The Spire

Ben Lepper ’25

Chief Sports Editor

Coming off of their first regular season loss in over a year against the Boston College Eagles, the Holy Cross Crusaders found themselves in unknown territory: needing to bounce back. While still the #5 / #6 ranked FCS team in the country, there was no doubt that the loss in Chestnut Hill hurt, and they needed to get back to their winning ways quickly.

The problem? Their next opponent wasn’t going to be an easy one. The Yale Bulldogs had an excellent 2022 season which was capped off by an Ivy League championship and quarterback Nolan Grooms being named Ivy League Player of the Year. This would be their first game of the season, and they certainly had the 24 point loss they suffered at Fitton last year on their minds. It wasn’t going to be easy.

The Bulldogs opened the scoring early in the first quarter, with running back Joshua Pitsenberger running in a 1-yard score. Crusader quarterback Matt Sluka would then respond 2:30 later, running in a 19-yard score of his own, knotting the score up at 7-7 to end the first quarter.

Yale took back the lead early in the second quarter thanks to a 29-yard field goal from Jack Bosman, but Holy Cross would respond with a score of their own five minutes later with Jalen Coker’s first touchdown reception of the day, bringing the score to 14-10. This would be the last time the Crusaders would have to take the lead away from Yale, as they kept their foot on the gas for the rest of the game.

In the last two minutes of the first half, both teams traded touchdowns: Sluka would run in a score for his third touchdown of the day, and Grooms would find receiver Mason Tipton for a 5-yard score with 46 seconds left on the clock. At halftime, the score read 21-17 in favor of the Crusaders.

When the teams came back out for the third quarter, it was pure domination. Holy Cross took their momentum and rode with it, scoring touchdown after touchdown. Sluka would score his fourth touchdown of the day with a short pass to Coker halfway through the third, and would then score touchdowns 5 and 6 in the fourth quarter, with a third touchdown to Coker and one to junior tight end Jacob Petersen for his first career touchdown. Jordan Fuller also continued his touchdown streak, running in one of his own to bring his season total to 8 touchdowns.

Of course, the Crusader defense was instrumental in securing the blowout victory. Jacob Dobbs continued to prove that he was back and better than ever with 17 total tackles and a forced fumble in the fourth quarter, which would be returned for 28 yards by cornerback Malik Scott. Juniors Curtis Harris-Lopez and Frankie Monte also continued their strong seasons by recording 7 and 6 tackles, respectively. And, while the Crusader defense never recorded a sack, First-year safety Stu Smith got to Grooms once and recorded a quarterback hit, his second straight game with one.

While the Yale offense did score one final touchdown with 30 seconds left, Holy Cross effectively pitched a second-half shutout, undoubtedly their most dominant half of football this season. Sluka would end the game completing 23 of his 30 passes, totalling 373 total yards, and scoring six touchdowns. Coker, meanwhile, caught 9 passes for 124 yards and three touchdowns, proving the Sluka-Coker connection to be as strong as ever.

When asked about this connection, Sluka said that “There were certain plays I was gonna find [Coker] on, certain looks, so just making sure I get him an accurate, catchable football, and letting him do all the work… that’s it, really.” 

Coker jokingly said that the connection between them “all started earlier today when we sat on the bus together.” After a good laugh, he then said that “[Matt] is my guy, I say it every time. My job is to go get it, and wherever he puts it it’s my job to get it. It’s been four years now so it’s just second nature at this point.”

Yale’s next contest will be against Cornell at home. Holy Cross, meanwhile, will open Patriot League play against Colgate at Fitton Field on Saturday, 9/23. The Crusaders will undoubtedly have momentum heading into this match. “Winning cultures win,” said Coker, “and that’s what we’re gonna try to continue to do.”