Certainly, Spadola got the message. The sophomore receiver exploded in the third quarter, hauling in nine passes for 159 yards and a pair of scores on just three drives. Spadola grabbed the Mountain Hawks’ first touchdown of the day on a four-yard reception before capping off the quarter with a 51-yard catch-and-run on a post route that put Lehigh ahead, 21-17. Spadola finished the day with a career-high 206 receiving yards.

“We just came out in the second half, and we just wanted this game,” Spadola said. “We took advantage of every opportunity, and when our numbers were called...we took advantage and made plays.”

The sudden 21-point turnaround left the Crimson sputtering. Harvard got the strong wind at its back for the final period and hoped to take advantage, but the squad could not muster a promising drive until just over three minutes remained.

Following a failed fake punt by the Mountain Hawks, the Crimson took over at its own 37 and moved to the Lehigh 28 after a big fourth-down reception from Chrissis. On the next play, Chapple appeared to hit Cook for the game-winning score, but instead, Harvard just faced second and 10.

“[The referee] ruled it out of bounds,” Murphy said. “We won’t know until we see the film.”

Two plays later, Chapple’s fourth-down desperation throw found the arms of a Lehigh defender, and Harvard was left with a difficult loss. An intentional safety from the Mountain Hawks brought the final score to 21-19, but the Crimson was already looking ahead to the rest of its Ivy slate.

“I’m not in the least bit concerned about [bouncing back],” Murphy said, “I’m really not.”

—Staff writer Max N. Brondfield can be reached at mbrondf@fas.harvard.edu.