Sophomore quarterback Connor Hempel led the team on a 58-yard drive that culminated in a field goal to start the second half.

Harvard did not score after that, as the offense played conservatively up 49 points. In the final few minutes of the contest, freshman signal caller Scott Hosch got time behind center as well.

Despite a lack of scoring, Stanton racked up nearly 80 yards on just eight carries and also returned a kickoff 42 yards on his first touch in college football.

“I went back and watched [Stanton’s] highlight film in the summer about 10 times saying, ‘I think this kid’s really good,’ and you know what? He’s really good,” Murphy said “He gave us a huge lift. He showed us he’s a real player at this level.”

While the Crimson offense cooled off, Harvard’s defense kept up its pressure for the entirety of the game.

Holy Cross’s best chance to score in the second half came early in the fourth quarter as the Crusaders drove the ball to within the Crimson’s five-yard line. After an incompletion and two thwarted running attempts, Holy Cross went for a touchdown on fourth down from the three, but a pressure-induced incompletion ended the threat.

The Crusaders’ starting signal caller was eventually pulled from the game but was put back in after the backup fumbled back-to-back snaps, the second of which was recovered by Harvard.

Holy Cross finished with just 191 yards offensively compared to the Crimson’s 520.

—Staff writer Jacob D. H. Feldman can be reached at jacobfeldman@college.harvard.edu.

—Follow him on Twitter @jacobfeldman4.