WORCESTER—Holy Cross College and Fordham University fielded
another classic at Moglia Stadium in the Bronx Saturday afternoon in which the Crusaders came out on top, 49-47 over the Rams.
The game funneled down to the final few minutes when the HC defense stepped up and CB Matt Duchemin picked off Fordham quarterback CJ Montes, returning it 55-yards for the score.
With five minutes on the clock, the Crusaders were up 49-41. Fordham went 79 yards on the next drive, with Rams running back Julius Loughridge rambling in from four yards out with less than a minute to go.
One play later, Holy Cross’s Jacob Dobbs would make the game saving tackle on Loughridge, preventing Fordham from tying the game up with the two-point conversion.
The win included a stellar performance from QB Joe Pesansky (stepping in for the ill Matthew Sluka) who got the surprise start and did not disappoint. Pesansky completed 20 of 33 passes throwing for 337 yards, three touchdowns and only one interception.
“That is the epitome of a great teammate, the epitome of a great leader,” said Holy Cross Head Coach Bob Chesney, ”To go every single week and just believe and to go in every single week and prepare… a lot of people get discouraged and don’t pay as close attention. This kid…it’s a whole different ball game he added.“
Pesansky was complemented by Holy Cross’ tandem duo at the running back position. Jordan Fuller had 116 rushing yards off of 24 carries and two touchdowns while Tyler Purdy helped in the receiving game providing five catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns as well.
Holy Cross came into this game off the heels of two losses, unheard of in the Bob Chesney era. A tough road battle against a rival and yet, the Crusaders snuck in the win even with their star Sluka.
Chesney said of the Sluka situation: “We were getting him IV’s, everything before the game. They tried to get him healthy, but it was 81 degrees along with everything else. We used him a couple times when we needed him but that was it.”
The offense kept its motor going, putting up the most points all season.
The game started fireworks blasting, as the first half was front loaded with touchdowns. The Rams’ offense put up 426 total yards on only 33 plays. With five touchdowns on seven drives for this Fordham team, however, the Crusaders did not waiver and responded consistently.
Both teams have been stellar offensively all year and each defense knew what they were dealing with going into the matchup.
Freshman safety Chisom Onwuzurigbo was complimentary of the Rams playmaker, commenting, “We knew they had a great receiving core…. and a big running back.”
Loughridge scored three touchdowns, two in the first half, when he was significantly more dominant. Loughridge ran for 129 yards, two separate rushes going for 50 and 45 yards.
To say that Fordham’s run game was running all over the Holy Cross defense would be an understatement. At halftime, the Rams led 24-28.
In the second half, things slowed down offensively for the Rams as Holy Cross started to step up providing much needed stops which was very hard to come by.
In the fourth quarter, Fordham’s first two drives resulted in two punts in which the Rams ran six plays and had -2 total yards. On the third drive of the quarter was the previously-mentioned pick six by CB Matt Duchemin. It was first interception of his career as well as his first pick six of his career, marking a big moment for the senior out of Haverhill, MA. Holy Cross went on to close out the game and win the Rams-Crusaders Cup for another year.
Holy Cross now sits at 5-3 and 3-1 in conference play. The win will most likely move up in their respective rankings. The Crusaders are back to it next week in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania at Goodman Stadium as they get ready to play Lehigh who are 2-6 and 1-2 in conference play.
Aiden Benison can be contacted at aiden.benison@student.shu.edu
