Matthew Reichert ’28
Staff Writer
When our sports editor asked if I wanted to write for The Spire this year, even though I am away for the semester in Washington, DC, I agreed. I suppose I wanted some thin cord that could stretch across DC, and Maryland, and Pennsylvania, and New York, and could connect me back to Worcester, Massachusetts, and to campus. And I thought writing for The Spire could offer a semblance of this.
But, in the time that passed between when I agreed to write and this past Saturday, a couple of things happened: (1) I became a little more accommodated to DC and a little less wistful for campus, and (2) Holy Cross lost its third straight game by 25+ points (45-7 versus Miami of Ohio). I was not happy to descend from the streets of my new city into the subway so that I could slouch back to the apartment and watch this football team. But I wonder: Is anyone excited (other than fans of the opposing team) to watch a Holy Cross Football game anymore?
Based on the average student section, which is empty except for the Good Time Marching Band, I doubt it. Those poor students, dragged from the mirthy throngs of the tailgate by their parents, to watch the only game they’ll actually go into the stadium for all year. But could Holy Cross, at least this once, give them something worth seeing?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
First Half: On their opening drive, the Crusader offense installed so many screens they could have started a window repair company. The one deep pass attempted during this possession was incomplete (as many other deep passes would be this day) and HC punted in five plays. Yale, on their fifth play, executed the single most spectacular pitch and catch I have seen in three years of watching Holy Cross football games. Jaxton Santiago, twenty yards down the field, jumped, reached above the head of the cornerback, received the ball into a single hand, in the same motion brought that ball into his body, cut from the sideline into the middle of the field (causing an oncoming defender to spin around in the process), and outran the defense for a seventy-five-yard touchdown.
Holy Cross would also score a touchdown on the next drive. After that, every possession for both teams ended either in a punt or a missed field goal or a turnover on downs. Most of the first half was plain boring.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Second Half: Lou Holtz (the last Notre Dame coach to win a national championship) used to say that you use trick plays when you don’t think you can beat a team straight up. He’s probably right. But, Holy Cross wasn’t beating Yale straight up: By the end of the game, the Yale quarterback Dante Reno would throw for 454 yards and five touchdowns. So when Holy Cross quarterback David Lynch pushed a pass backwards towards running back Jack Croce, and Croce started to take those short, shuffling steps that a running back takes when they’re about to turn their head up for a halfback-pass, I thought Holy Cross Coach Curran had made the right call. When that halfback pass was completed to tight end Mason McSweeney for a 9-yard touchdown, I was sure of it. The game was tied 14-14 and, with a little luck, maybe Holy Cross could beat a team they shouldn’t, considering that Yale was ranked entering the game.
The luck came on the next Holy Cross possession. They punted, but the punt was so short that a Yale player outran it. It bounced off him, and the Crusaders recovered. Seven plays later, Holy Cross’s Lincoln Fisher would halt his post route after finding some soft, untended underbelly deep in the Yale secondary. From there, he would catch a long, sharp pass and run it into the end zone. The game was tied again, 21-21, in the fourth quarter.
After Holy Cross forced a turnover on downs and had the ball again, the camera cut during a space between plays to the people at the game. There was a boy in the crowd, probably a teenager. His back was hunched forward, and his head rested atop his index fingers as his thumbs curved across the sides of his chin. His look was one of… anticipation? A fan? Yes, someone interested in the game! Holy Cross had somebody’s attention, finally.
And, they rewarded that young fan on the very next play. David Lynch turned his body to a receiver swinging out on the right, setting up yet another screen pass. He jerked his back shoulder forward, but he did not release the ball. He pivoted, faced down the field, saw Lincoln Fisher open as a result of the fake, and he completed the pass. Touchdown. For the first time all season, Holy Cross had a lead. They were up 28-21 during the fourth quarter, and it looked as if they would win. I wasn’t regretting the trip on the Metro back to the apartment to watch the game anymore. In fact, I was actually having fun. The fans were too.
Holy Cross would promptly give up 17 unanswered points to lose by 10. Fun’s over, Crusaders.
Copy Edited by Claire Flynn ‘29
Featured image courtesy of Holy Cross Athletics
Leave a Reply