Kalvin Tragethon ’28
Staff Writer
The Rhode Island Rams (3-0) defeated the Holy Cross Crusaders (0-3) on Saturday by a score of 9-7, thanks to an outstanding defensive performance by the visitors.
Rhode Island came out of the gates hot, using a series of play actions to drive down the field with precision. The 14 play, 78-yard drive was capped off by a 24-yard field goal by former University of Southern California (USC) kicker Garth White to put the Rams up 3-0.
The Crusader offense came out cold, ending the first quarter with only 28 yards of total offense. Second-year head coach Dan Curran was blunt when asked about the offensive struggles.
“We gotta score more points,” said Curran. “There was some stuff that opened up offensively that we haven’t seen yet that was good to see, but at the end of the day we need more.”
In the second quarter, Holy Cross made their presence known on the back end, with their linebackers and cornerbacks delivering big hits and making key tackles to stifle the Rams’ offense.
“[We allow defenders] to play fast so they’re not overthinking,” said Curran. “We want these guys to be confident in what they’re doing and be able to cut it loose and be really physical.”
This physicality resulted in the Rams dropping passes on key downs, which caused their drives to stall out.
The Holy Cross offense was able to feed off the energy of the defense, finding its rhythm in the second quarter marching down the field on a nine play, 54-yard drive, which was capped off by a one-yard touchdown run by junior Jayden Clerveaux to put the Crusaders up 7-3 with 5:30 remaining in the half.
“We got some looks we felt were pretty good,” said Curran. “We knew there was going to be a jet [sweep], which we hit for about six or seven yards. Then we ended up hitting a boundary play action shot to the slot, and in the red zone we converted.”
With time running out in the first half, a Holy Cross personal foul call on the kickoff led to the Rams’ offense striking fire. After a strong run from senior running back Antwain Littleton Jr., a transfer who played at Maryland and Temple before arriving in Kingston, and another big catch down the seam from junior Marquis Buchman, the Rams looked poised to score their first touchdown of the night. But Holy Cross’ elite red zone defense stifled the Rams’ offensive attack, forcing them to kick a 29-yard field goal, which made it a one-point game entering half time.
In the third quarter, the Crusader defense continued to shine, once again stopping the Rams in the red zone, this time stuffing them on a fourth-and-short run attempt up the middle early in the quarter. A leaping interception on the ensuing Rams’ drive by Holy Cross junior Donovan Comestro allowed the Crusaders to hold their one-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
“I thought defensively we played extremely hard, another pretty clean game,” said Curran. “Similar to week one, these guys did a great job not hurting themselves, being disciplined, and playing team-first football.”
But, the Crusader offense could not capitalize on the defenses efforts, missing a field goal in the red zone with 12:28 remaining in the game, which began the unraveling for the Crusaders.
“At the end of the day, when you get a short field, you have to find ways to convert,” said Curran. “And you could see the momentum shifting [following the miss].”
The Rams ran with their newfound momentum, using play action to slow the Crusader pass rush. This opened up the field for Junior wide receiver Greg Gaines III and Littleton, who drove their team down to the 24-yard line. Gaines and Littleton’s efforts set White up for a 41- yard field goal, which he nailed through the uprights to put the Rams up 9-7 with just over two minutes remaining in the game.
Despite a drive in the final two minutes, the Crusaders were unable to get the ball into field goal range, turning the ball over after a failed fourth-and-long attempt. The Crusaders remain winless at 0-3 on the young season.
This Saturday, Sept. 20, Holy Cross travels to New Haven, Conn. to take on the Yale Bulldogs (0-0), who will be playing their first game of the season.
Despite the difficult loss against URI, Coach Curran looks forward to the week ahead.
“Our goal this week is to get better and grow from what happened today,” said Curran, “and put on a good performance down at Yale against a very good team.”
Featured image courtesy of @hcrossfb & @tsmith.shots on Instagram
Copy Edited by Sophia Mariani ’26
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