Dawson Runs Wild

This one wasn’t going to be easy.

With star junior quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick sidelined with a broken hand and junior Garret Schires making his first career start, the Harvard football team came into Saturday’s game against Lafayette unsure if it could keep its offensive juggernaut going.

Fortunately for the No. 22 Crimson (5-0, 2-0 Ivy), freshman running back Clifton Dawson provided an answer.

Dawson ran for 218 yards on 26 carries—second most ever by a Harvard back at Harvard Stadium—and scored four touchdowns as he led the Crimson to a 34-27 come-from-behind victory over the Leopards (3-3, 0-2 Patriot).

Dawson’s final touchdown came with 2:11 to go in the fourth quarter and sealed the victory for the Crimson—capping a string of 27 straight points.

After junior linebacker Bobby Everett intercepted Lafayette quarterback Marko Glavic’s pass at the Harvard goal line, the Crimson took over at their own five-yard line, nursing a 27-20 lead with 3:48 left to play. Four plays later—with the Leopards crowding the line of scrimmage to protect against the run—Dawson took a handoff from Schires, found a hole on the left side of the line, side-stepped a defender and sprinted down the sideline untouched for a 71-yard touchdown.

“Right from the beginning I saw the offensive line did a great job blocking,” Dawson said. “As soon as I saw that, I saw nothing but open field. And I’m very confident in my abilities to, when I’m in the open field, get into the end zone.”

Despite Dawson’s big day, the game did not start as well for the Crimson as it ended. After Dawson scored on Harvard’s second possession with a 23-yard touchdown run—giving Harvard an early 7-0 lead—the Crimson offense stalled.

Schires, getting his first substantial action since his freshman year, seemed out of rhythm with the offense—completing only one pass in the first quarter. Harvard’s kicking game didn’t help either, as senior kicker Adam Kingston missed field goals of 20 and 27 yards in the second quarter.

Lafayette took advantage of Schires’ early discomfort and the missed kicks to build a solid third-quarter lead. Glavic’s 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tim Walsh to open the quarter capped a 14-play, 72-yard drive, putting Harvard in a 20-7 hole.

But on the ensuing kickoff, Dawson returned the ball 36 yards to the Lafayette 47, giving the offense the spark it needed.

After eight straight rushing plays—five to Dawson—the Crimson faced a third-and-goal at the Lafayette seven. With the fans on their feet, Schires found freshman receiver Corey Mazza all alone in the back of the end zone for a behind-the-body, acrobatic sliding catch. On the Leopards’ next possession, senior linebacker Dante Balestracci and junior defensive tackle Matthew McBurney teamed up to make the play of the game. As Glavic dropped back to pass deep in his own territory, Balestracci came on a blitz up the middle and nailed the quarterback just as he was about to pass, knocking the ball loose. McBurney fell on the ball and the Crimson took over on Lafayette’s 16-yard line.

“It was the turning point in the game,” said Harvard coach Tim Murphy.

From then on, the Crimson controlled the game.

Three plays later, Dawson converted the turnover into points, busting through the line with a three-yard touchdown run, his second of the day.

“We really turned it on in the second half and came together as a unit,” said Schires, who had a strong final three quarters, finishing the day 12 of 20 for 201 yards and a TD. “The O-line did a great job and was able to open it up and when a guy runs for 200 yards it makes my job a lot easier.”

Harvard’s next drive was its most impressive of the day. The Crimson received the ball on its own 18 and proceeded to march downfield for a 12-play, 82-yard drive that ate up 5:22 off the clock in the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Schires led Harvard the drive as he completed passes of 16 and 22 yards to get the Crimson moving. Dawson, who was now facing eight- and nine-man fronts from Lafayette, carried the ball five times during the drive and scored his third touchdown of the day with a three-yard run off the left tackle. After Kingston missed the extra point wide right—his third missed kick of the day—Harvard had a 27-20 lead.

“We hadn’t run [the ball] in a couple of games,” Murphy said. “It probably wasn’t something they necessarily focused on.”

The strong running game wasn’t limited to Harvard. While Dawson stole the show, Leopard back Joe McCourt ran for 103 yards—complementing Glavic, who in the third quarter became Lafayette’s all-time leading passer.

The Leopards held the offensive momentum until midway through the third quarter. After Kingston’s first missed field goal in the second quarter, Lafayette marched down the field to score on an 11-yard scramble by Glavic. But senior kicker Michael Beatrice missed the extra point and the score stood at 7-6.

On their next possession, the Leopards took the lead 13-7 when Glavic hit senior receiver Jeremy Burkes on a fade pattern deep in the end zone. The deficit marked the first time this season the Crimson has trailed in a game.

“It was obviously a hard-fought football game out there,” said Lafayette coach Frank Tavani. “We came in with confidence that we could certainly come up here and play with these people.”

But after scoring on their opening drive in the second half, the Leopards couldn’t maintain the lead.

Glavic drove his offense deep into Crimson territory late in the fourth quarter, and Lafayette seemed poised to tie the game. But Everett’s interception and Dawson’s run ended any chance the Leopards had, managing only a meaningless touchdown with 11 seconds left in the game.

“The great thing about today’s victory was we found out what we could do with our back against the wall,” Murphy said. “I’m so pleased and proud of the way our guys responded in the second half.”