Holy Cross Football Loses 21-20 Heartbreaker to Bucknell

Sunday, October 09, 2016

GoLocalWorcester Sports Team

Holy Cross Head Coach Tom Gilmore

The Holy Cross Crusaders fell 21-20 to the Bucknell Bison on Saturday afternoon at Fitton Field.

The Crusaders drop to 2-4 on the season and 1-1 in Patriot League play, while Bucknell moves to 2-3 on the season and 1-0 in the Patriot League.

Unable to Hold On

Holy Cross led 20-14 int he fourth quarter when Bucknell’s Chad Freshnock ran nine yards into the end zone to give the Bison their first lead of the game, 21-20, with 6:37 to play after a Jack Chambers extra point was good.

Now trailing, the Crusaders would take over possession on their own 22 yard line and drive to the Bucknell 24 yard line where they would set up for a field goal att`empt with 3:38 to play.

Zane Wasp came on to attempt the 42 yard field goal but pushed it wide to the right.

The Crusaders would get one last possession from their own ten yard line with 1:20 to play but were unable to move the ball.

Holy Cross in Control Early

Holy Cross jumped out to a 17-0 lead in this game after a Zane Wasp 23 yard field goal sailed through the uprights in the second quarter.

Prior to that, receiver Jake Wieczorek took a four yard pass from Blaise Bell to give the Crusaders a 14-0 second quarter lead after a Wasp extra point.

Trickery helped the Crusaders take a 7-0 lead in the first quarter when wide receiver Brendan Flaherty threw a 24 yard pass to Wieczorek for a touchdown, followed by a Wasp extra point.

Wieczorek was named the player of the game with three catches for 61 yards and two touchdowns.

Bucknell got on the board in the second quarter when running back Joey DeFloria ran one yard for a touchdown to make the score 17-7. DeFloria ran for 142 yards on 28 carries in the game.

The Crusaders would then add a field goal and be in firm control of the game, taking a 20-7 lead at the half.

The Stats

Holly Cross quarterback Blaise Bell completed 11 of his 23 passes for 81 yards with a touchdown, while Miles Alexander led the running attack with eight carries for 21 yards.

Next Up

Holy Cross returns to action on Saturday, October 15 when they host Harvard at Litton Field.

Kick off is set for 1 p.m.