Harvard’s Newcomers Shine in Football’s Season-Opening Road Win Over New Hampshire

DURHAM, N.H. — For the sixth straight season, the Harvard football team (1-0) began its campaign with a victory, demolishing the University of New Hampshire (1-3, 0-1 CAA) by a score of 31-7 at Wildcat Stadium. After scoring just seven points in the first 29 minutes, the Crimson scored two touchdowns in the last 53 seconds of the second quarter to open a substantial lead and set the tone for the rest of the game.

Freshman receiver Nate Bailey shined in his first collegiate contest, scoring consecutive rushing and receiving touchdowns in a span of 35 seconds before finishing the game with 73 all-purpose yards. Starting quarterback sophomore Charlie Smith added 71 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception in his own collegiate debut, as the young Harvard offense temporarily sputtered in its first game after the graduation of all-time leading passer Jaden Craig.

“Definitely some execution things we got to get cleaned up on all in all three phases,” head coach Andrew Aurich said after the game. “I mentioned the defense had bowed up when they needed to, but there was a reason that they had to bow up. And they got it done and got off the field, which is what elite defenses do, but there’s something we can build off here.”

“But if you’re in a position, and you win 31-7, and you’re finding things that you got to get better at, it’s a good spot to be at,” Aurich added.

Harvard’s first three touchdowns were all scored by freshmen, and rookie defensive lineman Mikhal Johnson also recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter. The win marked a strong start for Aurich’s second recruiting class, which was ranked first in the Ivy League by 247Sports. Sophomore running back Cole Allen also excelled in his collegiate debut, recording a team-high 62 rushing yards.

“We do have a number of young guys out there,” the head coach said. “Those young guys are only going to get better the more reps they get. It’s good to have guys like [senior linebacker] Sean [Line] and the other guys that are out there and can steady things for us. So, just happy with the effort. We’re going to learn from this. We’re going to grow from this. It’s going to be a better team next week because of this.”

The Crimson’s defensive front was a bright spot, recording seven sacks and holding New Hampshire to just 49 yards on 38 carries (1.29 yards per carry). Line tallied 10 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, and forced a fumble, while senior defensive end Josh Fedd had four tackles and two sacks.

“We were top in the nation last year up until week eight, and we spiraled downhill, so we know we can never settle,” Line said. “We know the defense we’ve got to be. We’re not there yet, so we’re just gonna keep going.”

Both offenses started the game sloppily, and the game began as a battle for field position. After six of the first seven drives ended with a punt, Harvard capitalized on a strong punt return by Bailey in the second quarter to set up a drive starting from the Wildcats’ 32-yard line. Senior running back Jordan Harris broke free for a 25-yard run on the next play, before freshman backup quarterback Kise Flannery drove down the middle for a one-yard rushing touchdown.

New Hampshire answered with a touchdown on its next drive to even the score at 7-7. However, a couple of drives later, the Crimson’s offense struck again with a tricky reverse touchdown that completely fooled the Wildcats’ defense, allowing Bailey to walk into the end zone with less than a minute to go in the half.

Attempting to respond before the break, New Hampshire’s senior quarterback Brooks Bentley threw an errant out route, which junior defensive back DJ Vincent-Thomas picked off and returned to the Wildcats’ 13-yard line. On the next play, Bailey found himself wide open in the middle of the end zone and caught Smith’s first career touchdown pass to put Harvard ahead 21-7 at halftime.

“Charlie’s one of the best quarterbacks I’ve played with,” said Bailey. “Charlie can spin it really well, and he’s technically another young guy, but he has a lot of knowledge, so I learned a lot from him.”

The third quarter brought renewed defensive intensity, and Harvard’s first drive stalled at the New Hampshire 37-yard line. Junior kicker Kieran Corr came up just short on his first field goal attempt of the year, a 55-yarder into the wind that would’ve been a career-long, narrowly beating out his 53-yard game-winner against Penn last season.

Facing first-and-10 from the Harvard 37-yard-line on the Wildcats’ next drive, pressure from the defensive line forced New Hampshire quarterback Brooks Bentley to chuck a deep ball towards the end zone into double coverage that went over his receiver’s head. Junior defensive back Xaden Benson fully extended to make a diving interception.

Smith returned the favor on the ensuing drive, though, registering his first collegiate interception on an underthrown deep ball down the seam, but recovered to make a crushing tackle to end the return. The Charlotte, N.C., native finished the game completing 11 of his 19 passes (58%), and averaging 3.7 yards per attempt.

At the end of the third quarter, Harvard started a 13-play, 84-yard march that lasted more than seven minutes. While the Crimson couldn’t reach paydirt on the drive, Harvard added a field goal that made New Hampshire’s deficit three scores.

Then, the defense quickly forced a three-and-out, and a shanked 16-yard Wildcats punt put Harvard at the Wildcats’ 25-yard line with just over ten minutes to go. Smith connected with junior running back Maddux Reid for a game-long 22-yard pass, setting up captain running back Xaviah Bascon to punch in a late one-yard touchdown.

As the clock wound down, senior quarterback Dante Torres took reps under center, and the Harvard defensive line continued to excel, at one point registering sacks on three consecutive plays. As a unit, the defense allowed only 87 yards in the second half to stymie the home team and lock in the victory.

With the win, the Crimson maintained its perfect record against New Hampshire, moving to 9-0 all time against the Wildcats in a series that dates back to 1929. Aurich acknowledged how valuable a strong finish to the first half was in keeping the streak intact.

“This game went our way because of what we did in the last two minutes of the first half,” he said. “Somebody went to mow their lawn when it was 7-7 with two minutes left in the half, and then they walked back in the room; it’s 21-7 now. That’s execution to me. Some people say it’s lucky. No, that’s execution.”

The Crimson will return to action on Friday night, traveling to Centerville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, R.I., to take on Brown (1-0) at 7 p.m. EDT in its first conference clash of the season.

—Staff writer Connor Castañeda can be reached at [email protected].

—Staff writer Maxwell P. Friedman can be reached at [email protected].

—Staff writer Samuel S. Rudavsky can be reached at [email protected].