BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Senior tailback
Domenic Cozier carried the ball 22 times for a season-high 190 yards to lead the Holy Cross football team to a 24-17 victory over Lehigh at Goodman Stadium. The Crusaders improve to 5-4 overall and 3-0 in the Patriot League with the win, while the Mountain Hawks fall to 4-4 on the season and 3-1 in the conference.
Holy Cross finished the day with 388 yards of total offense, including a season-high 266 rushing yards. Lehigh recorded 319 total yards on the afternoon.
The Crusaders opened the scoring at 7:30-mark of the first quarter on a one-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback
Connor Degenhardt. Holy Cross then added a one-yard scoring run by sophomore tailback
Peter Oliver early in the second quarter to go up 14-0. The Mountain Hawks responded on their next drive with a one-yard touchdown run by Zaythan Hill, before sophomore placekicker
Derek Ng booted a 37-yard field goal to make the score 17-7 at halftime.
On the first play of the second half, sophomore defensive back
Terrell Prince forced a fumble that was recovered by junior defensive back
Kendrick Knight at the Lehigh 33-yard line. Six plays later, Degenhardt hit junior wide receiver
Tenio Ayeni for a 14-yard touchdown to put the Crusaders up 24-7. The Mountain Hawks came back with a 33-yard scoring strike from Tyler Monaco to Devon Bibbens later in the third quarter and a 38-yard Austin Henning field goal in the fourth quarter to make the score 24-17. Lehigh then had one final possession in the closing minutes, but senior defensive back
Chris Riley intercepted a pass at the Holy Cross five-yard line with 49 seconds left to secure the victory.
Freshman linebacker
Jacob Dobbs led the Crusader defense with eight tackles and a quarterback sack, while Prince posted eight tackles and a forced fumble. Sophomore defensive lineman
Dan Kuznetsov also had a strong game, recording two sacks.
Holy Cross returns to action next Saturday, Nov. 9, when it plays host to Lafayette at 12:00 p.m.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
• The Crusaders take over sole possession of first place in the Patriot League at 3-0. Lehigh (3-1) and Lafayette (2-1) are the only other teams in the conference with less than two losses.
• In four career games played against Lehigh, Cozier rushed the ball 68 times for 471 yards.
• Cozier's 88-yard run in the first quarter was the second-longest rushing play in school history.
• Riley now has a Patriot League-best four interceptions on the season.
