How has Holy Cross fared in previous football playoff appearances?
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Holy Cross will play at Villanova in the second round of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday. It will be the seventh postseason game in the program’s rich history. Last week’s 13-10 win over Sacred Heart at Fitton Field was HC’s first playoff victory. Here is a look at the Crusaders’ other postseason appearances:
January 1, 1946
Holy Cross fell to Miami, 13-6, in the Orange Bowl. The game was tied, 6-6, in the closing seconds when HC attempted a last-play long ball, but Miami’s Al Hudson intercepted the tipped pass and returned it 89 yards for the winning touchdown. Stan Kozlowski threw a TD pass for HC earlier in the game. During a regular-season matchup against Villanova that year, Kozlowski rushed for two TDs, passed for another and kicked two extra points in a 26-7 victory.
December 3, 1983
Similar to last week’s game against Sacred Heart, a light snow dusted Central Mass. the night before Holy Cross took on Western Carolina in an NCAA Division 1-AA quarterfinal at Fitton Field. HC standout Gill “The Thrill” Fenerty scored the first touchdown on a 33-yard rush. Fenerty carried 10 times for 62 yards before exiting the game in the second quarter after taking a hard hit. The Crusaders led, 14-7, in the third, but Western Carolina gained momentum with a blocked punt. Holy Cross came back to tie the game, 21-21, on Chuck Doyle’s 2-yard TD plunge, but Western Carolina, behind quarterback Jeff Gilbert’s three TD passes, prevailed, 28-21.
November 28, 2009
The Dominic Randolph era came to an end in the first round of the FCS playoffs at Villanova. The Crusaders hung tough for four quarters with the Wildcats, the eventual national champion, before falling, 38-28. Randolph, HC’s star quarterback who shattered Holy Cross, Patriot League and FCS records his senior season, completed 31 of 51 passes for 347 yards and three touchdowns against Villanova. Randolph finished his career with 1,131 completions, at the time an FCS record, and still a Holy Cross record.
November 30, 2019
Holy Cross, which captured its first Patriot League title since 2009, fell to Monmouth, 44-27, in the first round of the FCS playoffs. Senior running back Domenic Cozier rushed for 97 yards and junior Matt Considine accounted for all four of HC’s touchdowns. Monmouth jumped to a 21-0 lead. The Crusaders closed Monmouth’s lead to 26-13 in the third on Considine’s 22-yard TD pass to freshman Ayir Asante, but the Hawks rolled up more than 500 yards of offense and HC turned the ball over three times.
April 24, 2021
During the COVID-shortened spring season, Holy Cross beat Bucknell in the Patriot League championship game to earn its second straight FCS playoff berth. The Crusaders traveled to top-seeded South Dakota State and fell to the Jackrabbits, 31-3. South Dakota State rushed for 281 yards and held the Crusaders to 198 yards of total offense. Junior kicker Derek Ng provided HC’s only points with a 47-yard field goal late in the first half.
November 27, 2021
In just the second playoff game at Fitton Field, sophomore quarterback Matthew Sluka connected with sophomore receiver Jalen Coker for the winning touchdown with 14 seconds left. The Crusaders trailed by four when they got the ball back with 3:14 to go and converted a fourth down and a third down deep in their own territory to keep the drive alive. With a game-high 18 tackles, junior linebacker Jacob Dobbs led a great defensive effort that limited Sacred Heart to 10 points and 236 yards.
Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @JenTandG.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: How has Holy Cross fared in previous football playoff appearances?
