WORCESTER, Mass. – The No. 12/13 Holy Cross football team cruised past Yale, 38-14, in the Crusaders' home opener on Saturday, Sept. 17. 

Holy Cross (3-0) won its first Homecoming game since the 2011 season. Junior wide receiver Jalen Coker took home the Johnny Turco Memorial Trophy, presented to the most outstanding player for the Homecoming game. Coker finished with 96 receiving yards and caught a 32-yard touchdown pass; he also heaved a 36-yard touchdown pass to senior running back Tyler Purdy. 

As a team, the Crusaders accumulated 571 yards of offense — their highest total since the 2017 season.

Junior quarterback Matthew Sluka threw for a pair of touchdowns with 249 passing yards, while rushing for one more. Senior running back Peter Oliver rushed for 119 yards, and sophomore running back Jordan Fuller ran for 72 yards.

Defensively, senior linebacker Jacob Dobbs finished with 14 tackles, including a tackle for a loss of 15 yards. Senior linebacker Liam Anderson made 10 tackles with two TFLs. Senior defensive end Jake Reichwein had six tackles and hurried the quarterback once.

In front of an energetic crowd of 13,847 fans, the Crusaders posted their largest margin of victory over Yale in program history; it is just the seventh win for Holy Cross ever over the Bulldogs in 36 matchups. 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Holy Cross went ahead just seconds into the second quarter, with a two-yard keeper by Sluka giving the Crusaders an early 7-0 lead. 
• Yale quickly evened things up just under three minutes later, with a one-yard rush making it a 7-7 game. 
• Coker tossed a 36-yard touchdown to Purdy, putting the Crusaders back up by a touchdown with 7:47 left in the second.
• It quickly became a 21-7 lead for Holy Cross, with Sluka and senior receiver Ayir Asante connecting for a 36-yard touchdown with 3:04 to go in the half. 
• Senior cornerback Devin Haskins picked off a pass by Yale quarterback Nolan Grooms at the Holy Cross 29-yard line; Oliver had back-to-back rushes of eight and 41 yards to set up a scoring opportunity for Fuller, who had a 22-yard touchdown run with 9:04 to go in the third. 
• Junior corner Terrence Spence had another interception for the Crusaders on the next Yale drive, picking off a Bulldogs pass at the Holy Cross three-yard line. The Crusaders coasted down the field, with Sluka tossing a 32-yard pass to Coker to extend the lead to 35-7 with 1:53 left in the third.
• Senior kicker Derek Ng booted a 22-yard field goal with 8:12 left in the fourth, giving the Crusaders a 38-7 lead.
• Yale got on the board one final time with 2:02 left, cutting the Holy Cross advantage to 38-14. 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE: 

• Ng's field goal, the 38th of his career, broke the Holy Cross program record for career field goals made.  

UP NEXT:

• Holy Cross will open Patriot League play against Colgate on Saturday, Sept. 24. 
  Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. in Hamilton, N.Y. 

FOLLOW THE CRUSADERS 
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