NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Holy Cross showed its No. 5 national ranking is well deserved in the season opener for #Team150 at Yale Bowl, Class of 1954 Field. Quarterback Matthew Sluka threw for 275 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 92 yards and two scores as the Crusaders won a battle of defending league champions 49-24.
Holy Cross (2-1) was playing its third game of the season and was coming off a near upset of FBS Boston College last Saturday.
TURNING POINT
A 5-yard touchdown pass from
Nolan Grooms to
Mason Tipton pulled the Bulldogs within 21-17 with 46 seconds left in the second quarter. Holy Cross, though, received the ball to start the third quarter and marched 76 yards in 13 plays, capped by Jalen Coker's 4-yard touchdown reception. The Bulldogs drove to the Holy Cross 28-yard line on their ensuing drive but turned the ball over on downs. Holy Cross then went 72 yards in 11 plays culminating with a Jordan Fuller 11-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter that increased the lead to 35-17.
KEY PLAYS
•
Joshua Pitsenberger scored on a 1-yard touchdown run on Yale's first possession of the game to give the Bulldogs the early lead. The opening drive was 75 yards and covered 12 plays.
•
Jack Bosman's 29-yard field goal early in the second quarter put Yale in front 10-7.
• The Crusaders answered with the next 14 points, including an 18-yard touchdown run from Sluka, to take the lead for good.
QUOTING RENO
"We didn't play to the level we need to. From penalties to missed assignments, you can't get away with that in games that we are going to play because the point of difference is small," said
Tony Reno, The Joel E. Smilow '54 Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "When you are playing a really good team, your mistakes get magnified. In the long run, it will be advantageous for us, if we use it to get better. That's the charge I gave to the team after the game. I've still got confidence in this team. I've got belief and faith in this team, but we have to show it on the field."
NOTES
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Tre Peterson (95 yards on 17 carries) and Grooms (68 yards on 12 carries) led a Yale rushing attack that accounted for 226 yards.
• Nine different receivers caught passes for Yale. Tipton finished with five receptions on six targets for 76 yards.
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Jack Bosman averaged 47 yards with a long of 52 on two punts.
•
Clay Patterson recorded the 19th sack of his career, which places him sixth in school history.
• First year tight end
Spencer Mermans recorded his first career touchdown reception – a 4-yard catch in the fourth quarter. The touchdown pass was the first at Yale for quarterback
Marshall Howe.
•
Joseph Vaughn led the defense with 10 tackles (4 solo, 6 assists).
• Holy Cross beat Yale 38-14 last year in Worcester, which was the Bulldogs' season opener. Yale responded with a four-game winning streak on its way to an 8-2 overall record and an Ivy League championship with a 6-1 league mark. The Crusaders won the Patriot League title and advanced to the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs before falling to South Dakota State.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bulldogs are right back at the Bowl next Saturday to host Cornell in the Ivy League opener for both teams. Kickoff is slated for noon. The Big Red kicked off its season with a 23-20 win at Lehigh.
