CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Senior running back Aidan Borguet ran for a pair of touchdowns, and senior quarterback Charlie Dean threw for another, but Harvard University football fell to No. 11/10 Holy Cross, 30-21, on Saturday afternoon at Harvard Stadium.
 
The Crimson (2-1) took a 14-7 lead in the second quarter on Borguet's two touchdown runs, remained within 17-14 at halftime, and kept within 24-21 in the third quarter following a touchdown connection between Dean and senior wide receiver Kym Wimberly before the nationally ranked Crusaders (5-0) made two field goals in the fourth quarter to hold off a comeback attempt from Harvard.

Harvard Highlights

• Senior running back Aidan Borguet ran for 80 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. He tallied his fourth and fifth rushing scores of the season and fifth and sixth touchdowns overall. Borguet has scored a touchdown in all three of the Crimson's games in 2022 and tallied two scores for the second time this year.
• Senior quarterback Charlie Dean completed 19-of-34 passes for 262 yards and a touchdown. He threw for over 200 yards without an interception for the second straight game. He has thrown a touchdown in every game this year.
• Senior wide receiver Kym Wimberly caught nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. He posted his third receiving score of the year. Wimberly has gone over 75 receiving yards in all three games this season.
• Sophomore wide receiver Ledger Hatch made three catches for 62 yards, including a long catch of 55 yards while senior receiver Jack Bill made four receptions for 40 yards and added 106 kickoff return yards, including a 60-yard return to open the game.
• Senior defensive back James Herring totaled 10 tackles, including seven solo stops, alongside a pass breakup in the end zone on a third-down play.
• Senior defensive lineman Truman Jones totaled four tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, and two quarterback hurries. 

 

How It Happened

• Senior Jack Bill began the game with a 60-yard kickoff return, but the Crimson was unable to convert on a 37-yard field goal attempt on its opening drive. Senior wide receiver Kym Wimberly made a 12-yard catch on a fourth-and-seven play to keep the drive alive.
• The Crusaders opened the game's scoring with 7:04 to go in the first quarter with quarterback Matthew Sluka rushing for a 27-yard touchdown to make the score 7-0.
• Harvard answered less than three minutes later as senior running back Aidan Borguet scored on a seven-yard touchdown run, tying the score at 7-7 with 4:46 left in the first quarter. A 55-yard pitch-and-catch from senior quarterback Charlie Dean to sophomore wide receiver Ledger Hatch set up the score. The Crimson went five plays and 75 yards in 2:18 on the drive.
• Borguet found the end zone again with 5:52 remaining in the second quarter, rushing the ball in from 20 yards out to give the Crimson its first lead of the game at 14-7. The rush capped an eight-play, 78-yard drive in 3:05 for Harvard.
• The Crusaders knotted the score at 14-14 with 4:33 to play until halftime as Sluka connected with Ayir Asante on a 53-yard touchdown.
• Holy Cross tacked on a 25-yard field goal with 1:35 left in the second quarter to move ahead 17-14 with the Harvard defense keeping the Crusaders out of the end zone on a short field. After the visitors took over on the 23-yard line and advanced the ball to the five, Harvard tallied three consecutive plays of no gain or a loss. Senior defensive lineman Truman Jones posted a sack and tackle for loss on back-to-back plays to force the field goal attempt.
• The Crusaders scored on the opening drive of the second half as Sluka found Jalen Coker for a two-yard touchdown at the 11:37 mark of the third quarter, making the score 24-14.
• Harvard cut into the Holy Cross lead as Dean connected with Wimberly for a 19-yard touchdown, bringing the Crimson within 24-21 with 8:32 left in the third quarter. The Crimson drove eight plays and 77 yards in 2:58 for the score. A 35-yard pass from Dean to junior tight end Tim Dowd helped put Harvard in position for the TD.
• With the Crusaders in the red zone with under six minutes to play in the third quarter, senior safety James Herring broke up a third-down pass in the end zone, forcing the Crusaders into a 36-yard field goal attempt which went off the right upright.
• Holy Cross' Derek Ng made a 27-yard field goal with 9:20 to go in the fourth quarter to put the Crusaders up 27-21.
• Ng connected on a 49-yard field goal with 1:24 to play to put the Crusaders up two scores at 30-21. 

Game Notes and Quotes

• Harvard moved to 45-26-2 all-time vs. Holy Cross, including an 18-7 mark under Tim Murphy, The Thomas Stephenson Family Head Coach for Harvard Football.
• The Crimson moved to 49-15 in the month of October since 2006.
• Harvard is now 458-228-34 all-time at Harvard Stadium and 45-12 since 2010.
• Overall, Harvard's all-time record is now 889-406-50.
• Harvard scored points for the 231^st consecutive game.
• "I thought we did well, and our players did a really good job, we just made too many mistakes. I give Holy Cross credit for that. We have a great coaching staff and great players, so we have the opportunity to fix those mistakes." – Tim Murphy
• "There are absolutely positives we can take out of this game. They are a ranked team, so we had to make some adjustments, but overall, we played hard." – Truman Jones
• "Playing better should be part of our nature at this point. It is early in the season, and we do have to work out a few kinks, but that is no excuse. We still have to show up on all fronts." – Aidan Borguet

Next Up

Harvard returns to Ivy League play when it plays in a nationally televised game at Cornell on Friday, Oct. 7 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPNU) in Ithaca, New York, at Schoellkopf Field.