#25 Holy Cross Football Set to Visit Dartmouth

Saturday, September 23, 2017

GoLocalWorcester Sports Team

Holy Cross visits Dartmouth on Saturday

The Holy Cross Crusaders football team (2-1, 1-0 PL) is nationally ranked for the first time since 2010, coming in at #25 in both the Stats FCS Poll and the FCS Coaches Poll.

On Saturday, September 23, #25 Holy Cross will travel to New Hampshire to take on the Dartmouth Big Green.

Dartmouth comes in with a record 1-0 following their 38-7 win over Stetson last week.

“Dartmouth is off to a strong start this season, performing well in every phase of the game during their victory over Stetson last week. They have a talented, well-coached team that plays hard, and we know we will have to play well in order to have success against them,” said Holy Cross head coach Tom Gilmore.

Kick-off is set for 7 p.m.

Holy Cross vs Dartmouth

The two programs will meet for the 80th time in their history on Saturday with Dartmouth leading the all-time series 38-37-4.

The last time these two teams played was in 2016 when the Big Green cruised past Holy Cross 35-10.

Holy Cross Offense

The Crusaders offense enters the game as the 11th ranked passing offense in the country, averaging 301 yards per game.

Quarterback Peter Pujals has completed 70 of his 128 passes for 903 yards and six touchdowns. Of his six touchdown passes, five of them came last week in Holy Cross' win over New Hampshire.

His top target has been wide receiver Blaise Bell, who has hauled in 17 catches for 208 yards and two touchdowns, while Richie DeNicola has brought in 13 passes for 142 yards.

Running back Diquan Walker leads the Crusaders with 124 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries.

Holy Cross Defense

The Holy Cross defense enters the game as the 10th best third-down conversion defense in the nation, allowing teams to convert only 23.9% of the time.

The defense is led by linebacker Nick McBeath, who has racked up 34 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery.

Fellow linebacker Ryan Brady has added 32 tackles, two sacks and four tackles for loss.