HARVARD – Harvard had Genoa-Kingston on upset alert Friday night.
The Cogs needed a win to stay alive for a playoff berth, and trailed the Hornets by nine at the end of the first half.
However, a Harvard offense that had its way with G-K prior to halftime was shut out by the Cogs in the second half, as G-K came back for a 28-23 win.
The Cogs improve to 4-4 and 4-2 in Big Northern East play while the Hornets fall to 2-6 and 1-5.
"They made the safeties a little bit tighter. The brought another guy in the box. They played less aggressive at the edge," Harvard coach Sean Saylor said. "Played more conservative on the edge and contained us. They contained well."
The Hornets got off to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter on a 28-yard field goal by Peyton Schneider and a 5-yard touchdown run by Christian Kramer. Harvard's offense continued its success in the second quarter, with a 1-yard score by Schneider, who would also add two field goals.
A Schneider 24-yard field goal as time ran out in the second quarter gave the Hornets a 23-14 lead. The field goal came after the Cogs fumbled a kickoff. It was one of three G-K fumbles Harvard would take advantage of before halftime.
Kramer ran for 119 yards for the Hornets, while they also had success in the passing game, with Schneider throwing for 180 yards.
"We go into every game expecting to try to move the ball. We're going to do everything we need to do to move the ball, whether it's running dive, trap, toss, throwing verticals," Saylor said. "We're going to do whatever the game dictates and what our kids can do."
Harvard concludes its season next week at Johnsburg.
Genoa-Kingston 28, Harvard 23
Genoa-Kingston 0 14 6 8 - 28
Harvard 10 13 0 0 - 23
FIRST QUARTER
H - Schneider 28 field goal, 8:48
H - Kramer 5 run (Schneider kick), 1:55
SECOND QUARTER
G-K - Huffman 14 pass from McNeal (Rogers kick failed), 11:06
H - Schneider 1 run (Schneider kick), 8:59
G-K - Butler 5 run (Butler pass from McNeal), 4:39
H - Schneider 22 field goal, 0:48
H - Schneider 24 field goal, 0:00
THIRD QUARTER
G-K - Franckowiak 1 run (conversion failed), 5:24
FOURTH QUARTER
G-K - Murray 9 run (Murray run), 7:23
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – G-K: Murray 16-86, McNeal 7-59, Bade 9-17, Ruiz 3-12, Franckowiak 6-20, Butler 4-69. Totals: 45-263. Harvard: Kramer 20-119, Schneider 1-1, Freres 5-23. Totals: 26-143.
PASSING – G-K: McNeal 7-9-0 108. Harvard: Schneider 18-34-0 180.
RECEIVING – G-K: Bade 1-5, Rogers 3-54, Huffman 1-14, Holley 2-35. Harvard: Quinn 3-22, Freres 9-76, Bielski 2-47, Perkins 3-35, Kramer 1-0.
Total Offense: G-K: 371, Harvard: 323