Though he had some success on the ground in limited time last year, the stakes are much higher for sophomore running back Cheng Ho this time out. He’s the starting tailback that follows recent grad Clifton Dawson, who left Harvard as the Ivy League’s all-

How do you replace a legend?

That’s a question the Harvard football team will look to answer in its season opener this weekend, as the team takes to the field for the first time since the graduation of senior running back Clifton Dawson.

But even though the Crimson will be without the league’s all-time leading rusher for the first time since 2002, tomorrow afternoon’s game against Holy Cross (0-1) at 1 p.m. at Fitton Field in Worcester, Mass., seems a lot like years past.

That’s because this marks Harvard’s sixth straight season opener against the Crusaders. The last five have all been wins, but even more important than continuing a non-conference winning streak is erasing the memory of last season’s end.

Tomorrow’s game will be the Crimson’s first test against an opponent—save for a 48-6 win in a scrimmage against Columbia last week—since last November’s 34-13 thrashing at the hands of co-Ivy champion and preseason favorite Yale.

It will come against a team with two extra weeks of preparation. Holy Cross fell by a 40-30 score to No. 3 Massachusetts two weeks ago, and the team had its bye week last week.

“They had 102 plays against one of the better defenses in the country in UMass, so we’ve got a tiger by the tail, no question,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “The circumstances and the quality of the team are such that we have more than we bargained for.”

That quality comes partly in the form of Crusaders quarterback Dominic Randolph, who scored three times against the Minutemen. In the opener, he completed 32 of his school-record 62 pass attempts for 296 yards and two scores, also reaching the end zone once on the ground.

“They’re great on the offensive side,” Crimson captain Brad Badgis said. “They have a great quarterback and offensive line, and they have great skill guys who can do a lot of things on offense and special teams.”

Harvard will look to fight fire with fire against the high-powered Holy Cross passing attack, as the Crimson returns seven starters to a defense that led the nation in sacks and tackles for a loss last year.

The team is led by perhaps the most impressive secondary in the Ivy League, which includes a pair of All-Ivy picks in junior cornerback Andrew Berry—who was a preseason All-American—and senior cornerback Steve Williams. A pair of seniors—Doug Hewlitt and John Hopkins—serve as Harvard’s safeties.

“Our strengths are our defense, especially the secondary, which has a lot of veterans,” Bagdis said. “The defensive line is also bringing back a lot of veterans.”

Bagdis and defensive tackle Matt Curtis will anchor that line, which is joined by new starters Sonny McCracken and Chuks Obi, whom Murphy described as “one of the more pleasant surprises” of the preseason.

The all-junior linebacking crew includes second-year starters Eric Schultz—the Crimson’s leading tackler in 2006—and Glenn Dorris, while welcoming Matthew Thomas.

Both the Crusaders’ defense and Harvard’s offense, however, are full of question marks. Holy Cross surrendered 455 total yards of offense to UMass two weeks ago, while the Crimson will look to find a running back to ease the load on senior quarterback Liam O’Hagan, who hopes to stay on the field for the entirety of 2007 after a five-game suspension cut last year in half.

Sophomore Cheng Ho, who has 31 career carries for 145 yards and a touchdown, will get the start at tailback, but freshman Gino Gordon will see the field as his backup after an impressive summer and preseason.

“Gino Gordon is right in the mix at running back…. He’s going to play against Holy Cross,” Murphy said. “We’ll let Cheng Ho probably get the majority of reps because he’s earned it, but Gino Gordon, we think he’s a quality player.”

Fortunately for the running backs, Harvard boasts one of the deepest receiving corps in the Ivy League. The Crimson is led by fifth-year senior Corey Mazza, who is eligible to play this year after a season-ending injury during the second game of 2005. Mazza caught a team-leading 36 passes and eight touchdowns a year ago.

“This is going to be my fifth time playing against Holy Cross, so there’s definitely a level of familiarity there,” Mazza said. “I know their defense rather well after this amount of time.

Mazza has even been around longer than Crusaders coach Tom Gilmore, who, despite having led Holy Cross to back-to-back winning seasons, has never beat the Crimson.

“In the late 80s, Holy Cross had a great streak going, but since the 90s, Harvard has really dominated that series,” Gilmore said. “It’s been a great stretch for Harvard, but we’re hoping to get that turned around this year at Holy Cross.”

A bit of added motivation to turn things around for the Crusaders is the fact that it’s the school’s homecoming game. But there’s no homecoming at Harvard, prompting Bagdis, who grew up about 10 miles west of Worcester in Paxton, to treat the game as a bit of celebration.

“Our first opponent is in Worcester, which is kind of like a homecoming for me, so that’s nice,” Bagdis said.

—Staff writer Malcom A. Glenn can be reached at mglenn@fas.harvard.edu.