But Iannuzzi’s biggest play came on the opening drive in the second half.

“The second half came around, and we needed something,” he said. “During halftime, I made eye contact [with coach Murphy], and he knew what that meant.”

It meant an 84-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The return made Iannuzzi the only Harvard player ever to score a touchdown on more than one kickoff return in a single season.

“Marco’s just an unbelievable athlete,” Scales said. “He’s unreal when it comes to kick returning. We rely on him to give us a jolt when we need it. He’s never failed us.”

For both his teammates and his friends, Iannuzzi’s best game of his career couldn’t have come at a better moment.

“I had 53 guests here from Canada that included a ton of my family and a ton of my friends,” Iannuzzi said. “[For] a lot of them, the last time they had seen me play was back in high school when...you’re scoring four touchdowns. I was afraid of disappointing them. The college game is different: a good game might be one catch...there’s a lot to live up to.”

Iannuzzi responded to his family’s expectations by catalyzing the first game-tying touchdown and scoring the second, in the process becoming Harvard’s all-time leader in average yards per kickoff return for both a season (34.5 yards) and a career (26.5 yards).

“It meant a ton to me that I was able to make it exciting,” he added. “When I was walking to the sideline, I gave them a couple of points. I still remember the feeling I had: a sense of pride. All these people have put some confidence in me. I felt like I was repaying them by doing that.”

—Staff writer Christina C. McClintock can be reached at ccmcclin@fas.harvard.edu.