Holy Cross Goes for 3rd Straight Win, UMass Returns to Gillette

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Saturday, November 07, 2015

GoLocalWorcester Sports Team

The Holy Cross Crusaders are on the road a Lehigh this week while the UMass Minutemen return to Gillette Stadium. Here is a preview of both games. 

Holy Cross vs. Lehigh, 12:30 p.m. 

The Holy Cross Crusaders (4-4, 1-2 PL) visit the (4-4, 2-1  PL) Lehigh Mountain Hawks this afternoon. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. 

“We are excited to get back into league play for the final stretch of the season. Lehigh is always a tough place to play, but we are looking forward to the challenge. I have been very impressed with their offensive production, and it is clear that their defense has been improving since the beginning of the year," said head coach  Tom Gilmore. 

The Crusaders have won two straight games including a come back victory over Bryant last week at home. This week, Holy Cross will look to get their conference record back to the .500 mark. 

Lehigh comes in playing well, having won two of their last three games, the last game being a 33-28 victory over Georgetown. 

Keys to a Holy Cross Win 

For the Crusaders to get to their third straight win, they will nee to rely on defense in this game. 

Lehigh comes into the game averaging 444.4 yards per game which is second best in the conference. 

Lehigh quarterback, Nick Shafnisky has completed 150 of 229 passes for 1,676 yards and nine touchdowns. Shafnisky has also thrown nine interceptions which means the Holy Cross secondary could see some opportunities for turnovers. 

On the offensive side of the ball, Peter Pujals is riding a good amount of momentum after a big come back last week against Bryant. Pujals will need to be even better this week, going on the road. 

Akron vs. UMass at Gillette Stadium, Noon 

The UMass Minutemen (1-7, 0-4) return to Gillette Stadium to host the (3-5,1-3) Akron Zips for a noon time start. This will be Umass' final game at Gillette Stadium this season. 

In last season's meeting between the two teams, Akron won 30-6 on their home turf. 

Keys to a UMass Win 

Offensively, this game could come down to UMass quarterback Blake Frohnapfel having to throw his way to victory. Akron's rushing defense ranks eighth, allowing only 97.6 yards per game with an average of 6.3 tackles per loss per game. 

On the defensive side of the ball, UMass will have to tighten up the run defense, which currently ranks 114th, averaging 225 yards given up per game. UMass' rushing offense averages 155 yards per game. 

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