USD football defeats Harvard

Crimson comeback attempt not enough as the Toreros earn first win of season

Chris Spiering / Sports Editor / The USD Vista

him the ball makes it easier on me. He’s a stud and we’re going to keep trying to get him the ball every week.” 

His performance on the field so far this season proved he is worthy of these honors.

The first play of the second quarter was another long 57-yard touchdown pass by Sinnett, but this time to sophomore tight end Dalton Kincaid. It was 17-0 Toreros. Kincaid had three receptions for 103 yards and one touchdown on the day. 

After a missed field goal by the Crimson, USD drove 60 yards in less than two minutes that led to another touchdown pass by Sinnett to sophomore receiver Alex Spadone. The score was 24-0 Toreros with less than two minutes to play in the half. 

It wasn’t all offense in the first half for USD. The Torero defense stepped up huge with five tackles for a loss of yards, and three sacks. Two of the three sacks were recorded by redshirt junior Kevin Glajchen, and on the final play of the first half, redshirt junior Chris Reese sacked Harvard’s quarterback, Jake Smith. 

The halftime score was 24-0 USD over Harvard. The Toreros had an outstanding 305 offensive-yard total and held the Crimson to only 70 total first-half yards. Both sides of the ball dominated the first half. 

“We told everybody to play fast, and that is what we did for the most part of the first half,” senior defensive back Daniel Tolbert said. “Overall, that first half was the best defense we have played, maybe since I have been here.” 

The second half of the game was a completely different story. Harvard received the ball and Smith threw a missile to Cody Chrest for a 75-yard touchdown. The shutout was no more.

A couple possessions later, the Toreros responded with a seven-play, 68-yard drive that was set up by a one-yard touchdown run by junior running back Emillio Martinez. That score would be the last for the Toreros, as Harvard’s comeback was in the making. Harvard’s starting running back Devin Darrington was a force to be reckoned with. He finished the game with only 71 rushing yards, but his 20 attempts carried the load for the Crimson. There were a few carries where it took multiple Torero defenders to take him down.  

Near the end of the third quarter, junior defensive back Michael Hawkins deflected a pass intended for Harvard’s receiver James Batch on what had seemed to be a wide-open touchdown. Hawkins played a critical role for the Torero defense with seven total tackles and two tackles for a loss of yards. 

The fourth quarter was all Harvard. The Crimson started the quarter with a nine-play, 77-yard drive that was scored by tight end Kyle Klink to cut the lead to 31-13. They attempted a two-point conversion, but were unsuccessful. 

After a scoreless possession by USD, Harvard responded with an 80-yard touchdown strike on the first play of the drive by Smith to receiver Jack Cook. The lead for the Toreros was 31-20. 

The Crimson would not go away quietly. With under six minutes remaining, the Torero defense held them to a field goal that cut USD’s lead to 31-23. It was only a one-possession game. 

USD got the ball back with just over three minutes remaining in the game. Their goal was to run out the clock and not give the Crimson another opportunity to score a game-tying touchdown. But Harvard’s defense forced the Toreros to punt the ball back to the Crimson. 

It seemed as if all the momentum was on Harvard’s side of the ball. As the Crimson were looking to score a game tying touchdown, senior Daniel Tolbert picked off Smith, which sealed the victory, and the Toreros had won by a score of 31-23. 

“Honestly, I had been out for the last five weeks, so I feel like I had to make up for lost time,” Tolbert said. “I was just reading the quarterback the whole way, I saw him roll out and I located the receiver a little bit to the right of me, and I was like, ‘I got to beat him to the ball,’ and luckily I did.”

Defensively, USD finished the game with three sacks and a combined seven tackles for a loss. Glajchen was all over the place for the Toreros, as it seemed like he was involved in every play.

“Kevin shows up,” USD football head coach Dale Lindsey said. “He works on his craft everyday. He takes no plays off in practice and during the game. He is 100 percent all the time.” 

It was a tale of two halves for the Toreros, but the team got it done when it mattered. 

“I saw us play an extremely good first half, and a mediocre second half,” Lindsey said. “We had too many penalties in the game. We hurt ourselves and we need to correct that if we are going to be a championship team.” 

The Toreros finished the game with 12 penalties for 152 yards.

The Pioneer Football League (PFL) announced Sunday that redshirt senior quarterback Reid Sinnett and redshirt junior defensive end Kevin Glajchen were awarded conference Offensive Player of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively. Sinnett threw for the most yards out of any PFL quarterback with 384 total passing yards. Glajchen had a game-high 10 tackles and two sacks with four tackles for a loss. This was the first PFL honor for both players’ careers. 

The Toreros have another bye next weekend as they get ready for PFL play. Their next game is during Homecoming Weekend Saturday, Oct. 5 against Marist University at 2 p.m. in Torero Stadium.