Holy Cross seniors are excited to have another home game — in NCAA FCS playoffs
After Holy Cross beat Lafayette in its home regular-season finale on Nov. 6 and the seniors celebrated their day postgame, posing for photos with their proud parents and coaches, HC senior defensive lineman Dan Kuznetzov lingered on Fitton Field a while longer, not knowing then if it was the last time he would be on it.
“I sat there in the pads for an extra hour,” Kuznetzov said, “and let it soak in.”
Fifth-year receiver Tenio Ayeni was the last player out of the locker room.
“I didn’t want to leave,” said Ayeni, who glanced at the field one more time before he did finally exit. “All the memories you have there, all the opportunities. I wanted to take in the aura.”
The Crusaders clinched their third straight Patriot League title and automatic FCS playoff berth the next week and were hopeful for a first-round home postseason game, but they didn’t know for sure until Sunday’s selection show when the bracket was revealed.
Holy Cross (9-2) will host Sacred Heart (8-3) at noon Saturday at Fitton Field.
“It’s something everyone at the beginning of the year set their sights on,” Ayeni said, “and knowing it was something we could accomplish, we pushed forward. Our job is not finished yet. We’re just going to keep pushing the needle every day.”
This marks just the second time Holy Cross will have a home playoff game. The last was in 1983, when Western Carolina defeated HC, 28-21, in an NCAA Division 1-AA quarterfinal.
Holy Cross is making its sixth postseason appearance and seeking its first win.
“Holy Cross is once again in a place to make history,” fifth-year defensive lineman Benton Whitley said. “It is a historical moment, but it’s another game we have to fully prepare for. We are fully locked in this week and ready to go. We’re excited.”
The Crusaders, who beat UConn and Yale, will be looking to go 3-0 against schools from Connecticut this season.
Sacred Heart won its second straight Northeast Conference title and third in the last four years.
Pioneers senior running back Julius Chestnut, who led the nation in rushing yards per game in the spring and is an NFL prospect, missed seven games this fall, but returned to the lineup for the last two games and put up 100-yard rushing performances in each.
In Chestnut’s absence, junior running back Malik Grant emerged and rushed for 1,288 yards (third in FCS) and nine touchdowns.
HC has the nation’s fifth-ranked rushing defense, and the Crusaders are limiting opponents to 76.6 yards per game.
“(Sacred Heart’s RBs) are good,” Holy Cross coach Bob Chesney said. “Very rarely are they tackled with first contact; it just doesn’t happen. I think right now we understand the idea of swarming to the ball and not diving at anybody because they’re very elusive, have good spin moves, pad level and body balance. They’re powerful, elusive and fast all at the same time.”
Holy Cross led the PL in scoring, total, passing and rushing defense, while Sacred Heart topped the Northeast Conference in scoring, total and passing defense. The Pioneers ranked sixth of eight teams in scoring offense. HC led the PL, averaging 35.5 points per game.
Sacred Heart was 2-3 through five games. A win over conference foe Merrimack started the Pioneers on their current six-game winning streak.
HC’s game against Merrimack — a stunning loss — was likewise pivotal in the Crusaders’ 2021 season.
“It’s something we hold onto each week,” Chesney said. “We want to make sure we don’t let it happen again. We love the way we’re playing.”
HC’s other loss was to Harvard before running the PL schedule.
The winner of Saturday’s game plays at Villanova next weekend.
“We have to make sure we stay focused on the task at hand,” Kuznetzov said, “which is treating it like a regular work week, but bringing a little more fuel to the fire. There is more on the line — it’s win or go home. It’s huge for this program.”
PL accolades for Crusaders
Holy Cross collected two major Patriot League awards, with junior linebacker Jacob Dobbs earning Defensive Player of the Year accolades and Chesney Coach of the Year honors.
Dobbs, a two-time captain and a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award as the top defensive player in FCS, keyed HC’s top-ranked PL defense and, with 10.2 tackles per game, ranks in the FCS top 10.
Chesney earned PL Coach of the Year honors for the second time while guiding HC to a 6-0 mark in league games, its first undefeated full conference slate since 1991. HC’s win over UConn in the 2021 opener was its first over an FBS opponent since 2002. Chesney is a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, presented to the FCS coach of the year.
Twelve Holy Cross players, including senior running back Peter Oliver of Auburn and St. John’s High, earned first-team All-PL honors, and eight garnered second-team accolades.
Hall of Fame touch
Every day when Holy Cross freshman running back Jordan Fuller leaves the Luth Athletic Complex, he walks by his father’s HC Varsity Club Hall of Fame plaque on the wall in the building’s lobby.
The great Jerome Fuller, also a running back, rushed for a Holy Cross single-season record 1,465 yards during his All-America senior season in 1991. The mark still stands.
“That’s what Jordan has his sights set on,” Chesney said.
The 6-foot, 220-pound Jordan Fuller, who was a record-setting rusher at Winnacunnet High in Hampton, New Hampshire, and later at Governor’s Academy, has been an important part of HC’s offense this fall.
He has carried 45 times for 221 yards, and has been HC’s go-to guy in goal-line situations. His nine rushing touchdowns ranks second on the team behind sophomore quarterback Matthew Sluka’s 13.
“That’s what he does,” Chesney said. “He goes in there, down by the end zone and takes some hits off (senior RB) Pete (Oliver) and some hits off Matt, and he is just so powerful and has such a knack for finding that end zone.”
Fuller scored a season-high three touchdowns in the Crusaders’ Patriot League clinching win at Fordham two weeks ago.
Jerome Fuller, who also played baseball at Holy Cross, entered the college’s hall of fame in 2005.
“When he sees his dad’s plaque,” Chesney said, “he kind of touches it on his way out of the building, and it’s just pretty cool when I catch a glimpse of that when I’m walking out at the same time. I’m sure it’s something he’s pretty proud of, and I’m sure his father is pretty proud of him as well.”
Holloman, McMurtrie to return
Senior defensive back Grant Holloman, sophomore defensive back Terrence Spence and junior offensive lineman Pat McMurtrie, who have all missed time due to injury, are expected back for Saturday’s game, Chesney said. … HC’s practice schedule this week altered slightly, with Wednesday starting at 12:05 p.m. (Saturday’s game time) and Thursday a morning session (before a team Thanksgiving dinner). “We’ll still accomplish the same amount of reps, same amount of scout team and same amount of things that we typically would do throughout the week,” Chesney said. … Sacred Heart has three players from Central Mass. on its roster — graduate tight end Ed Cuddahy of Leominster, junior wide receiver Coleman Drugotch of Stow/St. John’s, and redshirt freshman wide receiver Antonio Stakley of Athol/Narragansett Regional.
—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @JenTandG.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Holy Cross football, seniors, Fitton Field, NCAA FCS playoffs, Sacred Heart
