This grab set up Viviano’s second rushing touchdown of the day and capped off a quarter in which Harvard found the end zone three times.

Earlier in the game, the Berwyn, Pa. signal caller darted out of the pocket on a third-and-five, sidestepped a pair of defenders with a subtle head fake, and jogged into the end zone.

Following this score, sophomore quarterback Cam Tripp took the field for the extra point, and the Crimson faked the kick to pick up the two-point conversion.

Along with Viviano, Smith dominated the rushing game. The Coral Springs, Fla. native gained 89 yards on 22 touches, adding two touchdowns.

Harvard’s secondary limited standout senior wide receiver Alex Jette to 79 yards. The Crimson also picked off senior quarterback Kyle Moreno three times. These turnovers were critical in reining in the Moreno-Jette duo and limiting the Bears’ offense to 22 points, since Moreno also racked up 302 yards in the air with three touchdowns.

“With the interceptions, it’s always nice to get off the field and kind of shift the momentum of the game,” senior safety Kolbi Brown said. “But [we] definitely have a lot to work on as a secondary unit. We’ll get back in next week, continue to get better as a unit.”

Perhaps the most important factor in forcing Brown to miss out on 10 third-down conversions and waste crucial scoring opportunities was the performance of Harvard’s defensive line. That front seven stifled the Bears’ run game throughout all four quarters, as junior Jalen Broome picked up the most yards on the ground with a mere 37.

Brown also missed one extra point attempt and one two-point conversion on the day. These three points could have made the difference late in the game if the Bears threatened to score again, but Brown was never able to get within striking distance in the fourth quarter.

The Crimson’s 2016 Ivy League opener did not take on the same flavor as last year’s 53-27 rout, but Harvard left Brown Stadium with its second consecutive quality victory over a Rhode Island opponent.

“It was closer this year,” Brown coach Phil Estes said. “We still have a lot of things that we have to correct. The things that stand out are three turnovers on our part. Not good.”

—Staff writer Jack Stockless can be reached at jackstockless@college.harvard.edu.