DELAND, Fla. – Senior quarterback Jaden Craig threw for 208 yards and two touchdowns in one half of game action, five different Crimson players posted rushing touchdowns, and Harvard Football defeated Stetson, 59-7, in its season opener on Saturday afternoon at Spec Martin Stadium.
 
Opening its 151^st season and playing its first game in the state of Florida, the Crimson (1-0) held a 28-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 45-0 advantage at halftime on its way to the victory over the host Hatters (1-3).
 
Craig connected on 10-of-13 passes for 208 yards and his two scores while Isaiah Bullock, Xaviah Bascon, Maddux Reid, Dante Torres, and DJ Gordon all scored on the ground, including two rushing scores for Bullock. Ryan Tattersall and Dean Boyd each hauled in touchdown receptions while Damien Henderson notched both an interception and a fumble recovery.

How It Happened

• Harvard opened the scoring at the 11:56 mark of the first quarter as junior running back Xaviah Bascon made his way into the end zone from 11 yards out, giving the Crimson a 7-0 lead.
• After sophomore defensive lineman Christian Nwosu jumped on a fumble in the red zone, senior running back Isaiah Bullock powered into the end zone from one yard out to make the score 14-0 with 4:33 left in the first quarter.
• The Crimson's longest play of the first half came as senior quarterback Jaden Craig connected with first-year wide receiver on a 69-yard strike on the first play of a drive to bring the score to 21-0 with 2:56 to go in the first.
• Following a forced fumble from senior safety Ty Bartrum and fumble recovery from junior defensive back Damien Henderson, Bullock barreled his way into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game to put Harvard up 28-0 with 1:04 to play in the first.
• Sophomore running back Maddux Reid scored his first career touchdown, capping a 9-play, 55-yard drive with a two-yard rush to stake the Crimson to a 35-0 edge with 9:30 left in the second quarter.
• After an interception from Henderson, sophomore kicker Dylan Fingersh hit a 29-yard field goal, making the difference 38-0 with 6:01 to go until halftime.
• The Crimson capped the first half's scoring as Craig found senior wide receiver Dean Boyd on a 29-yard connection, giving Harvard a 45-0 lead with 1:54 until the half.
• Stetson found the end zone with 8:12 to play in the third quarter as Kael Alexander hit Michael Dempsey on a 30-yard touchdown to bring the score to 45-6.
• Junior quarterback Dante Torres rushed around the edge from five yards out with 17 seconds left in the third quarter, staking the visitors to a 52-7 lead.
• Sophomore athlete DJ Gordon capped the game's scoring, breaking multiple tackles on a 27-yard touchdown run, pushing Harvard ahead 59-7 with 5:43 remaining in the fourth. 

Team Notes

• With today's win, Harvard …
  • Improved to 5-0 in its last five season openers, 20-4 in its last 24 openers, and to 124-25-2 all-time in openers
  • Moved to 5-0 in its last five non-league games and to 11-0 in its last 11 non-league games against unranked teams
  • Bettered its record to 52-12 in its last 64 non-league games since 2003
  • Has followed a loss with a win in its last nine opportunities to do so
  • Went to 10-1 in its last 11 games in the month of September and to 44-10 in September since 2001
  • Topped Stetson for the second straight year in the second all-time meeting between the teams
• Harvard totaled 473 yards of total offense with 281 yards passing and 192 yards rushing, while limiting Stetson to 205 yards of total offense.
• The Crimson averaged 4.8 yards per carry with 192 yards on 40 attempts, while the defense held the Hatters to 1.8 yards per carry (56 yards on 31 attempts).
• Harvard converted all three of its fourth-down attempts
• The Crimson scored points on 6-of-7 red zone opportunities.

Player Notes

• Senior quarterback Jaden Craig completed 10-of-13 passes (76.9 percent) for 208 yards and two touchdowns in one half of game action.
• Junior quarterback Dante Torres relieved Craig in the second half, hitting on 3-of-6 passes for 73 yards alongside a rushing touchdown.
• Senior running back Isaiah Bullock rushed for a pair of touchdowns.
• Sophomore athlete DJ Gordon tallied 11 rushing attempts for 53 yards and a touchdown.
• Junior running back Xaviah Bascon ran for 36 yards and a touchdown on three carries.
• Sophomore running back Maddux Reid rushed six times for 28 yards and a score.
• First-year wide receiver Ryan Tattersall caught two passes for 81 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown reception.
• Senior wide receiver Dean Boyd grabbed two receptions for 46 yards and a TD.
• Junior defensive back Damien Henderson totaled an interception and a fumble recovery.
• Sophomore defensive lineman Christian Nwosu notched a fumble recovery and a sack.
• Senior safety Ty Bartrum posted a forced fumble and four tackles.
• Senior linebacker Jaden Kinlock totaled a game-high 11 tackles with five solo stops and six assisted tackles.
• Sophomore defensive lineman Griffin Egan added a sack.
• Sophomore placekicker Dylan Fingersh connected on his one field goal attempt from 29 yards alongside an 8-of-8 mark on PATs. 

Postgame Quotes

• "I was really happy with the first half. I thought we executed at a really high level other than the one fumble. We went right back to Isaiah after that, because I wanted to see how he responded and he responded with two straight runs for a touchdown. Our defense was playing at a really high level, I thought we did a good job owning the line of scrimmage. The offensive line was doing the same thing. Jaden did a really good job, mixing the ball around and executing. That first half – that's how I want us to look other than the fumble. We created some takeaways as well." – The Thomas Stephenson Family Head Coach for Harvard Football
• "The second half we made a lot of substitutions, but we didn't execute at the same level. We weren't detailed enough. We didn't tackle as well as we should, but we got every guy that was here other than a couple of the quarterbacks into the game. Those young guys will be able to watch themselves on tape and see the corrections they need to make because we need to build depth. Our ones are very talented, but we need to have some depth with the twos if we want to sustain things moving forward when injuries pop up. I'm very happy with how it went. We got out healthy, so we can go back and get ourselves ready for Brown." – Coach Aurich
• "I told the guys before the start of this game that this game is all about setting the standard for how we are going to perform as a team for the rest of the year. It doesn't matter what point in the game. It was four hours of intense focus from everyone on the team – that's all I was coaching – how focused they were, how hard the guys were playing out there, and how detailed they were." – Coach Aurich
• "We are going to go into week two with a lot of confidence – now that we have played a game, we know what guys can do. I'm comfortable with the receivers, tight ends, o-line, running backs – really everyone. We gained a lot of confidence out of this game." – Senior Quarterback Jaden Craig 

Up Next

Harvard hosts Brown in its Ivy League and home opener on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 6:00 p.m. ET (ESPN+) at Harvard Stadium.