Mission Accomplished: Harvard Knocks Off Notre Dame : High school football: Voted out of league, Wolverines stun Knights in nonleague game, 14-10.

The Mission League doesn’t have Harvard-Westlake High to kick around anymore. So, defending league-champion Notre Dame figured to get in a few final kicks in a nonleague game at Harvard on Saturday.

Yet it was Notre Dame that got the boot, as Harvard rallied for a 14-10 victory to stun the previously unbeaten Knights.

Harvard (3-1-1), voted out of the Mission League this season to make room for Serra, was out-gained, 313 yards to 197, and spent much of the game with its defense on the field trying to ebb Notre Dame’s offensive surges.

Fittingly, the outcome was determined by Kevin Goldfein’s leaping end-zone interception with 1 minute 18 seconds to play. Ryan Bowne, who completed 15 of 26 passes for 111 yards, drove Notre Dame (4-1) from its 49-yard line to the Harvard 12 in the final three minutes. The turnover was the third of the game for Notre Dame, ranked No. 3 in the Valley.

“We’ve been trying to tell our guys all week that Harvard is a very good football team,” Notre Dame Coach Kevin Rooney said. “We don’t have any excuses.”

The victory was the first for Harvard against Notre Dame since the teams first met in 1992. But Coach Dave Bennett downplayed its significance.

“We erased that Mission League stuff from the start of the season,” Bennett said. “That meant nothing to us.”

That’s hard to believe, considering how ecstatic the Wolverines were at the final gun.

“This is the greatest victory we’ve ever had here,” wide receiver Kadar Lewis said. “No one is ever gonna forget this.”

Lewis’ performance was most memorable. In the second quarter, he broke loose after catching a swing pass from quarterback Derek Lemkin and dashed 80 yards for a touchdown to give Harvard a 7-3 lead.

With eight minutes to play in the game, Lewis made what might rank as the Wolverines’ play of the season by running 40 yards on a brilliantly executed double reverse. The call came on third and 21 from Harvard’s 35.

Two plays later, Lemkin hit Charu Turner with a 22-yard touchdown pass that proved decisive.

“Every year, we know Notre Dame is the best team we’re going to play,” said Lemkin, who survived five sacks to complete four of 12 passes for 114 yards. “If we beat Notre Dame, we can beat anybody.”

Notre Dame, coming off a 34-24 victory over Crespi, took a 3-0 lead on Chris Sailer’s 55-yard field goal in the first quarter. Sailer missed on attempts from 54 and 55.

The Knights marched 83 yards in 14 plays to begin the third quarter and take a 10-7 lead. Fullback Don Ebenhoch dove one yard for the touchdown.