Scales' Four Touchdowns Lead Football to 45-31 Win Over Brown in Ivy Opener

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—After rushing for 173 yards and two touchdowns in Harvard football’s season-opening win over San Diego last week, there was not much Treavor Scales could have done for an encore.

But Saturday at Brown, the senior running back was able to match that performance and then eclipse it, rushing for 138 yards on just 18 carries and scoring a career-high four touchdowns to lead the Crimson to a 45-31 win over the Bears.

The senior found the end zone three times in the second half, during which time Harvard (2-0, 1-0 Ivy) scored on four consecutive drives to earn its 11th straight win dating back to last season—the longest current streak in the FCS.

“I think the offense line really took control of the game in the second half,” Crimson coach Tim Murphy said. “We just made a lot of big plays today.”

After enduring a back-and-forth first half and a three and out on its first possession of the second, Harvard had a number of those large gains on its second drive of the third quarter, going 81 yards in 13 plays for a touchdown.

Senior quarterback Colton Chapple completed passes to junior tight end Cameron Brate on a third-and-five and to senior tight end Kyle Juszczyk on a third-and-four from the Bears 21 to keep the drive alive. Then, from 10 yards out, Chapple ran the option to perfection, pitching to Scales who scored untouched to put Harvard up, 24-14.

“We rep the heck out of that play, so when the call comes, we have the utmost confidence in it,” Scales said of the option.

Following an unsportsmanlike conduct on the senior for celebrating his touchdown, Brown (1-1, 0-1) started its next drive at its own 47. It used the short field to its advantage, as wideout Jonah Fay beat senior cornerback D.J. Monroe down the left sideline and caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Donnelly.

But Harvard answered right back on its next drive, going 69 yards in just five plays. Chapple hit Smith for 11 yards on an out route, handed off to Scales who picked up 20 on the ground, and then found junior Andrew Berg deep for a 35-yard diving catch down the right sideline. Following a delay of game penalty, the quarterback faked a handoff to Scales and took it in himself from six yards out to put the Crimson ahead, 31-17.

Beginning its next possession near midfield once again following a good kick return, Brown responded with its second consecutive touchdown. After three quick plays, Alexander Viox got open behind safety Jonathan Mason in the end zone for a 16-yard score.

But from there, Scales took over, just as he did in the fourth quarter a week ago.

On a third and five from the Brown 41, Murphy called a draw play that caught the Bears’ defense off guard, and Scales exploded to the end zone untouched to put the Crimson up, 38-24. Following a Brown punt, Chapple again moved Harvard down the field quickly with a 24-yard strike to Juszczyk and a 10-yard completion to Brate before Scales broke a number of tackles on a powerful 20-yard run for his fourth score of the game—one shy of the Crimson all-time record.

“You have to go back to pee-wee ball to get those types of numbers,” Scales said with a laugh.

A Bears touchdown in garbage time could not stop Harvard from picking up its 11th Ivy opening win in its last 14 tries.

“Harvard’s a very good football team,” Brown coach Phil Estes said. “They were strong, they were physical, and they were well coached.”

But it was Brown that looked to possess those attributes early on. On its first possession of the contest, the Bears went 80 yards in just under four minutes largely thanks to a 43-yard completion to Fay that came after sophomore cornerback Norman Hayes slipped in coverage. Brown running back Spiro Theodhosi, filling in for injured starter Mark Kachmer, finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown run.

Harvard responded on its next possession, as five straight completions by Chapple—whose accuracy struggles of a week ago were nowhere to be found Saturday—helped set the Crimson up with a first and goal from the one. But the quarterback fumbled the ensuing snap and, after recovering, overthrew sophomore Cameron Brate in the end zone and was stopped short of the goal line on a bootleg on the next two plays. Harvard was forced to settle for a field goal to narrow the deficit to 7-3.

But on its next possession, the Crimson went 98 yards for the touchdown. Chapple completed six of his first seven passes on the drive to bring Harvard down to the red zone. A nine-yard completion to Juszczyk, a five-yard rush by Scales, and a five-yard completion to Smith II set the Crimson up at the one. On third and goal, Scales dove over the pile for the score, putting Harvard up, 10-7.

“It’s a game of field position all the time,” Estes said. “We put them in bad field position, and they found a way to get out.”

On the next Bears drive, Hayes forced a Theodhosi fumble that was recovered by senior linebacker Joshua Boyd, and the Crimson took over at the Brown 35. After a Bears penalty for having 12 men on the field, Chapple fired a pass to the left corner of the end zone, and Smith made an acrobatic leaping catch over Brown All-American cornerback A.J. Cruz for another Crimson touchdown.

“We had called a play hoping to get zone coverage, and it turned out they were in man,” Chapple said. “Cruz is one of the best corners in the game, so to see Seitu go up and just take the ball out of the air like that was awesome.

“Especially after the defense forces a turnover, it was a huge momentum shift,” he added.

But on the next Harvard possession, Chapple was hit rolling left and lost the ball while trying to throw, and Brown recovered at the Crimson 25. The Harvard defense was able to hold the Bears to the field goal to make it 17-10 with just under two minutes to go in the half.

That would prove to be the lone mistake on the afternoon for the senior quarterback, who finished 30 of 40 for 351 yards. Using both his arms and his legs, Chapple also helped Harvard go 9 for 12 on third down, compared to just 3 of 10 for Brown.

“They executed extremely well,” Estes said. “We just couldn’t make stops.”

—Staff writer Scott A. Sherman can be reached at ssherman13@college.harvard.edu.