WORCESTER, Mass.—While the quarterback situation may be in flux for Harvard, the Crimson can still count on stability from junior running back Clifton Dawson. The Payton Award finalist from a year ago started his case to be considered for the I-AA equivalent of the Heisman Trophy again this year with an outstanding first game.

Dawson ran for 153 yards on 37 carries and a touchdown despite Holy Cross’s efforts to crowd the line of scrimmage and slow Harvard’s ground game. Dawson did not have any of his signature 80-yard dashes, but managed to mount up the yards in five- or six-yard increments.

“It was definitely tough out there,” Dawson said “We knew coming in that they were an outstanding team. They played amazing defense.”

Dawson’s touchdown run in the second quarter gave him 30 rushing touchdowns in his career, breaking the Harvard mark of 29 set by Mike Giardi ’94.

DIAPER DANDIES

Harvard coach Tim Murphy was particularly impressed with the play of his freshmen on defense. Cornerback Andrew Berry and linebacker Eric Schultz led the team in tackles with six apiece.

Berry, who switched from quarterback earlier this year, played the entire game as a replacement for senior cornerback Gary Sonkur, who is still feeling the effects of a pulled hamstring. Berry had three pass breakups and recovered a fumble to go along with his six tackles.

Schultz—who had two tackles for a loss—and fellow freshman Sean Hayes added depth to the linebacker core and helped keep the Crusaders star running back, Steve Silva, in check.

“They did a great job,” Murphy said.

BYRNES HURTS

After taking off all of last year due to academic reasons, senior receiver Rodney Byrnes will have to wait even longer before he sees meaningful game action. Byrnes started the game for Harvard opposite junior Corey Mazza, but during the first series the senior pulled his hamstring and will be forced to miss a month.

Senior Ryan Tyler took over Byrnes’ spot as the second receiver and had the best receiving game of his career with five catches for 98 yards and a key fourth quarter, 48-yard touchdown reception to overcome a 21-20 deficit and give Harvard the lead for good.

Sophomore Joe Murt, junior Danny Brown, and freshman Alex Breaux will also vie for increased playing time.

PLENTIFUL PENALTIES

One of the few negatives that Murphy touched upon after the game was the amount of penalties. The Crimson accumulated 110 yards on 13 penalties. Its highest penalized game last year was against Yale, when Harvard was penalized for 92 yards.

“The only disappointment of the game was the relative lack of discipline,” Murphy said.

One of the penalties proved particularly costly for the Crimson. On the extra point attempt following Liam O’Hagan’s second quarter touchdown run giving Harvard a 20-14 lead, sophomore defensive end Brad Bagdis was flagged for a personal foul. Sophomore kicker Matt Schindel was forced to re-kick the extra point after the 15-yard penalty and missed it, ended his streak of 20 straight made extra points.

—Staff writer David H. Stearns can be reached at stearns@fas.harvard.edu.