Video: Holy Cross-Sacred Heart Highlights
Video: Postgame Interview with Matt Bellomo
WORCESTER, Mass. - Senior quarterback Dominic Randolph (Amelia, Ohio) rushed for two touchdowns and threw two scoring passes to lead the 25th-ranked Holy Cross football team to a 52-21 victory over Sacred Heart at Fitton Field. Randolph completed 20 of 38 passes for 274 yards without an interception, in addition to rushing 11 times for 64 yards. The Crusaders improve to 2-0 on the season with the victory, while the Pioneers fall to 0-2.
Holy Cross scored touchdowns on four out of its first five possessions on the day, jumping out to a 28-0 lead by the middle of the second quarter. Randolph scored the first two touchdowns himself, on runs of one and nine yards to make the score 14-0. Sophomore tailback Matt Bellomo (Holliston, Mass.) added a three-yard scoring run later in the first quarter, then freshman tailback Eddie Houghton (Toronto, Ontario) had a four-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to put the Crusaders up 28-0.
Following Houghton's touchdown, Sacred Heart's Garry Coles returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a score, to put the Pioneers on the board. Later in the second quarter, Coles added a one-yard touchdown run to cut the Holy Cross lead to 28-14. But before the half was over, junior placekicker Rob Dornfried (Berlin, Conn.) kicked a 34-yard field goal to give the Crusaders a 31-14 advantage heading into the locker room.
Early in the third quarter, Randolph tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Bill Edger (Hainesport, N.J.) to make the score 38-14. But Sacred Heart refused to go away, responding with a six-yard scoring strike from Dale Fink to Steve Tedesco, trimming the Holy Cross lead to 38-21 heading into the final quarter.
The Crusaders then put the game away with two more touchdowns to close out the scoring. Randolph threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Luke Chmielinski (Walpole, Mass.) early in the fourth quarter, before sophomore quarterback Kevin Watson (Belle Mead, N.J.) scored on a seven-yard run in the closing minutes.
Chmielinski led Holy Cross in receiving with seven catches for 90 yards, while Houghton had a team-high 80 rushing yards on 10 carries. Junior strong safety Anthony DiMichele (McKees Rocks, Pa.) had an outstanding day defensively, totaling 10 tackles, an interception and two pass breakups.
Holy Cross returns to action next Saturday, Sept. 19, when it plays host to Harvard at 1:00 p.m.
