“We really turned it on in the second half and came together as a unit,” said Schires, who had a strong final three quarters, finishing the day 12 of 20 for 201 yards and a TD. “The O-line did a great job and was able to open it up and when a guy runs for 200 yards it makes my job a lot easier.”
Harvard’s next drive was its most impressive of the day. The Crimson received the ball on its own 18 and proceeded to march downfield for a 12-play, 82-yard drive that ate up 5:22 off the clock in the beginning of the fourth quarter.
Schires led Harvard the drive as he completed passes of 16 and 22 yards to get the Crimson moving. Dawson, who was now facing eight- and nine-man fronts from Lafayette, carried the ball five times during the drive and scored his third touchdown of the day with a three-yard run off the left tackle. After Kingston missed the extra point wide right—his third missed kick of the day—Harvard had a 27-20 lead.
“We hadn’t run [the ball] in a couple of games,” Murphy said. “It probably wasn’t something they necessarily focused on.”
The strong running game wasn’t limited to Harvard. While Dawson stole the show, Leopard back Joe McCourt ran for 103 yards—complementing Glavic, who in the third quarter became Lafayette’s all-time leading passer.
The Leopards held the offensive momentum until midway through the third quarter. After Kingston’s first missed field goal in the second quarter, Lafayette marched down the field to score on an 11-yard scramble by Glavic. But senior kicker Michael Beatrice missed the extra point and the score stood at 7-6.
On their next possession, the Leopards took the lead 13-7 when Glavic hit senior receiver Jeremy Burkes on a fade pattern deep in the end zone. The deficit marked the first time this season the Crimson has trailed in a game.
“It was obviously a hard-fought football game out there,” said Lafayette coach Frank Tavani. “We came in with confidence that we could certainly come up here and play with these people.”
But after scoring on their opening drive in the second half, the Leopards couldn’t maintain the lead.
Glavic drove his offense deep into Crimson territory late in the fourth quarter, and Lafayette seemed poised to tie the game. But Everett’s interception and Dawson’s run ended any chance the Leopards had, managing only a meaningless touchdown with 11 seconds left in the game.
“The great thing about today’s victory was we found out what we could do with our back against the wall,” Murphy said. “I’m so pleased and proud of the way our guys responded in the second half.”