The able Crimson rushing attack was supplemented by a defensive effort that seemed to overwhelm the young Leopards’ offense all game long.

As Lafayette looked to mount a two-minute drill and trim the Harvard lead at the end of the first half, Dzurik lofted a high pass down the right sideline around midfield. But Harvard defensive back Chris Splinter tracked the ball the entire way and made a leaping interception, his first of the season.

Even though freshman quarterback Drew Reed replaced Dzurik at the beginning of the second half, it was the same story all over again for Lafayette. On his first possession behind center, the freshman’s high throw was picked off by senior cornerback DJ Monroe on the right sideline.

The Leopards failed to score a touchdown in the first three quarters of play, and the team’s only points before the fourth quarter came on a second-quarter field goal. Harvard held Lafayette tailback Ross Scheuerman, who scored three touchdowns last week against Princeton, to only 68 yards on 21 carries.

The one sour note for the Harvard defense was the loss of junior linebacker Connor Sheehan, who suffered a fractured left elbow early in the second half and will likely be out for the rest of the season.

Reed threw for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but by that point the outcome of the game had been long decided.

“The morale of the team is very high right now,” captain Joshua Boyd said. “Obviously it’s one game at a time and we don’t look too far ahead, but we had some fun today because we put in a lot of work this week.”

--Staff writer David Steinbach can be reached at David.Steinbach@thecrimson.com