When the football tumbled through the hands of a diving Avery Jones in the end zone Saturday, Holy Cross defenders signaled incomplete, knowing they’d just done enough to secure the win.
The 34-28 victory for the Crusaders at Fisher Stadium in Easton, Pa., came after Lafayette fought from down, 21-0, a minute into the second quarter. Things weren’t sealed until that failed 4th-and-8 with 1:20 to go, which kept Holy Cross unbeaten in the Patriot League.
“We just told ourselves we’re not losing this game,” said senior safety Ryan Ruane. “Our coach was making playcalls. We were saying to keep everything in front, keep them in bounds.”
Holy Cross (4-5, 3-0) was firing early, with junior Max Mosey catching a 58-yard score and rushing in from 4 yards. Senior Joe Pesansky (14-for-21 passing, 183 yards) added a 6-yard scoring strike to classmate Justin Shorter between Mosey’s TDs.
The Leopards (4-4, 1-2) drove for touchdowns on each of their remaining three drives in the second quarter, but Holy Cross kept the lead thanks to a pair of sophomores. Jayden Clerveaux (95 yards on 19 rushing attempts) burst 28 yards for a touchdown to make it 28-14 and, after another Lafayette score, Daniel Porto kicked a school record 53-yard field goal with under a minute to go in the half to make it 31-21.
Porto’s 24-yarder in the final frame proved to be the difference after Lafayette went 72 yards in just 2:15 to make it 34-28 with 6:43 to play. Lafayette entered the red zone on all four of its second-half drives, but only scored once, turning it over twice on downs and having a 28-yard field goal try blocked by Holy Cross senior lineman Damon Donalds.
“We had a really fast start,” said coach Dan Curran. “But at the end of the day, it was an awesome finish by all three phases, and we knew we were going to need all three phases to come out and execute at a high level today and we were able to do that.”
Holy Cross is off next week, then finishes its home slate with Worcester visits by Lehigh and Bucknell the following two Saturdays.