The Spire

Patrick Grudberg ’24

Sports Editor

It was always going to be a rainy, ugly, muddy game. Every family making their way to campus last weekend knew as much. Some were more concerned about the neatness of their tailgates while others were concerned about the state of Fitton Field as 1:00 fast approached. And while Fitton did not look nearly as messy as Freshman Field (good luck doing anything on that surface for the next four months), we all knew the field conditions would mean this game was going to be won on the ground.

And despite the 35-38 scoreline that saw the Crusaders drop to 4-3 on the season, Holy Cross did everything asked of them in the running game. Matt Sluka ran for 330 yards (you read that correctly), the most yards by any Division I quarterback at either the FBS or FCS level. The senior quarterback ran rampant on the hapless Lafayette defense, gashing the Leopards for numerous 30+ yard runs including a 70 yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter. In total, the Crusaders ran for 429 yards, almost doubling Lafayette’s still impressive 236 yards on the ground.

Factoring in the rainy conditions, you might’ve assumed that winning the rushing battle would inevitably mean winning the game. How could either team throw for much of anything in those rainy conditions? In the torrential first half slush, receivers on both sides even ditched their usually-sticky gloves and went barehanded for more reliable grip. Unfortunately, that did not help the Crusaders passing attack that mustered a mere 85 yards. On the other hand, Lafayette managed to throw for 262 yards, overcoming the rainy elements and ultimately giving them the deciding edge in this Patriot League contest.

Unlike the Harvard game that saw the Crusaders commit five turnovers, OC Dean Kennedy’s offense did next to nothing to shoot themselves in the foot. You might’ve expected some fumbles amidst the slippery conditions, but Jordan Fuller and company protected the ball very well (on top of rushing for 95 yards himself). Conversely, the defense unfortunately could not force Lafayette QB Dean DeNobile and company into any costly turnovers. The winner of the turnover battle is usually a good indicator of who won the game, but with zero turnovers on either side that was not the case in this game.

In past seasons, scoring 35 points would almost always guarantee a victory for the Crusaders. In recent seasons, Coach Chesney’s defense has always been top 15 in scoring defense and least points allowed per game. For whatever reason, that has not been the situation this season. Holy Cross’ defense ranks 59th in the FCS with 26 points allowed per game seven games into the schedule.

On Saturday, the main reason for Holy Cross’s struggles on defense was the incredible performance by Lafayette running back Jamar Curtis. The sophomore running back gashed the Crusaders for 229 yards on 30 carries. In the postgame press conference, Coach Chesney said that, “[Curtis] did a nice job of finding those gaps. You start to tie people in and they take a shot up top. And they converted on every single shot.” Curtis was an impressively patient runner, waiting for holes to form and exploiting them at almost every opportunity. And as Coach Chesney expressed, DeNobile punished the defense any time they loaded the box and committed to stopping the run. A few defensive pass interference calls went the Leopards way, but that’s the risk you take when a quarterback puts so much pressure on the secondary deep down the field.

So what’s next for Coach Chesney and Holy Cross Football? Unfortunate for us, we won’t have a home football game until November 18th, almost a month after the Lafayette game. In the weeks before that, the Crusaders take on Fordham, Lehigh and Army. If Holy Cross wants to capture their fifth straight Patriot League title, they’ll need to run the table against Fordham, Lehigh and Georgetown. Unlike previous seasons, they no longer control their own destiny. They’ll need Lafayette to lose two of their last four games. Lafayette still needs to play Fordham and Georgetown (who sit 3rd and 4th place behind the Leopards and Crusaders), so there’s hope that Holy Cross can sneak into another Patriot League title. I confidently speak for everyone on campus when I say that we still have 100% faith and belief in this football team, and we’ll be doing everything in our power to root the boys on in the final month of the season.