THE BASICS:

• Score: Holy Cross 27, Monmouth 19

• Records: Holy Cross 1-0; Monmouth 0-1

• Location: Kessler Stadium, West Long Branch, N.J.

• The Lead: The Holy Cross football team forced four turnovers on the day, as the Crusaders posted a 27-19 victory over Monmouth at Kessler Stadium. The four turnovers caused by Holy Cross were its most in a single game since taking the ball away from Bucknell five times on Oct. 12, 2013.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Junior free safety Luke Ford led the Crusader defense with six tackles, an interception, a pass breakup and a tackle for loss.

• Sophomore cornerback Alim Muhammad added five tackles and an interception on the afternoon.

• On the offensive side of the ball, junior quarterback Peter Pujals hit on 16 of 26 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown, in addition to rushing 10 times for 38 yards and a score.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• On Holy Cross' opening drive of the game, a 33-yard yard run by junior tailback Gabe Guild set up a one-yard scoring run by sophomore tailback Diquan Walker to make the score 7-0.

• After Monmouth's Dan White kicked a 38-yard field goal, the Crusaders drove 85 yards in 15 plays to take a 14-3 lead on a 15-yard touchdown run by Pujals.

• Early in the second quarter, senior defensive end Dewayne Cameron recovered a fumble on Hawks' five-yard line, setting up a 10-yard scoring strike from Pujals to junior wide receiver Brendan Flaherty.

• But just before halftime, Mommouth made the score 21-9 on an 81-yard touchdown pass from Cody Williams to Darren Ambush.

• After neither team was able to score in the third quarter, the Hawks cut the margin to 21-16 on a two-yard scoring run by Lavon Chaney.

• But on Monmouth's next possession, senior linebacker J.T. Frank forced Chaney to fumble, and sophomore defensive lineman Jack Kutschke recovered on the Hawks' 12-yard line.

• Senior placekicker Connor Fitzgerald then hit a 22-yard field goal to put Holy Cross up 24-16.

• An interception by Muhammad would give the Crusaders the ball back five plays later, and a 40-yard Fitzgerald field goal made the score 27-16 with 5:11 remaining.

• Monmouth was able to trim the margin to 27-19 on a 27-yard White field goal with 1:18 remaining, and recovered the ensuing onside kick to stay in the game.

• But Ford intercepted a pass in the end zone with 14 seconds left to seal the win for Holy Cross.

.

UP NEXT:

• Holy Cross is off next week, before heading to Towson for a 6:00 p.m. game on Saturday, Sept. 19.

KEEP CONNECTED: