Football beats Bucknell for fourth consecutive win

In a week, the Holy Cross football team will begin a make-or-break two game road trip with stops at Colgate and Lafayette. But before the squad can make a legitimate run at a league title, it needs to defend its home turf. This past weekend, Bucknell rumbled into Worcester hoping to catch some complacent Crusaders off-guard-or at least a little tired after a long Halloween night of trick-or-treating.

The HC fans may have felt tricked for most of the first half, as the vaunted Crusader offense was held scoreless for nearly the entire first half. The Bison defense looked stout in the most critical situations. RB Mike Kielt was stopped short of the sticks on two key third down situations, forcing HC to punt on their first two possessions. The Crusaders moved the ball deeper into Bucknell territory on their next two drives but came away empty handed after a missed Matt Partain field goal and a Dom Randolph interception near the end zone. As the offense sputtered, the defense tried to keep the game close. For the most part, they were successful. The unit's one glaring mistake came when a one yard swing pass from Bison QB Marcello Trigg to RB A.J. Kizekai became a 79 yard Bucknell touchdown after Kizaekai slashed through several HC arm tackles.

With 45 seconds left in the first half, HC retained possession down 10-0 on their 37 yard line. A field goal would definitely help generate some halftime momentum, but Dom Randolph had a better idea. Randolph raced the team down the field, completing four straight passes, culminating with a Jon Brock 20 yard TD catch in front of the home team's sideline with one tick remaining on the clock.

The late touchdown was not the only thing concerning the Bison coming out of the break. Trigg, who had managed the game brilliantly for most of the first half, limped out of the locker room on crutches. The team's signal caller would not return to action for the rest of the game, giving way to backup Andrew Lair-a QB who had completed a grand total of zero passes in eight attempts coming into the game.

Recognizing this weakness, the HC defense crowded the line for most of the second half. Bucknell stubbornly-and ineffectively- continued to try to run the ball. Lair fumbled once on an option call, and looked confused every time he dropped back to throw. The Bison were terribly overmatched and all of the pressure was squarely placed on their defense to keep the road team close.

Not many defenses can stop the Crusaders for four quarters, however. Smelling blood in the water, the Crusaders exploded for 27 second half points. WR Bill Edgar caught two Dom Randolph TD tosses for 29 and five yards respectively, while TE Ryan McGuire made an acrobatic 13 yard tip-drill reception at the back of the end zone. Randolph finished the day throwing for 398 yards passing with 4 touchdowns on 38-49 passing. His performance earned him both PL and ECAC Offensive Player of the Week.

Additionally, Matt Partain kicked two FGs in the half to extend the final margin to 34-17.

This weekend the Crusaders take on the Fordham Rams on HC Senior Day at Fitton Field at 12:30 P.M.