ITHACA, N.Y.—Even a quick glance at this year’s Harvard football roster would have shown that the Crimson would be relying on some different faces to win games this season. And on Saturday, Harvard was bolstered by some new names—just not the ones you would expect.

On an afternoon where many of the Crimson’s big names were quiet, it was a pair of freshmen who carried Harvard to a 28-10 victory at Cornell.

Rookies Treavor Scales and Brian Owusu each contributed a pair of big plays—two touchdowns for running back Scales and two interceptions for defensive back Owusu—to cement their roles as players to watch as the Crimson’s season unfolds.

Scales’ stat line—23 carries for 92 yards and two scores—was the breakout performance Harvard had been waiting for from the tailback, who has been buzzed about since his arrival on campus in August.

The rookie showed early promise against Holy Cross and Brown, getting 11 touches for 56 yards in the two contests. But it was a play that was called back against the Bears that gave Crimson fans a taste of what was to come.

In the fourth quarter, Scales took a handoff from junior quarterback Collier Winters and ran, breaking a number of tackles and moving the ball nearly sixty yards up the field as the home crowd roared in support.

But the run never made it into the box score, as junior Chris Lorditch was whistled for holding on the same play, and Harvard was called all the way back to replay the down.

On Saturday, Scales showed that the run wasn’t a fluke.

After missing last week’s game to attend his grandmother’s funeral, the rookie slipped back into his role as junior Gino Gordon’s backup. But with the Crimson’s aerial attack faltering—Winters was 9-of-25 for just 104 yards with one interception—Scales was called into action early and often.

“For the first two games, we had thrown the heck out of the ball, and we talked about working towards balancing our offense,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “What we [have] to do is put it all together...We didn’t throw it so well the last two games. It was nice to be able to go another route.”

Scales—who was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week—carried the ball for 14 yards on Harvard’s opening drive, including a five-yard punch-in for the Crimson’s first touchdown, and never slowed down.

Though he didn’t come up with a long rush—his longest carry was for eight yards—his consistency chipped away at the Big Red defense. Scales averaged four yards a carry, and lost just four yards on the ground in the game.

And considering the emotional toll the last two weeks has taken on the rookie, his performance is even more impressive.

“It helped coming back to a wonderful support group, which is my team,” Scales said. “Everybody around me was just so welcoming as soon as I got off the plane and got back to campus. ”

The tailback capped his day with a three-yard touchdown run in the fourth.