Unfortunately for Scherrer, his day would be marred by his failure to bring down Hall one-on-one in the backfield on Hall's game-breaking 54-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Kern finished with an astounding 17 tackles, as many as any pair of Harvard players combined. He also had three of Harvard's four sacks on the day. No Harvard player had more sacks or more tackles in any single game last season.

"Going in R.D. has to be our best player on defense," Murphy said. "He's one of the two or three best defensive tackles in the Ivy League, a three year starter, and he's one of only two starters returning from last year, so he's got to be our big tough, and stop that run. He was all over the field."

The Harvard secondary was equally as impressive as the defensive line. A big contribution came from a player who wasn't even listed in the starting lineup--sophomore safety Eric LaHaie. When the Crusaders realized that it was absolutely futile to run up the middle against the Harvard, they resorted to pitching the ball wide, allowing their running backs to find the open field. But LaHaie, a former track star, had the ability to streak across field and cut off the Crusader backs before they could dart down the sidelines.

"Eric's a kid I thought who really was a catalyst for some of the big hits," Murphy said. "And I think he saved a couple first downs, third downs where they needed first downs. He made some great plays."

LaHaie was also a big part of Harvard's nickel coverage. The starting secondary of Niall Murphy, junior Willie Alford, senior Mike Brooks, and junior Andy Fried did not allow a long passing play the entire day.

"Right now our secondary is really a strength," Murphy said. "With as much three or four wide receiver sets as you're going to see, your nickel team is a big part of your defense and we're fortunate to have five or six of these guys."