This one wasn’t going to be easy.

With star junior quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick sidelined with a broken hand and junior Garret Schires making his first career start, the Harvard football team came into Saturday’s game against Lafayette unsure if it could keep its offensive juggernaut going.

Fortunately for the No. 22 Crimson (5-0, 2-0 Ivy), freshman running back Clifton Dawson provided an answer.

Dawson ran for 218 yards on 26 carries—second most ever by a Harvard back at Harvard Stadium—and scored four touchdowns as he led the Crimson to a 34-27 come-from-behind victory over the Leopards (3-3, 0-2 Patriot).

Dawson’s final touchdown came with 2:11 to go in the fourth quarter and sealed the victory for the Crimson—capping a string of 27 straight points.

After junior linebacker Bobby Everett intercepted Lafayette quarterback Marko Glavic’s pass at the Harvard goal line, the Crimson took over at their own five-yard line, nursing a 27-20 lead with 3:48 left to play. Four plays later—with the Leopards crowding the line of scrimmage to protect against the run—Dawson took a handoff from Schires, found a hole on the left side of the line, side-stepped a defender and sprinted down the sideline untouched for a 71-yard touchdown.

“Right from the beginning I saw the offensive line did a great job blocking,” Dawson said. “As soon as I saw that, I saw nothing but open field. And I’m very confident in my abilities to, when I’m in the open field, get into the end zone.”

Despite Dawson’s big day, the game did not start as well for the Crimson as it ended. After Dawson scored on Harvard’s second possession with a 23-yard touchdown run—giving Harvard an early 7-0 lead—the Crimson offense stalled.

Schires, getting his first substantial action since his freshman year, seemed out of rhythm with the offense—completing only one pass in the first quarter. Harvard’s kicking game didn’t help either, as senior kicker Adam Kingston missed field goals of 20 and 27 yards in the second quarter.

Lafayette took advantage of Schires’ early discomfort and the missed kicks to build a solid third-quarter lead. Glavic’s 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tim Walsh to open the quarter capped a 14-play, 72-yard drive, putting Harvard in a 20-7 hole.

But on the ensuing kickoff, Dawson returned the ball 36 yards to the Lafayette 47, giving the offense the spark it needed.

After eight straight rushing plays—five to Dawson—the Crimson faced a third-and-goal at the Lafayette seven. With the fans on their feet, Schires found freshman receiver Corey Mazza all alone in the back of the end zone for a behind-the-body, acrobatic sliding catch. On the Leopards’ next possession, senior linebacker Dante Balestracci and junior defensive tackle Matthew McBurney teamed up to make the play of the game. As Glavic dropped back to pass deep in his own territory, Balestracci came on a blitz up the middle and nailed the quarterback just as he was about to pass, knocking the ball loose. McBurney fell on the ball and the Crimson took over on Lafayette’s 16-yard line.

“It was the turning point in the game,” said Harvard coach Tim Murphy.

From then on, the Crimson controlled the game.

Three plays later, Dawson converted the turnover into points, busting through the line with a three-yard touchdown run, his second of the day.