‘There’s no giving up on our team’: Holy Cross rallies to surprise Bucknell with last-minute win

WORCESTER — Holy Cross’s seniors and fifth-year players certainly had plenty of good times at Fitton Field and, HC coach Dan Curran said earlier this week, the Crusaders really wanted to send the group of 25 away with a another great and lasting memory. in Saturday’s regular-season home finale against Bucknell.

The Crusaders’ thrilling victory over the Bison is one they will likely never forget.

Holy Cross rallied from 18 points down in the first half, forced three crucial turnovers and scored touchdowns in all three phases, and sophomore Daniel Porto’s 23-yard field goal with 59 seconds left of the end, gave HC a wild 40-38 victory on senior day. that kept the Crusaders alive in their quest for a sixth straight Patriot League title.

“In a game like that,” Holy Cross senior quarterback Joe Pesansky said, “you’re down, and there’s two things you can do: You can cry about it or you can do something. thing. It’s such a resilient group. There’s no giving up on our team. We had so many guys making so many plays.

Holy Cross (5-6, 4-1) enters the final week of the regular season tied for first in the Patriot League with Lehigh, which beat Colgate, 45-17, on Saturday. The Crusaders play at Georgetown, while the Mountain Hawks, who hold the tiebreaker against HC, conclude the season at home against Lafayette.

“Sending these seniors out the right way is huge,” Curran said, “and it gives us a chance to go 1-0 next week and compete for a conference championship. You can’t ask for much more than that .

More: ‘We hope to be at our best’: Holy Cross football needs rebound against Bucknell to stay alive in Patriot League race

Bucknell, which started the day tied with HC and Lehigh, fell to 3-2 in league play.

Holy Cross senior linebacker Frankie Monte, who needed help off the field late in last week’s 10-7 loss to Lehigh after suffering an ankle injury, started, totaling eight tackles, made an interception that led to HC’s first touchdown and recovered a fumble, caused by senior defensive lineman Joe Townsend, with 47 seconds left to seal the victory.

“Frankie is one of the toughest dudes you’ll ever meet in your life,” Pesansky said. “It’s unreal what he did today.”

The Bison led 14-0 and 21-3 in the first half.

With 1:47 left in the second quarter, a pass from Bucknell senior quarterback Ralph Rucker IV, who threw five touchdown passes, tipped his intended receiver’s hands and into those of Monte, putting Holy Cross at Bucknell 43.

HC capitalized as sophomore running back Jayden Clerveaux scored his first of two touchdowns, from 2 yards out, to bring the Crusaders within 21-10 at the break.

“It changed the momentum a little bit,” Monte said. “In the locker room, the guys got together. We were excited. We knew that no matter how many points we lost, we were going to win this game.

HC scored 46 seconds into the second half. Freshman Alijah Cason’s 53-yard kickoff return set up Pesansky’s 35-yard TD pass to junior Max Mosey. The Crusaders cut the lead to four and appeared to gain some momentum, but Bucknell, with the help of a Holy Cross punt return and a fourth-down stop, scored 10 straight points.

“We had a few things going against us in the middle of the third quarter,” Curran said, “and they could have hung their heads, but they didn’t. They continued to fight.

With 3:04 left on third down, Holy Cross sophomore defensive lineman Ross Dansdill blocked Matt Shearer’s punt, and sophomore corner Cam Jones recovered the ball and sent him into the end zone.

In the final seconds of the third, senior Jacob Petersen’s 75-yard catch-and-run, which was HC’s second-longest pass play of the season, allowed Clerveaux to tie the TD run by a yard .

HC senior safety Curtis Harris-Lopez was in perfect position for his 51-yard interception return for a touchdown with 11:49 left that gave the Crusaders their first lead, 37-31 with a missed PAT.

It was Harris-Lopez’s first career pick.

“We were in man coverage and they had an extra tackle,” Harris-Lopez said. “I flew over the tackle, and once I realized it was a back pass, obviously a tackle isn’t going to go in, so I went out the window and I was in the perfect place. It was great.

Bucknell responded with eight plays of 72 yards and regained the lead, 38-37, on Rucker’s 5-yard TD pass to Eric Weatherly and Schearer’s PAT.

After a defensive stand, Holy Cross got the ball back at 30 with 4:04 left and drove deep into Bison territory to give Porto the go-ahead lead.

“Our defense and special teams gave us some juice,” said Pesansky, who went 8 of 16 for 186 yards. “We just had to execute and do our job. »

Rucker was 33 of 42 for 339 yards. HC sacked him five times. Weatherly had 10 receptions for 129 yards and two touchdowns.

The speedy Cason also had kick returns of 36 and 39 yards.

Monte, who was coming off a career-high 21 tackles, said his ankle felt great before, during and after Saturday’s game.

“We decided to go for it and I’m very happy we did,” Monte said. “It was great to be part of this victory.”

―Contact Jennifer Toland at [email protected]. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @JenTolandTG.

This article was originally published on Telegram & Gazette: Porto kick ends Holy Cross rally as Crusaders stun Bucknell