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Princeton University Athletics
Tigers Fall To Harvard, 35-21
October 21, 2000 | Football
Oct. 21, 2000
Box Score
By TOM CANAVAN
AP Sports Writer
PRINCETON, N.J. -- Matt Leiszler ran for three touchdowns and Neil Rose threw for two more as Harvard matched its longest winning streak ever against Princeton, beating the Tigers 35-21 on Saturday.
Leiszler scored on runs of 2, 2 and 8 yards, and Rose had scoring passes of 25 yards to Carl Morris and a go-ahead 35-yarder to tight end Chris Stakich as Harvard (3-3, 2-1 Ivy) beat Princeton (2-4, 2-1) for the fifth straight time.
The last time the Crimson won five straight against the Tigers was between 1912 and 1916.
Princeton freshman quarterback David Splithoff scored on runs of 4, 20 and 4, the last one tying the game at 21 with 13:48 to play.
Rose, who was 25 of 36 for 292 yards, then hit two big passes to engineer a six-play, 68-yard go-ahead drive. He hit Sean Meeker on a 24-yard pass on the second play, and then he avoided Clark Webb and Chris Roser-Jones on a blitz before finding Stakich on a crossing pattern. The tight end nearly stepped out of bounds at the 3 before diving into the end zone. Three penalties stopped Princeton's next drive, and Harvard put the game away with a 10-play, 69-yard drive that Leiszler capped with an 8-yard run with 3:18 to go.
With Penn, Cornell and Princeton losing this week and Yale and Harvard winning, there is a five-way tie for first place in the Ivy League.
The first half ended in a 14-14 tie with Leiszler, who gained 89 yards on 24 carries, and Splithoff each scoring twice.
Harvard should have had the lead, but Anders Blewett missed field goals of 37 and 31 yards.
After the first miss, Splithoff hit four consecutive passes in driving the Tigers 80 yards in nine plays. He capped the drive with a 4-yard scoring run on a draw.
The completions gave Splithoff 14 straight over the last two games, breaking the Princeton record of 13 set by Mark Lockenmeyer in 1980. Splithoff finished 13 of 23 for 155 yards.
A 59-yard return by Chuck Nwokocka on the ensuing kickoff and a 23-yard pass from Rose to Morris set up the first of Leiszler's two short touchdown runs.
Rose hit five passes for 57 yards in leading the Crimson on a 13-play, 81-yard drive that Leiszler capped with another short run.
Cameron Atkinson's 58-yard return on the ensuing kickoff set up Splithoff's 20-yard touchdown run on an option keeper six plays later.
Rose put Harvard ahead early in the third quarter with his 25-yard scoring pass to Morris. The drive was set up when Mike Cataldo recovered a fumble by halfback Kyle Brandt at the Tigers 49.