By Tyler Englander 09/28/2018
The Harvard Crimson fell to a surging team from the University of Rhode Island. The Rams defense did their job, as Rhody knocked off the Crimson 23-16 at Harvard Stadium. The home team struggled early, gaining only 50 yards of total offense in the first half. Running back Aaron Shampklin, who came into the game leading the Ivy League in rushing, struggled to gain a single yard on the ground in the first half. Harvard came into the game averaging 33.5 points per game, but Rhode Island held them to only 16. Harvard struggled on third down, going only 2-13 and failed to strike pay-dirt when they reached the red zone.
Rhode Island came into the contest ranked 20th in the D-1 Subdivision polls, the highest they have been ranked since 1985. They got off to a good start, blocking a Harvard punt for a safety early in the first quarter. Quarterback JaJuan Lawson played well passing for a touchdown and running for one. However, Lawson was forced to leave the game after taking a big hit diving into this end zone on his rushing touchdown. The Rams wouldn’t need him though as Ahmere Dorsey returned a kickoff 97 yards to the house early in the second half to make it 23-6 and that was all the Rams needed.
Harvard would pick it up in the second half, scoring ten straight to make the game interesting. Running back Devin Darrington had the big play of the half, a 36-yard rushing touchdown. The Crimson outgained the Rams 207- 20 in the second half, but two late Jake Smith interceptions sealed the deal for the Rams.
Harvard goes on the road next week to take on Cornell. The Big Red are 0-2 on the season and are set to take on Sacred Heart Saturday afternoon. Harvard will return home Friday, October 12th to take on Holy Cross. Rhode Island is heading home to take on in-state rival Brown next week.