Brendan Grudberg ’28
Staff Writer
The Holy Cross Crusaders’ football team achieved its second win of the season this past Saturday, putting a season-high 37 points on the scoreboard and improving to 2-4 in Patriot League play. The Crusaders were led primarily by their rushing attack, with running backs Jayden Clerveaux and Nyeoti Punni each rushing for over 134 yards and combining for three rushing touchdowns.
First-year quarterback Dominic Campanile got his first win as the starter, going 10-for-17 and passing for 138 yards. On the defensive side, the tandem of star junior linebackers Cam Santee and Carlo Crocetti left an indelible mark. Santee recorded two sacks and two forced fumbles, and Crocetti picked up three sacks.
The game started with a six-and-a-half minute drive by the Crusader offense, who got the ball to the Bucknell 19-yard line before a 16-yard sack pushed them back to the 35-yard line in a 4th-and-21 situation.
Right in the “no man’s land” of the field where it’s too long to kick a field goal, but a bit too short to give up with a punt, Andrew Dresner’s offense pushed their luck on 4th-and-21, but the Bucknell defense broke up the deep pass. Bucknell capitalized on the turnover with a lengthy 15-play, 65-yard touchdown drive that saw just three pass attempts by the Bison, the third of which was completed for a touchdown to Nate Anderson.
The two teams traded punts the next four drives, which led to Holy Cross’ next big offensive drive. They capitalized this time. Campanile linked up with sophomore receiver Alijah Cason for a sliding 25-yard grab, and a couple of plays later Jayden Clerveaux took it inside the 20-yard line with a 23-yard run. The drive was capped off by a seven-yard rushing touchdown by Max Mosey out of the Wildcat formation, which has become a favorite strategy for the Crusaders in recent weeks.
Bucknell’s next offensive drive proved to be a pivotal one, but in an unfortunate way. Starting quarterback Ralph Rucker went down hard on a sack by Christian Ross, which led Rucker to leave the game.
Freshman Nicholas Penuvchev stepped in for Rucker, who finished the day 6-for-7 passing for 58 yards and gained 21 yards as a rusher. Penuvchev kept the Bison offense in control all the way to halftime, where Holy Cross Junior defensive lineman Brice Stevenson blocked the Bucknell clock-beating 42-yard field goal attempt over the top. Stevenson’s block kept Holy Cross in control with a 7-6 lead at the break.
The Crusaders’ defensive momentum carried over to the second half. In the second play of the half, Cam Santee forced one of his two fumbles. He punched the ball loose from Tariq Thomas, and left it for Christian Ross to scoop up to conclude the game-changing play.
The resulting Crusader drive would have been a three-and-out if not for good field position, but instead, Senior Luis Palenzuela drilled a 44-yard field goal to extend the Crusaders’ lead to 4.
After a Bucknell punt, the Crusaders’ next offensive drive put them firmly in control. Starting from his own 27-yard line, Clerveaux ripped off four rushes for 21 yards, which put the Crusaders just short of midfield.
Then, Dominic Campanile ripped a 34-yard pass to a contested Max Mosey, who simultaneously made the catch with a Bucknell defender, but the tie went to the Crusaders, leaving it as a Crusader completion. The drive ended in a 15-yard touchdown run from Nyeoti Punni, the track star turned football running back, who smashed his career high yards record by 58.
The scorching hot Crusader defense came through yet again, and intercepted Penuvchev on the very first play of the ensuing drive. This great field position led to another Crusader field goal, which put them up 20-6 late in the third quarter.
Bucknell fought back with a touchdown to cut that lead in half, thanks to two outstanding catches by Sam Milligan for 42 yards and 25 yards, the latter of which was a touchdown.
Knowing all too well the story of blown leads and heartbreaking finishes this season, the Crusaders needed to execute decisively in the fourth quarter to hold on for their second victory of the season. And boy, did they do that.
The Crusaders put up an 18-point quarter in the fourth, and put the game out of the reach of the football gods. Holy Cross’ first drive of the quarter, which came after the Bucknell touchdown, took 3 minutes off the clock and ended in a 46-yard Luis Palenzuela field goal, a career long.
The Holy Cross defense bent but did not break on their next drive, giving up a 30-yard rush but ultimately forcing a punt on the next set of downs. Clerveaux broke off a 38-yard rush, but penalties took off 27 of those yards. It was no issue for the Crusaders, as their unstoppable running back tandem slowly gained those yards back, before the breakout star Punni broke off a 53-yarder for his second score of the day.
Bucknell would not go down without a fight, as Milligan continued his huge second half with a 55-yard receiving score. On their next offensive drive, in a do-or-die situation down 10 points, Cam Santee came up with another huge play, sacking Penuvchev on fourth down deep inside Bucknell territory, which gave Holy Cross a layup touchdown drive from the five-yard line to seal the deal.
This win showed incredible perseverance by the Crusaders, as they came through with their best performance all year one week removed from a 38-3 loss to #4-ranked Lehigh. The Crusaders look to finish their season on a high note this Saturday at Fenway against Georgetown (6-5) at
4 p.m. EST. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, as well as on the NESN cable network.
Featured image courtesy of Worcester Telegram
Copy edited by Molly Croft ‘29
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