WORCESTER, Mass. – Freshmen led the way as the Holy Cross football team defeated Fordham, 34-24, in the Crusaders' home opener at Fitton Field on Saturday, March 27.

Rookie quarterback Matthew Sluka had three total touchdowns, including two rushing touchdowns, and finished the game with 145 rushing yards. Junior running back Peter Oliver ran for 89 yards, while freshman wide receiver Jalen Coker had a touchdown and 33 receiving yards. Freshman cornerback Terrence Spence blocked a punt and recovered the ball for a touchdown for Holy Cross (2-0, 2-0 Patriot League).

Sophomore linebacker Jacob Dobbs finished with 12 tackles, including nine solo tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Junior safety Terrell Prince had 10 total tackles, with nine solo tackles.
Fordham quarterback Tim DeMorat had 496 total yards, including 440 passing yards. Dequece Carter finished with a touchdown and 155 receiving yards to help lead the Rams (0-1, 0-1 Patriot League).

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Fordham got on the board first on its opening drive with a 46-yard touchdown pass from DeMorat to Carter with 12:04 left in the first.
• The Crusaders cut within one to end the quarter, with Ng connecting on 47-yard and 36-yard field goals to bring Holy Cross within 7-6.  
• The Rams added another touchdown to go ahead 14-6 with 11:30 remaining in the first half.
• After Fordham blocked a field goal attempt by the Crusaders with 4:55 to go in the second quarter, the Holy Cross defense responded with a three-and-out. Spence blocked the Fordham punt at the Rams 20-yard line, and recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown to bring the Crusaders within 14-13 with 4:04 to go in the half.
• With the Rams threatening in the red zone again in the final seconds of the first half, junior John Smith had an interception in the end zone to keep Holy Cross within one point with two seconds on the clock.  
• A 48-yard run by Oliver put the Crusaders at the Fordham 15-yard line, and Sluka followed with a rushing touchdown to put Holy Cross in the lead, 20-14, with 6:49 to go in the third.
• Fordham cut within 20-17 with a field goal, but the Crusaders immediately responded with a 57-yard touchdown run from Sluka to extend their lead to 27-17 with 19 seconds left in the third.
• Sluka connected with Coker on an 11-yard touchdown pass to push the Crusader lead to 34-17 with 7:52 remaining.
• Fordham rounded out the scoring with a 30-yard touchdown pass to MJ Wright, bringing the Rams within 34-24 with 6:49 left in the game.

 BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

• Sluka's 145 rushing yards are the most by a Holy Cross freshman since 1976, when Brian Doherty had 175 yards against Rhode Island.
• Sluka averaged 12.1 yards per carry, which is the second-best average in a single game in program history, trailing only Gil Fenerty's 18.3 yards per carry against Columbia in 1983.
• This marks the first time that four touchdowns have been scored by freshmen in a single game since a 51-27 win over Bucknell in 2013.
• With the win, the Crusaders also defended the Ram-Crusader Cup.

UP NEXT:

• Holy Cross will host Bucknell on Saturday, April 3.
• Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.