By Ryan Barry

NEFJ Staff

CAMBRIDGE — There’s nothing like beating your rival to end the season.

For the Yale Bulldogs (7-3), their 34-29 victory over the Harvard Crimson (9-2) wasn’t just an opportunity to win their third straight game over their oldest foes, it was a chance to ruin the Crimson’s shot at clinching the Ivy League title outright for the first time since 2014.

Instead, a relentless Bulldogs performance on both sides of the ball in the 140th installment of  “The Game” reserved the Crimson to a share of the Ivy League title alongside Dartmouth and Columbia.

Yale senior quarterback Grant Jordan (17-for-30, 287 yards, 2 TDs; 16 carries, 73 yards) was outstanding all afternoon for the Bulldogs. His ability to escape the pocket and gain extra yards on the ground made for a deadly combination that the Crimson struggled to contain.

His connection with senior wide receiver David Pantelis (7 receptions, 148 yards) made this particularly difficult on the Harvard defense, with Jordan often finding him on big plays to extend drives.

Harvard head coach Andrew Aurich spoke about the impact Pantelis had on the game.

“He’s a really, really good receiver,” said Aurich. “There were a number of times when the quarterback was able to get out of the pocket and Pantelis had a really good feel for scramble rules to get out there and take off.”

Bulldogs junior running back Josh Pitsenberger (25 carries, 120 yards, 1 TD; 3 receptions, 44 yards, 1 TD) was also tremendous, with the Crimson defense often struggling to bring down the back both on the ground and through the air.

For Harvard, junior quarterback Jaden Craig (21-for-45, 292 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) struggled for much of the afternoon.

The Bulldogs brought pressure all game to force five sacks for a loss of 24 yards. The Crimson managed just 57 net rushing yards as well, one of their lower totals on the season.

A frustrated Craig was quick to take part of the blame in the loss.

“I’ve got to be better,” noted Craig. “I feel like I left the guys down a bit, but you know, life goes on.”

The Crimson won the toss and deferred to the second half to start the game.

A stellar opening drive from the Bulldogs nearly ended with an eight-yard touchdown catch from Pantelis if not for an ineligible man down the field call to take it off the scoreboard.

The Bulldogs kept the offense on the field four plays later hoping to find six points, but a tremendous Crimson defensive stand forced a turnover on downs at the four-yard line.

A stalled Harvard drive opened up another Yale possession which this time ended on a high note with Jordan finding senior wide receiver Chris Nenad (4 receptions, 82 yards, 1 TD) on a 13-yard strike to take a 7-0 lead.

The Crimson finally got on the board a couple drives later with a perfect 44-yard pass from Craig to junior receiver Cooper Barkate (8 receptions, 169 yards, 2 TDs) to even the game a 7-7.

Using the help of a couple pass interference calls, the Bulldogs went back on top courtesy of an 11-yard Pitsenberger touchdown run to take a 14-7 lead.

Instead of swinging momentum back their way, a Shane McLaughin (6 carries, 35 yards) fumble at midfield gave the ball right back to the Bulldogs with a chance to strike.

The Crimson managed to make a stop and get the ball back on offense before yet another Harvard gaffe, as the Bulldogs blocked Sebastian Tasko’s punt to keep the ball in Crimson territory.

Another crucial stop from the Crimson defense limited any further damage to bring the 14-7 scoreline into halftime.

The second half kicked off with a bang as Yale safety Abu Kamara’s interception of Craig in Crimson territory was returned for a touchdown to increase their lead to 21-7.

The Harvard offense struggled to respond again giving way to another solid Yale drive deep into Crimson territory, and had it not been for a crucial turnover on downs from the Harvard defense things could’ve gotten far out of hand.

A few series later the Bulldogs tacked on three points to increase their lead to 24-7 just before the end of the third quarter.

Needing some kind of points to keep the game within reach, Craig found senior Scott Woods II (5 receptions, 62 yards, 1 TD) for a 28-yard touchdown and subsequent two-point conversion to Charles DePrima (3 carries, 13 yards) to cut the lead to 24-15.

The Bulldogs responded right away with a 39-yard touchdown catch from Pitsenberger to increase the lead back up to 31-15.

Needing to keep pace and stay in the game, the Crimson responded with an impressive eight-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a five-yard Barkate touchdown catch and Woods II two point conversion to cut the lead to 31-23.

The Crimson made a stop to force a turnover on downs on the ensuing Bulldogs drive but did little to make it worth it on offense, which instead opened the door for Yale to knock in a late field goal and increase their lead to 34-23.

Sophomore running back Xaviah Bascon (6 carries, 18 yards, 1 TD; 2 receptions, 16 yards) scored a late touchdown with 18 seconds left to cut the lead to 34-29, but a failed two point conversion and subsequent failed onside kick meant the end of the line for a Harvard comeback.

Aurich was happy to see his team battle back late in the game, but felt there were too many plays left on the field.

“Reality is, if you’re putting yourself in a position where you have the mistakes that we had on different sides of the ball, it makes it very hard to win a game like that,” said Aurich.

The Crimson turn the page on Aurich’s first season which from an outside view looking in was a success, though to not come away as outright winners will certainly sting.

For the Bulldogs, as interest draws near for head coach Tony Reno, it’ll be interesting to see the direction of the program this offseason with several key seniors also set to graduate.