By Samuel Chozick
NEFJ Correspondent
SMITHFIELD, R.I. — The Holy Cross Crusaders visited Smithfield, Rhode Island this Saturday to take on the Bryant Bulldogs in a non-conference matchup. Holy Cross claimed its first win on the season, in its second trip to Rhode Island in three games to start the year.
The Crusaders sailed to a 43-22 victory, securing a 1-2 start, while Bryant fell to 1-2 with the loss.
A mix of special teams mishaps and heroics saw Holy Cross down 16-14 with 1:53 to go in the first half, with a chance to take the lead with a two-minute drill.
An otherwise lackluster first half for the Holy Cross offense saw a swing in momentum on their two-minute march down the field, ending with a touchdown for junior receiver Max Mosey, and took the Crusaders to the locker room with the lead.
“The two-minute drill is something we practice almost every day, right, one of the most important things as a football team is being able to close, that’s what we call it,” said Holy Cross quarterback Joe Pesansky. “So just harping on that this week and just executing that during practice and seeing it translate during the game is awesome.”
Mosey joined senior running back Jordan Fuller and senior free safety and kick returner Curtis Harris-Lopez, as the three Crusaders to find pay dirt in the first half.
Harris-Lopez provided an early spark for Holy Cross, getting into the end zone on a kickoff return on the Crusader’s second possession. The Bulldogs’ special teams unit did its part in negating the score when Bryant’s senior defensive back Chris Yates took a blocked punt into the end zone for a special teams touchdown of their own.
The home team looked to be turning heads in Smithfield and appeared poised to take this one down to the wire, before relinquishing all momentum in the second half.
“I think that momentum we had going into half certainly built throughout the course of the third quarter,” said Holy Cross coach Dan Curran. “They’re executing much cleaner and the thing that I’m really happy about with this group is they’re getting better every single week.”
The Crusaders seemed to get better with every possession in the second half, ignited by an interception by sophomore free safety Chisom Onwuzurigbo on the opening possession.
A trio of rushing touchdowns from Fuller, sophomore running back Jayden Clerveaux, and finally, Pesanksy, put the nail in the coffin for this one.
Bryant’s senior receiver Landon Ruggieri continued his successful 2024 campaign, scoring an early touchdown on a fade in the back corner of the end zone. Senior running back Fabrice Mukendi joined Ruggieri as the recipient of a touchdown throw from the Bulldog’s fifth-year quarterback Jarrett Guest.
Bulldogs sophomore kicker Lucas Bisazza converted on two field goal attempts, contributing to Bryant’s highest-scoring game of the season.
Holy Cross’ ability to bounce back after two close losses is perhaps the biggest implication of the contest, according to Pesansky.
“You learn a lot about yourself and you learn a lot about your team when you lose close games,” said Pesansky. “We have a bunch of guys who don’t want to quit, we have a bunch of guys who want to play really hard football.”
The Crusaders will look to keep the ball rolling as they prepare for a week four matchup against Yale next Saturday, in their second home game of the season.
The Bulldogs will head to Durham, New Hampshire next Saturday, to take on a squad that bested Holy Cross earlier this year at the University of New Hampshire.