The touchdown came two minutes later. At 11:05, senior tight end Anthony Firkser veered into the end zone, and Viviano delivered a strike.

Firkser added a third-quarter score on one of the most picturesque plays of the contest. Facing a third-and-nine from the Rhode Island 18, Viviano lofted a spiral towards a sideways-streaking Firkser; the tight end scraped his feet in bounds to push the rout to 37-7.

“I think we are a more cohesive group,” Firkser said. “[From] last year’s team, we had a bunch of big, top-skill, talented guys that set a good example for us.”

The run game proved similarly effective, powering to 244 yards. All night long, a young offensive line opened up holes, allowing rushers to average five yards per carry.

Overall Harvard’s ground attack tallied four touchdowns. The first occurred with 5:56 in the first quarter, when Smith punctuated a 70-yard drive by bouncing off his line and scurrying untouched for an eight-yard score.

All drama had seeped out of the building by the start of the fourth quarter, when the Crimson led by 30. But the period turned out to be the highest-scoring part of the night as the teams played to a 14-14 draw.

Senior running backs Van Johnson and Dallas Schray rumbled for a pair of scores, and the hosts needed that production to keep pace with a suddenly dangerous Rams attack. In those 15 minutes, Rhode Island put together two scoring drives of 70-plus yards, ending once with a 22-yard touchdown toss from Mroz and once with a one-yard tumble from junior back Markey Clarke. But those points came too late to pose a real threat.

More concerning was a goal-line hit on tight end Jack Stansell early in the second quarter. The junior was steaming for the end zone when a defender rammed into his knee, popping the ball loose in the process.

While Barann recovered for a touchdown, Stansell lay on the ground for several minutes. Eventually he walked off the field with help from trainers.

The collision provided a lone asterisk to a night of exuberant entrances and grinding success. While a long season awaits, this much is certain: Harvard has new faces, but something fundamental about the program remains intact.

“We always talk about the team that plays the hardest and makes the fewest mistakes is going to win,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “That was us tonight.”

—Staff writer Sam Danello can be reached at sam.danello@thecrimson.com.