NOTEBOOK: Crusaders Halt Gordon, Run

WORCESTER, Mass.—The most important play in Harvard’s Saturday matchup with Holy Cross came on a fourth down, and it wasn’t junior receiver Chris Lorditch’s 45-yard touchdown reception that brought the Crimson within seven points late in the final quarter.

The pivotal moment in the contest came after the Harvard offense responded to a Crusader run of 20 unanswered points with a touchdown of its own. Relying on junior tailback Gino Gordon for the majority of the grunt work, the Crimson marched 67 yards down field and planted the ball in the Crusader’s endzone—bringing the score to 20-13 as Holy Cross fans with shirts declaring “God is on our side” looked on in rapt dismay. After Holy Cross went three-and-out, Harvard’s squad looked ready to cross the pylons for a second time in the quarter as it assembled a 49-yard drive. When the offensive machine stalled out on the Holy Cross 15, Harvard coach Tim Murphy passed on the field goal and instead opted to give Gordon the ball in a fourth-and-three situation.

“I didn’t feel great about where we were for a field goal,” Murphy said. “We wanted to try to get something done there. We needed seven points to win the game.”

Gordon pushed forward, hitting a wall of linemen. As he struggled to make a hole in the fray, Crusader Marcus Rodriguez tackled the Crimson’s starting tailback to the ground, ending the drive.

Harvard’s momentum was dealt a serious blow—as was Gordon.

After taking his time to get up, Gordon left the field with his teammates’ help. He reappeared briefly at the end of the fourth quarter, contributing two yards in as many carries, but it was clear that some of the wind had been taken of Gordon, as well as the Crimson offense.

RUNNING ON EMPTY

Aside from the Gordon-anchored touchdown drive in the third quarter, Harvard struggled to establish a solid run game.

Despite earning only two yards in the fourth quarter, Gordon led the Crimson’s rushing front with 67 yards and a touchdown.

With Gordon out of the game, freshman Treavor Scales took the reins. Forced to step up, the rookie contributed 11 yards in the fourth after running for 20 on five carries in the previous three quarters. Scales showed promise but could not comprise an effective run game by himself.

“He’s a tough kid—poised,” Murphy said. “We didn’t do a good enough job in the running game today to beat a good football team.”

Without a reliable run game, Harvard fell back on junior quarterback Collier Winters in his first start behind center to provide the bulk of the offense.

“The first game is difficult to come out and be hitting on all cylinders with everybody,” Winters said.

Winters scrambled for 40 yards throughout the game, good for the second highest in rushing for the Crimson.

Senior Cheng Ho had a cameo in the final quarter, taking the field once and amassing eight yards.

ROUGH HOUSING

The pleasantries normally exchanged between friends who see each other but once a year were lost somewhere on the field in Saturday’s contest. The Crusaders strutted into the third contest of their season ready to fight, and the Crimson did not shy away from showing emotion in the game, either.

Heated sentiments were exchanged throughout the game and continued to boil even into the final seconds when a scuffle nearly broke out between the opposing lines.

The most quantifiable embodiment—and perhaps source, as well—of the players’ emotions came in the form of several defensive infractions against Holy Cross.

Penalties were a frequent source of discontent on the Crusader bench; Holy Cross was set back 120 yards on 10 penalties relative to 50 yards of lost ground on six Harvard penalties. But it was a series of roughing the passer calls that ignited attitudes throughout Fitton Field.

The first came early in the game when a Crusader was charged with using his head as a weapon. The call nullified a three-yard loss and gave the Crimson a boost in its first drive. Cries arose from purple-clad players and coaching staff alike as Harvard marched its way up field 15 yards en route to an eventual touchdown.

Holy Cross faced similar charges twice more in the half, although the ensuing outrage from the home sideline and fans was not further provoked, since Harvard failed to score on both of those drives.

—Staff writer Emmett Kistler can be reached at ekistler@fas.harvard.edu.