BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The Holy Cross football team fell at No. 4 Lehigh, 38-3, on Saturday, Nov. 8.
The Crusaders had two interceptions on the day, from sophomore cornerback
Amari Gardner and junior corner
Eli Thompson. Thompson finished the day with a strong all-around defensive effort, also chipping in a seven-yard sack and five total tackles.
Junior linebacker
Cam Santee finished the day with a team-high eight tackles. Junior linebacker
Carlo Crocetti made seven stops, with a pair of sacks totaling 13 yards.
Freshman running back
Joseph Williams totaled a team-high 55 receiving yards and added in 14 rushing yards. Sophomore receiver
Alijah Cason caught four passes for 52 yards. Freshman quarterback
Dominic Campanile, in his first career start, completed 19 of his 34 passes, totaling 195 yards in the air.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Lehigh scored on its opening drive with a 29-yard touchdown pass to take a 7-0 lead with 11:04 to go in the first.
- Gardner picked off a pass in the end zone to thwart a Lehigh scoring attempt on their next drive. Though Lehigh forced a Holy Cross three-and-out, the Crusaders responded with a three-and-out of their own, capped by a 12-yard sack by Crocetti.
- Lehigh appeared to score on a long run, but the touchdown was called back after a review showed that the runner was down — and the Crusader defense came up big again, with a third-down TFL from senior defensive end Colin Reynolds forcing the Mountain Hawks to punt.
- A 44-yard completion from Campanile to Cason helped set up a 32-yard field goal for Palenzuela, putting the Crusaders on the board with 5:14 left in the second quarter.
- Lehigh responded on the next drive with a 42-yard touchdown rush to take a 14-3 lead. The Mountain Hawks then drove to the five-yard line late in the half, but Thompson picked off Lehigh quarterback Hayden Johnson in the end zone to keep the score at 14-3 heading into halftime.
- The Mountain Hawks scored 17 points in the third quarter and opened the fourth quarter with another touchdown, building a 38-3 lead.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- Gardner's interception was the first of his career.
- Thompson's interception was his second of the season; he has five career interceptions.
UP NEXT:
- Holy Cross will head to Lewisburg, Pa. for a Patriot League contest against Bucknell on Saturday, Nov. 15.
- Kickoff is set for 12 p.m.
FOLLOW THE CRUSADERS
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