touch on his performance by connecting with tight end Dave Prybyla, JE '96, on a halfback pass for the two-point conversion. Craigwell fo und the end zone one last time with only 1:07 remaining.
A minute and seven turned out to be an eternity. Brown quarterback McCullough drove the Bears down the field, but there simply wasn't enough time. Reed came up with the big stop as time expired and over 14,000 fans could finally breathe easily. It was quite a start to the 1995 football endeavor.
Any questions there might have been in the minds of Bulldog fans regarding the offense were certainly answered last weekend. The Elis had 532 total offensive yards, 327 of them on the ground. Hetherington showed incredible athletic ability and had the best overall performance of his career. There is no doubt that he has completely recovered from the injuries that have bothered him in the past. Hetherington rushed for 223 yards and threw for 186, the second-highest single-game performance in Yale histor y. Backup quarterback Kevin Mayer, BK '96, shone briefly in the second quarter. On his only passing play of the game, Mayer threw a picture-perfect ball to wide receiver Jesse Steinfeldt, CC '96, for a 35-yard gain.
The starting tailback position remains uncertain, but not for lack of a positive performance. Heffernan, who started, carried the ball 15 times including an impressive 35-yard dash up the middle. Craigwell rushed for 72 yards on 19 carries and scored t wo touchdowns. Yale got a big game receiving out of Prybyla, who had eight catches for 111 yards. Wide receivers Steinfeldt and Dan Iwan, CC '96, combined for 8 receptions and 125 yards.
The Yale defense held strong against a Brown team that has scored more than 35 points in its last three games. In fact, the defense allowed fewer points than the offense. This is not a trend that most Bulldogs fans would like to see continue, but the d efense looks solid for the rest of the season. Mazurkiewicz was strong in the secondary and the linebackers performed well in a pressure situation.
The Bulldogs are looking ahead to this weekend's game against Lehigh. The Engineers come into this contest with a 1-1 record, but have an extremely powerful offense. The Lehigh game will be a big challenge for the Bulldogs. Hopefully they can use the coming three non-conference games to work the kinks out of the offense and hit the heart of the Ivy League season in peak form.
Copyright 1995, The Yale Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.
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