THE BASICS:
• Score: Holy Cross 29, Morgan State 26
• Records: Holy Cross 1-1, Morgan State 0-2
• Location: Fitton Field, Worcester, Mass.
• The Lead: Senior tailback Shane Taylor (St. Paul, Minn.) scored the game-winning touchdown on a one-yard run as time expired, to lift the Holy Cross football team to a 29-26 victory over Morgan State.
THE CLOSING MINUTES:
• The Bears had taken a 26-23 lead with 3:39 remaining in the fourth quarter on a two-yard touchdown run by Herb Walker.
• The Crusaders were able to drive across midfield, before facing a third-and 16 at the Morgan State 25 yard line with less than 30 seconds remaining.
• Sophomore quarterback Peter Pujals (Glenview, Ill.) then threw a 22-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Jake Wieczorek (Cumming, Ga.) to give Holy Cross first-and-goal at the three-yard line.
• After spiking the ball to stop the clock and a two-yard rush by Pujals, the Crusaders called their final timeout facing third-and-goal from the one-yard line.
• Holy Cross initially sent out its field goal unit to attempt to force overtime, but reversed course after a Morgan State timeout, allowing Taylor to score the winning touchdown.
HOW THE REST OF THE GAME HAPPENED:
• The game went back and forth throughout the first two quarters, before the Crusaders took a 16-13 lead into the locker room at halftime.
• Following a scoreless third quarter, the Bears pulled ahead 19-16 on a 46-yard scoring run by Walker.
• Holy Cross reclaimed the lead when Pujals hit junior wide receiver Kalif Raymond (Lawrenceville, Ga.) for a seven-yard touchdown with 10:17 to play, making the score 23-19.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
• Taylor finished the game with 78 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, in his first career start at tailback.
• Pujals completed 16 of 29 passes for 193 yards and a score, while rushing 15 times for 74 yards and another touchdown.
• Wieczorek led all receivers with five catches for 112 yards.
• Defensively, the Crusaders were led by junior linebacker John Zakrzewski (Traverse City, Mich.) with 11 tackles, a sack and three tackles for loss.
• Morgan State was led by Walker, who rushed 29 times for a career-high 271 yards and two touchdowns.
UP NEXT:
• Holy Cross returns to action next Saturday, Sept. 13, when it plays host to Central Connecticut at Fitton Field.
