SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. — The Holy Cross football team’s emotions went from exultation to dejection in just over a minute late in Saturday’s game at the University of Rhode Island.
Senior running back Jordan Fuller scored to give the Crusaders their first lead with 1:47 to play, but the Rams, and sophomore quarterback Devin Farrell responded.
Farrell struggled with ball control for much of the game, but he came up big on URI’s final drive with three straight completions totaling 61 yards, including the winning 31-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Shawn Harris with 19 seconds left.
The Rams spoiled Dan Curran’s first game as Holy Cross coach with a dramatic 20-17 victory before 5,770 fans at Meade Stadium.
“It’s obviously a heartbreaker for the kids to battle like they did for four quarters and to come back and put together what seemed like a game-winning drive,” Curran said. “It’s obviously deflating, but give URI credit.”
HC’s streak of season-opening wins ended at four. The Crusaders fell to 0-6 all time in August games.
The game was the first between Holy Cross and URI since 1988.
HC’s offense, and especially the passing game, struggled in the first half, and URI led, 6-3, at the break. Holy Cross trailed, 13-3, at the start of the fourth quarter, but got the momentum-changing play it needed when senior linebacker Frankie Monte popped Farrell at the 50, knocked the ball loose, and sophomore defensive lineman Brice Stevenson recovered.
The play led to senior quarterback Joe Pesansky’s 43-yard TD pass to sophomore Charly Mullaly, for Mullaly’s first career touchdown.
“It was very important,” Fuller said. “We needed it to come earlier. That got us going for sure, but we can’t score three points in the first half of a game and expect to win.”
With 9:31 left, HC sophomore Will Robinson blocked Ty Groff’s 37-yard field goal attempt.
The Crusaders took over at the URI 20 and, as they worked their way down the field, benefited from three URI pass interference penalties and a huge fourth-down conversion by Fuller.
Later in the drive, Fuller’s 13-yard gain set up the Crusaders at the URI 5, and on second-and-goal from the 4, Fuller found room on the left side and ran it into the end zone.
The All-American Fuller, who last year led the nation with 19 total touchdowns and a program-record 18 rushing TDs, carried 28 times for 139 yards.
“It was a terrible feeling (to lose),” Fuller said. “We hadn’t really done much offensively, then we put a couple of drives together. Our defense played well all game. You can’t really chalk it up and say they gave up a 2-minute drive at the end. They battled all game. We can’t expect to win scoring 17 points.”
The Crusaders forced six fumbles and came away with three.
“We wanted to play fast, which I thought we did,” said HC senior safety Curtis Harris-Lopez, who had a game-high 10 tackles, forced one of the fumbles and broke up a pass. “We wanted to create turnovers, which we did as well. I thought we tackled well as a team and did a great job covering as a team. The end of the game obviously stings, but we’ll get better from that.”
In the first half, HC forced two fumbles in URI territory, but managed just three points off the takeaways.
“That’s deflating,” Curran said, “and a little bit self-inflicted. We had some unforced errors. In the second half, we converted a lot better in situational football, and we have to do that quicker against a good team on the road.”
HC had just 100 yards of total offense in the first half. Pesansky was 2 of 5 for 7 yards. He finished 10 of 18 for 101 yards.
“They came out and did some good things defensively early,” Curran said, “and we weren’t as clean as we should have been in the first half as an offense. Once we got things going in the second half, obviously it was a different game.”
The Rams opened with back-to-back sustained drives, but they settled for field goals on both possessions.
“Our defense played their hearts out for 60 minutes,” Curran said.
HC’s opening possession of the second half ended with a punt, but senior Francisco Castro downed senior Jack Norris’ boot at the URI 10.
Farrell moved the Rams down the field, completing four straight passes for 53 yards, and, after he recovered his own fumble at the HC 38, used a 28-yard strike to move the Rams into the HC red zone.
Monte and sophomore defensive tackle Jovan George combined to stuff Malik Grant on third-and-goal from the 2, but on fourth down, Farrell found Tommy Smith in the end zone.
URI was the first of three straight CAA opponents for Holy Cross to begin the season. HC faces the University of New Hampshire in its home opener next Saturday at Fitton Field.
“(Our kids) showed me exactly what I thought I’d get,” Curran said. “They are a team, they love playing together, and they played their hearts out for 60 minutes. We know we have to get better, but that’s got to be the mindset every single week if you want to be a good team. This one hurts, it stings, and it should.”
—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on X, formerly k nown as Twitter, @JenTolandTG.
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Publish date : 2024-08-31 16:30:00
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