Harvard scores 14 fourth-quarter points, beats Yale 14-10 in 126th edition of The Game

Harvard comes back for 14-10 win over Yale

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Collier Winters threw for 211 yards and two touchdowns Saturday as Harvard came back from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat rival Yale 14-10, the Crimson’s eighth win in nine years against the Bulldogs.

Yale led 10-7 with just 2:25 left, but first-year coach Tom Williams called a fake punt on a fourth-and-22 from Yale’s 26-yard line. Harvard (7-3, 6-1 Ivy) got the ball when Yale safety John Powers was dragged down at his 40.

Three plays later, Winters hit Chris Lorditch down the left seam for a 32-yard score.

Gino Gordon ran for 86 yards on 13 carries, including a crucial 19-yard fourth-down run in the fourth quarter that sparked the Crimson comeback.

Alex Thomas had 124 yards on 26 carries for Yale (4-6, 2-5).

Harvard got on the board with just under 7 minutes left in the game. Winters hit Matt Luft with a 41-yard touchdown pass over the middle, two plays after Gordon converted that fourth down by spinning out of a tackle and racing down the left sideline.

Yale had jumped out to an early lead. The Bulldogs marched 61 yards on the opening drive, scoring on a 26-yard field goal by Alex Barnes. They went up 10-0 on a 3-yard run by Rodney Reynolds, his first career touchdown. That capped a 59-yard drive set up when cornerback Adam Money recovered a fumble by Winters.

Harvard had several missed scoring opportunities, failing three times on fourth down, including a fake 30-yard field goal that ended when kicker Patrick Long’s pass was broken up by Larry Abare. Abare was playing with a cast on his right arm, which he broke Oct. 17 against Lehigh.

Harvard ate up over 7 1/2 minutes of the third quarter on a 14-play drive that was stopped by a Yale goal-line stand.

Yale’s Tom Mante, who hit a 56-yard field goal against Cornell earlier in the year, missed a 63-yard try as time expired in the first half. It had the distance, but was wide left. Yale also missed a 27-yard attempt, when Barnes was wide right in the fourth quarter.

The last time Harvard had won eight of nine from Yale was back in 1922.