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Under the Friday night lights in Ithaca last week, as team captain and star running back Shane McLaughlin limped off the field with another minor injury, attention once again turned to Xaviah Bascon.

The sophomore running back followed up his breakout performance the previous week against the University of New Hampshire, where he managed to rack up 66 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns, with another impressive performance against Cornell.

With opposing defenses’ eyes glued to wide receivers Cooper Barkate and Scott Woods II, and the rest of the Crimson’s pass catchers combining for only 14 catches on the season so far, Bascon has provided a jolt of explosiveness that the Crimson’s offense has desperately needed. In the captain’s absence, the shifty runner teammates affectionately call “X” has been the team’s X-factor, totaling 165 rushing yards over the past two games.

The high-intensity workload is nothing new for Bascon. In high school, Bascon helped lead his team to two state championships despite fighting through a spinal fracture going into his senior year.

The Nahant, Mass. native set single-season school records for rushing yards (1,509), carries (210), and touchdowns (21) during his senior campaign at Swampscott High School. Bascon elected to complete a postgraduate year at Phillips Exeter Academy, where he earned the honor of team MVP.

While McLaughlin is a more traditional downhill runner, Bascon utilizes a different rushing style. Relying on his vision and elusiveness, Bascon employs a more patient approach, waiting for gaps to open up in the offensive line before making his big cut.

Reminiscent of a young Le’Veon Bell, Bascon’s deliberate approach has netted an average of 4.2 yards per carry in the last two games. Bascon has also stepped up as a pass blocker, helping to support an offensive line that was one of the biggest question marks entering the season, but has only allowed three sacks over the previous two games.

When Bascon arrived on campus last September, Assistant Coach Joel Lamb assigned McLaughlin to him as a mentor on the team — someone he could reach out to with questions or for advice about balancing football with school and social life.

Having two strong running backs — one an established leader on the team and one an up-and-coming talent — could have bred rivalry, but instead, McLaughlin has served as a guide for Bascon.

As Bascon navigates taking on a larger role on the team, he credits McLaughlin, alongside his coaches, for preparing him for this moment.

“Shane has done an incredible job with me, and just always being open to whatever questions I have and things beyond just the game of football,” Bascon said. “So he’s just been a super incredible leader for me, and someone I actually look up to.”

“I have such a profound respect for him and it makes me want to be so much better than I am, so it keeps pushing me,” he added.

For his part, McLaughlin said he sees some of himself in Bascon’s work ethic and approach to the game.

“He was a super, super intelligent guy who always had the right intentions and came with such a great work ethic every day,” McLaughlin said. “He, as a freshman, was able to get on the field, not only on special teams, but play running back, which is a huge accomplishment at a Division I program. He came in last year, and I understood, and he made clear his intentions to be a player for us.”

“He’s just such a tremendous guy, and if you ask anyone on the team, I’m sure they’ll all answer in the same way,” he added.

McLaughlin also noted the importance of having two or three running backs able to rotate through the offense during a game in such a physically demanding position.

According to Head Coach Andrew Aurich, McLaughlin’s injuries last week were a “lower body injury that he’s had for a little bit that he’s working through” and he should be ready to make a return on Saturday against Holy Cross.

Bascon also credited other older players, including seniors Chris Ramundo, Eric Little, and Austin Gentle as mentors for him.

Head Coach Andrew Aurich said he’s been “very pleased” with what he’s seen from Bascon this season.

“X has done a great job of handling a bigger workload, something he hasn’t really had up to this point in his career,” Aurich said. “You’re a running back you take a lot of hits in a game, so you’re extra sore, and he’s doing a great job of taking care of his body, making sure he’s feeling good, so he can come on Tuesday and practice, because practice is the most important thing.”

For Aurich, having an emerging young talent like Bascon blossom unexpectedly is a good omen for player development moving forward.

“I want to build a program that’s a developmental program where we can develop guys during the season,” the coach said.

Aurich pointed to team scrimmages with younger players as a way for them to “get reps” and continue “getting better.”

“There’ll be some more guys who will pop up this second half of the season who maybe you haven’t even seen in the field yet, and you’re like, ‘Oh, there’s another one,” Aurich said.

“If you don’t do that, you never know, and they’re just on scout team the entire time,” Aurich added. “So we intentionally are doing that to get guys involved.”

Holy Cross is always a dangerous opponent, and despite Harvard typically having the upper hand over the past five years — going 4-1 in matchups against the Crusaders despite the team being ranked going into three of those contests — both teams will be fighting to continue their two game win-streak.

For Bascon, these reps and development have helped him learn his role and work with the players around him.

“That’s probably the most important thing, is being able to do my job,” Bascon said. “Because you build that trust within the program, within the guys that you go out on the field with.”

“I just try to prove to them that they can believe in me and that we can all get our job done together,” he added.

Bascon and the rest of the Crimson will face off against Holy Cross this Saturday at noon at Harvard Stadium. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.

—Staff writer Jo B. Lemann can be reached at jo.lemann@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @Jo_Lemann.

—Staff writer Praveen Kumar can be reached at praveen.kumar@thecrimson.com.