Rookies Prove Their Worth

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.

But while Scales’ offensive breakout was expected, Owusu’s two picks came as a bit more of a pleasant surprise.

In fact, his first interception, which came midway through the first quarter, was on the rookie’s second defensive snap of the year.

“To be on the field itself was a great honor, and to just help this team out and do whatever I can—whether it’s on the sideline pumping our team up or on the field making plays,” Owusu said. “It was great to get that first pick, but you know that’s not what it’s all about. It’s about getting that victory.”

Owusu’s first pick was a momentum-killer for Cornell, who had just gotten the ball back after Harvard’s first touchdown. On the third play of the drive, Big Red quarterback Ben Ganter dropped back and threw the ball up for a short pass. Owusu read the play and hauled the ball in at the Cornell 35-yard line.

Though the Crimson would not capitalize on the chance—senior kicker Patrick Long went wide left on a 25-yard field goal attempt—Owusu did his best to make sure that the Big Red never got a chance to get back in the game.

When Cornell received the ball after Harvard’s second touchdown, Owusu gave the Crimson a repeat performance. On a first-and-10 Big Red play, Ganter aired it out downfield right into Owusu’s waiting hands.

Instead of the Big Red marching into the Harvard red zone, the Crimson hung onto the ball for the final minute of the half to end the threat.

“Working hard in practice, it shows in the game,” said Owusu, who also recorded a tackle. “It’s a privilege just to be out here and just to be able to play ball.”

The two rookies have given Murphy good reason to give them many more chances to play the game they love.

“We’ve got a lot of great kids and playmakers,” Murphy said. “One of the great things about coaching these kids is that, to a man, they’re very humble...You know, it’s an intangible, it’s a dynamic, but if you don’t have that great chemistry it just doesn’t work. These kids are all like that. It’s a pleasure coaching them.”

—Staff writer Kate Leist can be reached at kleist@fas.harvard.edu.