No. 16/21 Football Defeated 28-23 at Harvard

Friday, October 4

Cambridge, Mass.

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

3-2 , 1-0

Harvard

2-1 , 0-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

New Hampshire

Harvard

Seth Morgan completed his first 17 passes and went 34 of 47 for 267 yards, two TDs

Photo by: Cindy Lavigne

10/4/2024 11:04:00 PM | Football

Box Score

Morgan passes for 267 yards, two TDs; Mazzie hits career-long 52-yard FG

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Senior quarterback Seth Morgan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) passed for 267 yards and two touchdowns, graduate student wide receiver Logan Tomlinson (Manchester, Conn.) hauled in a career-best 10 receptions for 105 yards and a score, and junior kicker Nick Mazzie (Boxford, Mass.) drilled a career-long 52-yard field goal as part of a 3-for-3 performance, but the No. 16/21 UNH football team was defeated 28-23 by Harvard on Friday night at Harvard Stadium.

The Wildcats (3-2, 1-0 CAA) saw their three-game winning streak snapped while the Crimson (2-1, 0-1 Ivy League) won the first head-to-head meeting between the two traditional New England powers since 1939.

Morgan completed his first 17 passes of the game and registered season highs of 34 completions and 47 attempts with a 14-yard scoring pass to junior wide receiver Caleb Burke (Johnstown, Pa. / eight catches, 92 yards, TD) and a 3-yard TD to Tomlinson.

Graduate student safety Wande Owens (Cooksville, Md.) tallied a team-high nine tackles, junior linebacker Brandon Perkins (Williamstown, N.J.) posted eight stops and senior defensive end Flex Ruiz (Orlando, Fla.) notched five tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss (one sack).

Mazzie hit his career-long 52-yard field goal in the second quarter and later added a 29-yarder and a 43-yarder in addition to going 2-for-2 in PATs.

Harvard quarterback Jaden Craig went 10 of 23 for 204 yards and a TD. Running back Xaviah Bascon carried 16 times for 66 yards and two touchdowns. Scott Woods II made four catches for 93 yards and a score.

Up Next

•UNH plays its first road CAA game of the season at Elon (1-4, 0-1 CAA) on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 2 p.m.

NEXT HOME GAME

•Homecoming, presented by Dunkin', is Saturday, Oct. 19, and the Wildcats welcome No. 25/20 Rhode Island (3-1, 1-0 CAA) in a battle of ranked CAA teams for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Wildcat Stadium. It will be Hall of Fame weekend, including the induction of former UNH All-America and all-time leading wide receiver R.J. Harris '15. Tickets are available at UNHWildcats.com.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST QUARTER
•After forcing Harvard to punt on its opening possession, the Wildcats marched down the field for a 10-play, 82-yard scoring drive on their opening possession. Morgan went 8-for-8 for 52 yards and found Burke on the right side for a 14-yard TD connection and a 7-0 lead following Mazzie's PAT at 6:39.
•Tomlinson stood out on the drive with three receptions for 19 yards, and he was the intended receiver on a Harvard pass interference penalty that went for 15 yards one play before Burke's TD catch.
•Morgan finished the quarter 12-for-12 for 84 yards

SECOND QUARTER
•The 'Cats increased the lead to 10-0 at 12:41 of the second when Mazzie kicked a career-long 52-yard field goal.
•It was the second-longest FG in school history, behind only Tom Manning's 54-yarder versus Hofstra on Oct. 24, 2009.
•Manning also kicked a 52-yard field goal versus Maine on Nov. 21, 2009.
•The Crimson snapped back with a 65-yard TD strike from Craig to Woods III to trim UNH's lead to 10-7 at 11:59.
•UNH scored on its third straight possession with a seven-play, 64-yard drive capped by Mazzie's 29-yard field goal to make it 13-7 with 8:11 left in the half.
•After Harvard took the ball back on downs, the Crimson seized its first lead, 14-13, on a 1-yard rush by Bascon.
•Mazzie booted his third field goal of the game, a 43-yarder on the last play of the half, to give UNH a 16-15 halftime lead.
•With 1:57 left in the half, UNH was pinned back to its own 3-yard line before a penalty moved it back to its 3 before Morgan led the team down the field.

THIRD QUARTER
•On the first play of the third quarter, Harvard recovered a UNH fumble at the Wildcats' 13-yard line.
•The UNH defense stood tall, though, with Perkins and Ruiz combining to stuff Bascon for a two-yard loss on 4^th-and-1 from the 4 to preserve the 16-14 lead with 13:29 left in the third.
•Bascon earned a measure of revenge on the Crimson's next drive when he punched it in for a 1-yard touchdown, his second of the game, to put Harvard in front, 21-16, at 5:11 of the third.

FOURTH QUARTER
•Backup quarterback Charles DePrima scampered in for a 16-yard score with 11:23 remaining to stake HU to a 28-16 advantage.
•Tomlinson's three-yard scoring catch drew UNH within 28-23 at 5:54 of the fourth.

GAME NOTEBOOK
•Morgan completed his first 17 passes for 150 yards and didn't throw his first incompletion until there was 8:16 remaining in the second quarter.
•The Wildcats and Crimson met on the gridiron for the first time in 31,002 days (Nov. 18, 1939).
•UNH and Harvard met seven times in 11 years (1929-39) before taking an 84-year, 10-month, 16-day break in the rivalry.
•The return engagement is slated for Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, at Wildcat Stadium.
•Tonight's game concluded a stretch of four straight versus New England opponents (Holy Cross, Stonehill, Bryant, Harvard).
•The last time UNH played four straight New England foes was 1987.

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