WORCESTER, Mass. — Junior running back
Jake Croce's overtime touchdown gave the Holy Cross football team a 30-27 victory over Villanova on Saturday, Nov. 14 at Fitton Field.
The Crusaders (6-5, 6-2 Patriot League) held off a late push from the Wildcats (6-5, 5-3 Patriot League), who erased a 10-point deficit over the final three-and-a-half minutes to knot the game up at 24-24. Villanova hit a field goal to take a 27-24 lead in overtime before Croce's one-yard touchdown gave the Crusaders the walkoff victory.
Holy Cross is on a four-game winning streak, and has now won six straight Patriot League games and six of their last seven contests overall.
Junior receiver
Ty Curran scored a pair of touchdowns and had six receptions for a career-best 134 yards on the day. Sophomore running back
Joseph Williams had 83 yards on 19 carries, while Croce scored two touchdowns on the ground.
Defensively, senior linebacker
Adam Due had a team-high 10 tackles, an interception and a tackle for loss. Sophomore safety
Anthony Redfern returned an interception 65 yards and chipped in eight tackles on the day. Junior cornerback
Juju Tackie had seven tackles on the day, including a clutch eight-yard sack in overtime, and a pass breakup. Holy Cross had four takeaways on the day, with junior cornerback
Amari Gardner recording an interception and senior safety
Chisom Onwuzurigbo recovering a fumble.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Crusader defense forced a three-and-out on their opening drive, setting the tone for the remainder of the first quarter; the Wildcats punted three times in the first 10 minutes of the game.
- A 36-yard run by Williams helped set up Holy Cross' first scoring drive of the game, with Croce carrying the ball eight yards into the end zone on a direct snap to give the Crusaders a 7-0 lead with 7:31 left in the first.
- On Holy Cross' next drive, junior quarterback David Lynch found a wide-open Curran for a 65-yard score, extending the lead to 14-0 with 3:27 left in the first.
- Villanova got on the board with a touchdown with 6:11 remaining in the second quarter, but the Crusaders responded a scoring drive of their own, with Lynch and Curran connecting again for a 24-yard score and a 21-7 lead for the Crusaders heading into halftime.
- The Wildcats cut within 21-14 with 3:09 left in the third quarter, with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Pat McQuaide to Brandon Binkowski.
- Villanova threatened early in the fourth quarter, bringing the ball to the 12-yard line, but Redfern picked off a pass in the end zone and returned it 65 yards. That set up a scoring drive for the Crusaders, with sophomore placekicker Owen Saraceno connecting on a 30-yard field goal with 9:18 left in the game.
- The Crusader defense continued to come up big, with Due securing an interception on Villanova's next drive. The Wildcats still hung around, with McQuaide completing a 43-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to cut within 24-21. Villanova then hit a field goal with eight seconds remaining to force overtime.
- The Wildcats were up first in overtime, and advanced to the 12-yard line before an eight-yard sack from Tackie pushed them back. After back-to-back incomplete passes, Villanova settled for a field goal to take a 27-24 lead.
- Lynch had a five-yard pickup before throwing a 19-yard pass to Curran to bring the Crusaders to the one-yard line. After back-to-back rushes fell short of the end zone, freshman Nick Diamond cleared the way for Croce, who scored on the direct snap for the walkoff win.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- Curran extends his conference-leading touchdown reception total to nine on the season. He has four multi-touchdown games this year.
- Due has recorded double-digit tackles in five games this season and is averaging 11 tackles per game during Holy Cross' four-game winning streak.
- This is the Crusaders' first overtime game, and overtime win, since a 53-52 victory over Fordham in 2022.
- Holy Cross held Villanova to just 48 rushing yards, the second-lowest total by a Holy Cross opponent this season.
UP NEXT:
- Holy Cross hosts Fordham for the Ram-Crusader Cup during the Patriot League's Rivalry Week to close out the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 21.
- Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. at Fitton Field.
- Tickets for the Senior Day matchup can be purchased by visiting goholycross.com/fbtix or by calling 1-844-GO-CROSS.
FOLLOW THE CRUSADERS
Be sure to follow the Holy Cross football team — and all things Crusader Athletics — on social media!
X - @HCrossFB | @goholycross
Instagram - @hcrossfb | @goholycross
Facebook - Holy Cross Football | Holy Cross Athletics
YouTube - GoHolyCross
