Holy Cross Football Visits Fordham Seeking 2nd Straight Win

Saturday, November 04, 2017

GoLocalWorcester Sports Team

Peter Pujals

The Holy Cross Crusaders football team (3-6, 2-2 PL) will play their second to last game of the season when they visit (3-6, 2-2 PL) Fordham on Saturday.

The Crusaders are coming off a 21-10 win over Georgetown last week, while Fordham is coming off a 45-35 win over Lehigh. The Rams have won two straight games.

The winner of this game will take home the Ram-Crusader Cup, which is presented annually at the contest between Holy Cross and Fordham.

The trophy was first dedicated in 1951 in memory of Major Frank Cavanaugh, a former head coach at both schools.

Game time is set for 1 p.m.

Holy Cross vs Fordham

Saturday’s game will make the 55th meeting between the two programs, with Holy Cross leading the all-time series 27-25-2.

However, Fordham won the 2016 game 54-14.

Holy Cross Offense

The Crusaders offense comes as the 25th best passing offense in the country, averaging 260 yards per game.

Quarterback Peter Pujals has completed 205 of his 369 passes for 2,325 yards and 13 touchdowns on the season.

His top target has been wide receiver Blaise Bell, who has hauled in 42 catches for 509 yards and five touchdowns, while Martin Dorsey has caught 35 passes for 468 yards and two touchdowns.

Running back Gabe Guild leads Holy Cross with 333 rushing yards on 78 carries and one touchdown.

Holy Cross Defense

The Holy Cross defense enters the game as the 12th-best third-down conversion defense in the nation, allowing teams to convert only 31% of the time.

The defense is led by linebacker Nick McBeath, who has racked up 96 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, four sacks, two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Fellow linebacker Ryan Brady has added 88 tackles, three sacks and eight tackles for loss.