'Making history was definitely a goal of ours,' Holy Cross stuns Sacred Heart with last-minute TD pass to advance in NCAA FCS playoffs

WORCESTER — The Holy Cross defense did its job for the better part of four quarters during Saturday’s FCS playoff game at frigid Fitton Field. When the Crusaders, who had managed just two field goals, got the ball back with three minutes left and trailing by four, HC’s defensive players watched excitedly from the sideline, certain it was time for the offense to shine.

“We had the utmost confidence,” junior linebacker Jacob Dobbs said. “It’s our job to give them energy. You’re cheering them on knowing they’re going to do their thing.”

With 14 seconds on the clock, sophomore quarterback Matthew Sluka threw a perfect ball to classmate Jalen Coker in the front corner of the end zone, the 35-yard completion capping an 80-yard drive and lifting Holy Cross to a thrilling, 13-10 victory.

It was the first national postseason win in Holy Cross football history.

“Making history was definitely a goal of ours coming into the season,” Sluka said. “It feels great to do it. Hopefully we can keep progressing.”

Holy Cross (10-2) will play at Villanova in a second-round game at 7 p.m. Friday.

MORE: 'You just love playing for him' — Crusaders cherish their football coach, Bob Chesney

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Dobbs said. “Out here in the playoffs, your job is to go earn the next week. You’re playing your heart out and giving everything you have to earn that next week. That’s what we did. We earned the right to play another football game.”

HC posted its first 10-win season since the 1991 team finished 11-0.

The Crusaders, who won their third straight Patriot League championship this fall, dropped their previous five postseason appearances.

“It’s cool to accomplish something in the storied history of this program,” HC coach Bob Chesney said. “To have a first is not easy to come by. To get one today is pretty awesome.”

Holy Cross hosted a playoff game for just the second time; the other was an NCAA Division 1-AA quarterfinal game against Western Carolina in 1983. HC students are on Thanksgiving break, but 4,163 fans, family members and friends braved the cold at Fitton Field.

HC extended its win streak to seven games.

Sacred Heart, which won its second straight Northeast Conference title, finished 8-4.

Holy Cross averaged a PL-best 35.5 points per game this season, but it was a challenging day for the offense, which tied a season-low point total, and posted its second-lowest rushing yards (111) of the year.

Game time temperature was 35 degrees with a real-feel of 26 and a blustery wind.

“When the wind was going one direction, it was great,” Sluka said. “When it was going the other direction, it was definitely tougher. It allowed them to stack the box a little bit more and prevent our run game from really getting opened up. (The conditions) made it a little bit of a challenge, but we were able to overcome it.”

Sacred Heart went up, 10-3, on a field goal early in the fourth, and HC responded with a Derek Ng field goal four minutes later.

On the final drive, Sluka converted a fourth down with a 5-yard gain, and later, on third-and-17 from the HC 24, took off for 21 yards. He completed passes to Coker (nine yards) and senior Tenio Ayeni (10) to set up the winning strike.

“Being able to look downfield, keep his eyes downfield – we have to get the ball out of his hands a little bit sooner, which we’ll work on this week – Matt created some pretty awesome situations for our program,” Chesney said.

The TD was No. 4 of the season for Coker.

“(Executing that play) was hours of hard work before practice and after practice,” Coker said, “and building that relationship with the wide receiver and quarterback.”

Sacred Heart, which features two fine running backs in senior Julius Chestnut and junior Malik Grant and had the 11th-ranked rushing attack in FCS this season, scored on the game’s opening drive. Backup quarterback Rob McCoy came in and broke free for a 21-yard gain to get the Pioneers inside the HC 10, and he scored from five yards out.

Sacred Heart was 7-13 on third-down conversions, but the Holy Cross defense came up with numerous big plays to keep the Pioneers out of the end zone.

Dobbs had a game-high 18 tackles, including 2.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks. Seniors Liam Doran and Liam Anderson each had eight tackles, and seniors Benton Whitley and Dan Kuznetsov each had a sack.

“Our defense was amazing,” Coker said.

HC trailed, 7-3, at halftime and seemed to catch a much-needed break early in the third when senior Terrell Prince recovered a Sacred Heart muffed punt at the Pioneers’ 36-yard line. The Crusaders gave it right back, though, when sophomore QB Marco Siderman threw an interception in the end zone.

Holy Cross had nine penalties for 66 yards, including six false starts.

“We dug a hole and made some mistakes,” Chesney said. “It’s exciting to sit here in this moment and say we won with that many mistakes. We have a lot we can improve on. It’s going to take everything we’ve got moving forward.”

Junior linebacker Jacob Dobbs, who last week was named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, led a tremendous defensive effort with 18 tackles.

The Crusaders trailed, 10-6, when they got the ball back with 3:14 left. On third-and-17 from the HC 24, Sluka rushed for 21 yards to pick up a critical first down. He later threw completions to Coker, for nine yards, and senior Tenio Ayeni, for 10 to set up the winning TD to Coker.

Sacred Heart, the Northeast Conference champion, scored on its opening possession and added a field goal early in the fourth quarter.

For Holy Cross, senior Derek Ng kicked two field goals, the second with 8:27 left.

The Pioneers finished 8-4.

Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @JenTandG.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Holy Cross stuns Sacred Heart as Matthew Sluka finds Jalen Coker for TD with 14 seconds left to advance in NCAA FCS playoffs