Harvard quarterback Andrew Hatch, a 24-year-old senior, was 20-of-25 through the air for 276 yards and three scores in the Crimson’s 34-6 win over Holy Cross Saturday night. Hatch’s last official game came two years ago.

Unlike his journey back to Harvard, Andrew Hatch’s performance Saturday night could not have gone more smoothly.

The senior quarterback completed 20 of his 25 passes and had three touchdowns, leading the Harvard football team (1-0) to a sound 34-6 victory over Holy Cross (1-2) in the season opener at Harvard Stadium.

In front of 21,704 fans, Hatch passed for 276 yards, the most for a Crimson quarterback since 2008.

“I was a little surprised,” said junior wide receiver Levi Richards. “He played unbelievable. I thought he was going to play well, but I didn’t know he was going to come out guns-a-blazin’.”

Saturday night’s game was Hatch’s first in a Crimson uniform at the varsity level, last playing for Harvard as a freshman on the junior varsity team in 2005.

His Crimson playing career was then sidetracked by his one-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, two-year playing stint at Louisiana State University, and, after transferring back to Harvard, one-year restriction from play due to NCAA regulations regarding transfer students.

Thus, the season’s first contest had a special significance to Hatch.

“I’m just really trying to enjoy every minute of it and just really appreciating the chance to be out there,” Hatch said. “It just felt great.”

Hatch and the Crimson started the game on a high note, gaining three points on the first possession.

“It’s the first game, so there’s always a few butterflies for everyone going into it,” Hatch said. “It’s just nice to get some points on the first drive. That was a good way to start off.”

The Crimson did not relent, and with 1:52 remaining in the first quarter, Harvard scored its first touchdown on a four-yard run by senior running back Gino Gordon.

In the first possession of the second quarter, Hatch and the Crimson marched 82 yards downfield in just eight plays. The drive culminated in Hatch’s first passing touchdown of the season.

On the final play of the drive, Hatch quickly deciphered the Crusaders’ defense, noticing that Holy Cross planned to dissolve into a cover-three defense. This meant that senior wide receiver Marco Iannuzzi would only be covered by a linebacker.

“A receiver on a linebacker in most books is a mismatch,” Iannuzzi said. “So I think [Hatch] just identified the mismatch...and then he just threw a great deep ball there, and we caught it just inside the back of the endzone.”

Hatch’s strong play continued in the second half, as he threw two touchdown passes, both to senior wide receiver Chris Lorditch.

The final score, a 43-yard pass, marked the end of a drive in which the Crimson required only three plays and 1:30 to travel 60 yards.

This efficiency characterized the Hatch-led offense, which had an average gain of 6.4 yards per play. In fact, the Crimson averaged 11.0 yards per passing play, as opposed to Holy Cross’ 4.3.

In addition to his strong passing, Hatch also ran for 39 yards, the second-highest total on the team. Often times Hatch’s scrambling ability turned near sacks into large gains.

In one instance, Hatch scrambled to his left, a difficult feat for a right-handed quarterback. He then dodged an oncoming Crusader, tucked the ball under his arm to run, and only at the last instant decided instead to throw a pass to Richards.

The junior wide receiver caught the pass, keying a Crimson score only moments later.

“[The Crusaders’ defense saw] he was going to run, and he made the choice to pull up and then pass the ball,” Iannuzzi said of the play. “It shows his field awareness [and] his quarterback smarts. He knows where his receivers are going to be.”

“I just think it shows overall athleticism,” he added.

Hatch has a tremendous impact as an off-the-field leader as well.

“He’s not a middle linebacker run-around [leader], he’s not like Sean Hayes of last year who would...dance around and get us pumped up in that way,” Iannuzzi said. “[He’s] more of a lead by example and lead by being a football player.”

“He’s just one of those quarterbacks who brings that calming presence into the huddle,” Richards added. “You’d walk off a cliff for the guy.”