Image courtesy of Holy Cross Athletics
Last year’s historic season for Holy Cross has been celebrated and talked about enough. The Crusaders are ready to turn the page.
Holy Cross will finally have that opportunity on Saturday when a very talented Merrimack team comes to Fitton Field (2 P.M.) looking to make a statement against the No. 5 team in the country. On Tuesday morning, Crusaders head coach Bob Chesney met with the media for his first game week presser of the year.
“It’s an exciting time for everyone here,” said Chesney. “Finally get through preseason camp and have a chance to go out and test your team against an opponent. You have an idea of what you think your team might be, but you don’t really know until you get into that first game and test it in fire a little bit against someone else. We’re excited for the opportunity. Obviously, this is a really good football team coming in here. They finished their campaign last year 7-1 with. They lost in the (NEC) championship game, but this quarterback’s really good. The defense is really good. The receivers are really good. They’re a good football team in every phase. 7-1 in the second half of their season certainly says that is the case. It’ll be a great game, I know that. Hopefully, some good weather and a good crowd. we’re excited to get started.”
Chesney expanded a bit more on the test Merrimack will present. The Warriors are eligible for the FCS postseason for the first time this year after moving up to D1 and have been building towards a special season for quite some time now. This will not be your prototypical pushover season opener.
“He (Merrimack QB Gavin McCusker) has a great command of this offense at the moment,” Chesney said. “He throws balls on time and very accurately. You can tell he understands coverages before the snap. He can diagnose them midway through that play. He can deliver the ball on time and when he pulls it down to run, it’s pretty exciting to watch him do that as well. He’s very capable. They started to get a little more involved with the QB run game as they went into the second half of the season…that’s exciting to watch. Their offensive line you know is good. No. 87 at tight end is phenomenal. The catches this kid makes over and over and over again are special. They put him in positions to be very successful. I just think it’s a very complete football team all around. It’s going to take a ton for us to compete and come out with a victory.”
One of the keys to Holy Cross’ incredible run the last few years has been Fitton Field. The historic stadium provides a unique atmosphere and has become a very tough place to play. Chesney and the rest of the Crusaders are hoping it remains that way, especially this weekend.
“Yeah, definitely, that’s sort of the objective,” he added. “I think we have a ton of students back now that are excited for this first game. The town is excited for this first game. We just need to continue to have that support. We were out in the elementary schools the other day, we were around town the week before that. We’re just trying to be as involved in this town as much as we possibly can and hopefully, they’ll be as involved as us.
“Everywhere we go, everywhere I go, people are excited about it and that’s a good thing. To walk into that stadium and see it filled and see the support, that’s something that goes a long way. That energy certainly feeds the field.”