Five Things To Watch: Holy Cross Football

BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPIONS

The Holy Cross football team enters the 2021 season with back-to-back championships under its belt; the Crusaders won their eighth conference title in program history and second consecutive Patriot League title on April 17, 2021 with a victory over Bucknell in the first-ever Patriot League Championship Game. 

This marked the first back-to-back conference titles for the Crusaders since winning three straight between 1989 and 1991. Prior to the back-to-back victories in 2019 and Spring 2021, the Crusaders’ previous Patriot League championships, all of them outright, came in 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991 and 2009. 

OFFENSE

Holy Cross returns a number of key players on the offensive side after averaging 22.5 points per game in the spring – and 29 points per contest against Patriot League opponents. 

The Crusaders averaged a league-best 178.5 rushing yards per game, led by then-freshman quarterback Matthew Sluka, who averaged a Patriot League-leading 58.5 rushing yards per game, and then-junior running back Peter Oliver, who led the conference with an average of 7.1 yards per carry en route to being named an All-Patriot League second team selection. 

Now entering his sophomore year, Sluka was named the Patriot League’s Rookie of the Year in the shortened spring season, in addition to being named a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, awarded to the best freshman in FCS. 

Senior center and team captain Nick Olsofka anchors a strong offensive line, having earned All-Patriot League second team honors in the spring and being named an All-Patriot League preseason pick ahead of the fall season.

Senior wide receiver Tenio Ayeni joins Olsofka as a captain for Holy Cross this fall. The Crusaders also return now-junior receiver Ayir Asante, who is a two-time All-Patriot League honoree. Asante played just one game in the spring, but as a freshman, he led the team with 48 receptions for 697 yards and six touchdowns on the year. 

DEFENSE

Holy Cross’ defensive unit held Patriot League opponents to just 12.3 points per contest last season. 

Senior defensive end Benton Whitley returns for the Crusaders as a two-time All-Patriot League first team selection. During his career, Whitley has recorded 62 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. Whitley’s fellow senior defensive lineman, Dan Kuznetsov, was an All-Patriot League selection during the spring season, in which he had 14 tackles and four tackles for loss in four games. Kuznetsov was also voted a captain for the fall season. 

In his two seasons with the Crusaders, junior linebacker and team captain Jacob Dobbs has totaled 99 solo tackles, 35 assisted tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks, four interceptions and four fumble recoveries. He is a two-time All-Patriot League selection, earning first team honors as a sophomore.

Senior cornerback John Smith highlighted the Crusaders’ Patriot League Championship Game victory over Bucknell, earning game MVP honors after tallying four tackles and returning an interception for 58 yards while also breaking up two passes. On the season, he had three interceptions and 14 tackles to earn a spot on the All-Patriot League first team.

Team captain and senior defensive back Grant Holloman was an All-Patriot League second team selection in the spring, totaling 14 tackles on the year. 

SPECIAL TEAMS

Between the duo of senior kicker Derek Ng and junior punter Patrick Haughney, the Crusaders have two key threats on special teams. Ng was an All-Patriot League first team selection in the spring, going perfect 10-for-10 on extra points and making six field goals on the year – including a school-record 51-yard field goal in the team’s season opener against Lehigh. 

Haughney was a second-team honoree in the spring, and prior to the fall, he was named to the 2021 FCS Punter of the Year award watchlist. Last season, he totaled 733 yards on 17 punts for an average of 43.1 yards per attempt.

Junior Tyler Purdy also received All-Patriot League honors as a kick returner during the Spring 2021 season.

SCHEDULE OUTLOOK

After a shortened campaign that was delayed to the spring of 2021 due to COVID-19, the Crusaders look forward to a full 11-game slate this fall. 

When the Crusaders take on the University of Connecticut on Sept. 4 to open the season, Holy Cross will be in search of its first win over an FBS team since the 2002 season. 

Holy Cross opens its home slate with a Sept. 11 matchup against Merrimack, and then will head to face a top Ivy League program in Yale on Sept. 18. The following week, the Crusaders hit the road again to face Monmouth, ranked 13th among all FCS teams prior to the 2021 season. 

Harvard visits Fitton Field on Oct. 2, and after a bye week, the Crusaders open Patriot League play on Oct. 16 at home against Georgetown.

Holy Cross will host Colgate in a historic matchup on Oct. 23, with the game to be played at the new Polar Park, home of the Worcester Red Sox. 

Patriot League play continues with matchups at Lehigh (Oct. 30), vs. Lafayette (Nov. 6), at Fordham (Nov. 13) and at Bucknell (Nov. 20).