Chris Pizzotti of Reading spent most of three seasons on the sideline, but is 10-1 as Harvard's starting quarterback.
(Dominic Chavez/Globe Staff)
The moment came, again, in the third quarter at Lehigh. Liam O'Hagan, Harvard's starting quarterback, went down during a scramble, separating his throwing shoulder. Chris Pizzotti, the next man on the depth chart, was up, ready or not. "You don't have an option to be ready," the Reading native understood. "You have to be."
That was seven Saturdays ago and Pizzotti has made the most of his second chance during what he calls his "roller coaster ride at Harvard." Since he began calling signals, the Crimson have won six straight games. Tomorrow at noon in New Haven, they'll meet unbeaten archrival Yale before a full house at the Bowl, with the winner claiming the Ivy League title outright.
Much of the credit goes to their redheaded quarterback, who spent the better part of three seasons on the sideline before taking over the job, and now is 10-1 as a starter. "He's a winner and he's a gamer," said captain Brad Bagdis. "To have Chris be the voice of the offense has been a huge part of our success."
Pizzotti had been that voice at Reading High, where older brothers Steve and Dave also were quarterbacks. He did well enough there, being named an All-Scholastic twice, to attract Division 1 interest.
His dream was to play at Notre Dame, where his grandfather Frank "Boley" Dancewicz, the quarterback and captain, was the first player drafted by the NFL in 1946, but the Irish didn't have Pizzotti on their must list. There were conversations with Boston College, Syracuse, Duke, and Connecticut, but Harvard appeared to be the best option.
Even so, Pizzotti was in for a year's apprenticeship in 2004, watching Ryan Fitzpatrick, now with the Cincinnati Bengals, lead the Crimson to their best season in 103 years. "You have an NFL quarterback who's unbelievable," said Pizzotti, who saw mop-up duty in one game that autumn. "It makes you realize how far you have to go to be The Man."
Pizzotti had a chance to step in as a sophomore, but a herniated disk in his back ended his season before it began. "Some mornings, I would get up and couldn't tie my sneakers," he recalled.
Intensive therapy saved Pizzotti from surgery, but it was a lost year. O'Hagan claimed the job, led the Ivy in total offense, and directed the Crimson to a triple-overtime victory at Yale. Pizzotti sat and watched.
"That was one of the toughest experiences I've ever had," he said. "But looking back, it's got to be the best thing that ever happened to me. It's made me a better person. I can't deny that."
If Pizzotti stayed healthy and kept working, he figured his chance eventually would come. "You always have to be ready, because you never know when the opportunity will be there," he said. "And you never know when it will be taken away."
His deferred moment arrived at the beginning of his junior year when O'Hagan was suspended for the first half of the season for an unspecified violation of team rules. Pizzotti stepped in for the opener against Holy Cross and was having a terrific game until he hurt his knee in the second quarter. His parents joked about the irony there, but it was bittersweet after what had happened to his brother.
Dave had been Boston University's starting quarterback as a redshirt freshman in 1997 when the school abruptly killed the program. Then, after transferring to Harvard, he had shoulder surgery and never played again.
"I always felt bad for Dave," Chris said. "To have that opportunity ripped away from him, that was tough to watch. You never know when it's going to end - that's the biggest lesson I took away from that."
Pizzotti was back in the lineup two games later and produced three straight come-from-behind victories. But when the Crimson fell behind by 10 points early at Princeton, O'Hagan came in and kept the starting job for the final four games. The difference was that O'Hagan, who has rushed for more than 700 yards, gave the Crimson offense an extra dimension. If Pizzotti wanted the job, coach Tim Murphy told him during the offseason, he had to become more mobile, more multiple. "He knew I wasn't going to be Michael Vick," said Pizzotti, who stands 6 feet 5 inches and weighs 225 pounds, "but he wanted me working on my running game so I wasn't a complete stiff in there."
Still, when this season began, O'Hagan was the man, with Pizzotti performing nicely in relief when O'Hagan was hurt in the second game against Brown. When O'Hagan went down again the following week at Lehigh, Pizzotti quickly fetched his helmet. "I could just tell it was an awkward hit, from the way Liam was rolling on the ground," he said. "I figured he'd be out for at least a series. I didn't know it would be for the season."
Pizzotti ended up throwing for 252 yards and the tying touchdown. But then, trying to win the game before overtime, he tried to throw while being sacked, fumbled, and watched a Lehigh lineman pick up the ball and run 27 yards for the winning score with 30 seconds to play. "Chris was devastated," said Bagdis. "We all were."
His teammates were consoling, telling Pizzotti the defeat wasn't on his shoulders alone. "They were great about it, but you feel that you let the team down," he said. "I told myself it would never happen again. I never want to be the reason for a loss."
That day in Bethlehem, Pa., was the turnaround, both for the Crimson and Pizzotti. Ball security, the secret to Harvard's unbeaten campaigns in 2001 and 2004, has become paramount again. "Since then, Chris has become a different person," said Murphy. "He gets it. The thing he's doing best is, he's making great decisions."
Getting to make them Saturday after Saturday undoubtedly has helped. "I told Coach Murphy, the game seems to be slowing down for me," said Pizzotti, who leads the league in passing efficiency. His roller coaster career in Cambridge, though, is speeding to a conclusion with one more game tomorrow, the biggest Harvard-Yale clash in nearly four decades. "I don't know if I'm ready to be done with Harvard football," Pizzotti mused.
He may not be. His injury-ruined sophomore season qualifies him for a fifth year and Pizzotti is thinking about it. O'Hagan, who has the same option, already has elected to return next fall. "It would be a big decision," acknowledged Pizzotti, who would have to take next semester off and miss spring ball. If he opts in, it'll be back to sophomore year, with two guys chasing one job again. The thing about roller coasters is, they always come back to the same place.
John Powers can be reached at jpowers@globe.com.
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
