The Holy Cross football team will play a Patriot League contest against Fordham on Saturday, March 27. Kickoff for the Crusaders' home opener is set for 1 p.m. at Fitton Field as Holy Cross and Fordham compete for the Ram-Crusader Cup.
Holy Cross last competed when began its 125th season -- and took the field for its first contest in 469 days -- when it traveled to Lehigh for a Patriot League matchup on Saturday, March 13. The Crusaders took a 20-3 victory over Lehigh. A stout defensive effort, paced by a strong performance from the defensive line, helped lead Holy Cross to the victory, with the Crusaders holding Lehigh to just 24 rushing yards in the contest. Lehigh's three points were the fewest points scored by a Holy Cross opponent in a season opener since the Crusaders posted a 19-0 victory over Rhode Island on Sept. 15, 1984.
Sophomore wide receiver
Ayir Asante and senior wide receiver
Dean Nagle each caught a touchdown for Holy Cross against the Mountain Hawks. Nagle's touchdown was the first of his career. Junior
Jonathan Abrams led the Crusaders with 62 rushing yards on the day. Junior
Derek Ng converted on both of his field goal attempts and a pair of extra points to round out the Crusaders' scoring, while also setting a school record for the longest field goal in program history, at 51 yards. Ng was named the Patriot League's Special Teams Player of the Week, while senior defensive lineman
Jordan Jackson earned Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honors after recording five tackles, with 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble.
The Crusaders were originally scheduled to meet Fordham on March 20, but the game was then postponed to April 10 due to COVID-19 return-to-play protocols following the Fordham football program's recent pause. The game was then rescheduled for March 27; the Crusaders were originally set to play at Colgate on March 27, but that was postponed due to a positive COVID-19 test within the Colgate football program's Tier 1.
Colgate, Fordham and Holy Cross are competing this spring in the Patriot League's North Division.
The Rams will play their first game in the Spring 2021 season this Saturday. During the 2019 season, the Rams finished with a 4-8 overall record while going 2-4 in Patriot League play. In 2019, Fordham averaged a league-best 25.0 points per contest, while also leading the conference with a league-best 357.2 total yards of offense. The Rams defense also allowed 32.3 points per game while giving up 445.6 yards of total offense each contest.
Fordham returns quarterback Tim DeMorat, who was named the Patriot League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Last season, he was a 2019 First Team All-Patriot League selection after throwing for a league-high 2,674 yards and 20 touchdown passes. He led the Patriot League in passing yards per game (222.8) and touchdown passes (20) while completing 59 percent of his pass attempts (232-for-393) and posting a 127.4 pass efficiency to place among the League leaders.
The Rams had four other offensive selections on the Preseason All-Patriot League team: running backs Zach Davis and Trey Sneed, along with offensive linemen Phil Saleh and Nick Zakelj. On defense, Fordham had four Preseason All-Patriot League selections: defensive lineman John Coste, linebackers Glenn Cunningham and Ryan Greenhagen, and defensive back Jesse Bramble.
Following this weekend's game against Fordham, Holy Cross is set to host Bucknell on April 3. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Fitton Field.
