BRONX, N.Y. – Senior wide receiver Mike Fess (Caldwell, N.J.) caught seven passes for 94 yards and a touchdown, but the Holy Cross football team was defeated by No. 9 Fordham 32-30 at Jack Coffey Field. Fess broke the all-time school record for receptions with 3:59 remaining in the second quarter, and now has 194 catches during his collegiate career. Holy Cross falls to 3-7 on the season, while Fordham improves to 9-0 overall.
Freshman quarterback Peter Pujals (Glenview, Ill.) completed 23 of 38 attempts for 238 yards and three touchdowns on the day, in addition to rushing for 88 yards and a score on 18 carries. Michael Nebrich led the Rams by completing 39 of 49 passes for a school-record 524 yards and a touchdown.
Holy Cross opened the scoring at the 2:46-mark of the first quarter on a five-yard touchdown run by Pujals. Fordham came back with an 11-yard scoring run by Carlton Koonce, to pull in front 7-6. The Crusaders regained the lead early in the second quarter, when Pujals threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Kyle Toulouse (Arlington, Va.). Senior placekicker John Macomber (Vienna, Va.) then booted a 46-yard field goal, and Pujals connected with Fess on a 37-yard scoring strike to give Holy Cross a 23-7 lead. But Nebrich ran 10 yards for a score with just 12 seconds left before halftime, making the score 23-14.
Early in the third quarter, Nebrich scored on a seven-yard run to cut the Crusaders' lead to 23-21. The Rams then regained the lead on the first play of the fourth quarter, with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Nebrich to Brian Wetzel. Michael Marando added a 39-yard field goal for Fordham to make it a two-possession game, before Holy Cross concluded the scoring with a five-yard touchdown pass from Pujals to senior wide receiver Nate Stanley (Euclid, Ohio).
Senior linebacker Roman SanDoval (Allison Park, Pa.) led the Crusader defense with nine tackles, while senior linebacker Tyler Zeoli (King of Prussia, Pa.) added eight tackles and an interception.
Holy Cross returns to action next Saturday, Nov. 9, when it travels to Lehigh for a 12:30 p.m. game.
