WEST POINT, N.Y. — The No. 22 Holy Cross football team fell short in an FBS matchup at Army West Point, falling by a score of 17-14 on Saturday, Nov. 11 at Michie Stadium.
Senior quarterback
Matthew Sluka rushed for 171 yards on 37 carries, while also passing for 156 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Senior wide receiver
Jalen Coker and junior receiver
Justin Shorter each caught a touchdown.
Defensively, junior linebacker
Frankie Monte made a career-high 13 tackles. Freshman safety
Carlo Crocetti, junior safety
Jake Jarmolowich and freshman defensive lineman
William Robinson each had six tackles.
The Crusaders (6-4) had 26 first downs on the day to just 11 for Army (4-6); Holy Cross totaled 395 yards of offense, including 259 total rushing yards, while holding the Black Knights to just 269 yards.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Army opened the scoring by blocking a punt and returning it for a touchdown, taking a 7-0 lead with 12:34 to go in the first quarter. The Black Knights' advantage grew to 14-0 with 11:14 left in the second quarter after a 14-yard touchdown rush.
- The Black Knights had a touchdown wiped off the board twice after Casey Reynolds just stepped out of bounds at the one-yard line on a 69-yard reception, and a holding penalty then moved Army back to the 11-yard line. After a nine-yard rush by Army's Kanye Udoh, Robinson and Crocetti recorded a tackle for no gain — with Army following it up with a gain of just one yard on third down. In a pivotal fourth-and-one, Monte and senior linebacker Dante Bolden walloped Bryson Daily at the brink of the end zone for a goal-line stand and a turnover on downs.
- After a scoreless third quarter, the Crusaders finally got on the board with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Sluka to Shorter, cutting the Army advantage in half.
- The Black Knights connected on a 26-yard field goal to extend their lead to 17-7 with 4:59 remaining.
- In the final minutes of the game, senior running back Tyler Purdy had a 16-yard gain to give Holy Cross a first-and-goal opportunity, and Coker caught an eight-yard touchdown pass from Sluka to cut the lead to 17-14 with 2:05 to go in regulation. Army recovered the onside kick attempt, and was able to get a first down to run out the clock.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- Coker broke the single-season program record with his 14th touchdown of the year; the record that was previously held by Chris Summers (1993).
- Sluka surpassed the 1,000-rushing yard mark for the season on Saturday, and now has 1,086 rushing yards. This is the second straight year he has surpassed the 1,000-rushing yard mark; with Jordan Fuller's 1,046 yards on the season, this is now the second year in a row that Holy Cross has had two 1,000-yard rushers (Peter Oliver, 1,029 yards). Prior to the 2022 season, the feat had never been accomplished in school history.
UP NEXT:
- The Crusaders will celebrate Senior Day on Saturday, Nov. 18 against Georgetown.
- Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. at Fitton Field. Tickets can be purchased through the Holy Cross Ticket Office.
FOLLOW THE CRUSADERS
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