THE BASICS:
• Score: Holy Cross 37, Albany 0
• Records: Holy Cross 2-2; Albany 2-3
• Location: Fitton Field, Worcester, Mass.
• The Lead: The Holy Cross defense allowed just 10 first downs and 203 yards of total offense, as the Crusaders posted a 37-0 victory over Albany at Fitton Field.
Postgame Press Conference and Highlights
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
• Sophomore linebacker Nick McBeath led the team with six tackles, two forced fumbles, two tackles for loss, a sack and a pass breakup.
• Junior linebacker Kyle Young added four tackles with a forced fumble.
• Freshman cornerback Akeem Walcott finished with four tackles and a pass breakup.
• On the offensive side of the ball, junior quarterback Peter Pujals hit on 17 of 27 passes for 177 yards and three touchdowns, in addition to rushing eight times for 31 yards.
• Junior wide out Brendan Flaherty totaled seven receptions for 47 yards and two scores.
• Junior tailback Gabe Guild rushed 15 times for 63 yards.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• The Crusaders opened the scoring at the 9:51-mark of the first quarter, when junior offensive tackle Hunter Hudgins recovered a Pujals fumble in the end zone for a touchdown.
• Holy Cross then increased its lead to 14-0 on a 42-yard scoring strike from Pujals to junior wide receiver Jake Wieczorek.
• Early in the second quarter, senior wide receiver Kalif Raymond returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown to make the score 21-0.
• The Crusaders went on to take a 27-0 halftime lead following a three-yard scoring pass from Pujals to Flaherty.
• Senior placekicker Connor Fitzgerald would then kick a 26-yard field goal in the third quarter, before a three-yard touchdown pass from Pujals to Flaherty early in the fourth quarter concluded the scoring.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
• The shutout was the first by the Holy Cross defense since defeating Georgetown 24-0 on Nov. 17, 2012.
• The 37-point margin of victory was the Crusaders' largest since downing Lehigh 59-10 on Oct. 20, 2007, and their largest in a shutout since beating Georgetown 55-0 on Sept. 22, 2007.
• In addition, the 203 total yards allowed were the fewest given up by Holy Cross since holding Georgetown to 196 yards on Nov. 17, 2012.
UP NEXT:
• The Crusaders return to action on Saturday, Oct. 10, when they play host to Brown in a 1:05 p.m. game at Fitton Field.
KEEP CONNECTED:
• To stay updated on the Holy Cross football team, follow the Crusaders on Twitter @HCrossFB and on Facebook at Holy Cross Football.
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