Image courtesy of Holy Cross Athletics
The 53-52 overtime win over Fordham will forever go down in Holy Cross history as one of the greatest games ever played.
Fans and alumni may never forget it, but for the players and coaches that were part of it, it now has to become a distant memory rather quickly. There are bigger things to focus on, like a fourth straight Patriot League championship. With a win over a 1-7 Lehigh team this weekend, the Crusaders will lock up another league title and an FCS playoff berth.
“We have a chance to tie this one up and win the conference and we can get this done,” Chesney said during his weekly availability on Tuesday morning. “I just feel like our guys will be ready for that.”
The epic win over Fordham couldn’t just be dismissed that easily though. Holy Cross has done a fantastic job of turning the page after each of the eight wins so far this season, but this one was so special that Chesney had a big smile when talking about the atmosphere around Worcester after the two-point play on Saturday. The success of this program has been felt by everyone, young and old.
“When you cruised around, even Saturday after the game, just leaving, it felt like a euphoric feeling in town,” he said. “For me, it was about ‘man, we’ve got to get right back to work,’ it wasn’t about that, but it really was – I imagine as a fan – the greatest game the majority of people saw in their life. It really, really was.
“We went around to elementary schools (Tuesday) morning and handed out tickets and even those little kids knew who we were and cared about it and were excited about it. I think it’s what the town wanted. I know when I first got here I don’t know how many people when I would introduce myself as the head coach would say ‘oh, my grandfather had season tickets and my father used to have season tickets and we used to always go to the games and sneak under the fence…what a great time,’ and now I see those same people and they have tickets. That, to me, makes me really proud for the team, for the city, for the school and for everybody in here. What an electric moment and one that I think will live in history. A great day on Saturday, but we’ve got to be moving forward here.”
The two-point play that most likely clinched the Patriot League title is called “Crusader” and is basically just another version of the “Philly Special” play the Eagles ran against the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Chesney talked about the thought process of that call and whether or not it was always in his mind to go for the win instead of playing for another OT.
“To be honest, there was a conversation of it earlier (in the game) when we scored that touchdown and there was that 15 yard penalty because the offensive line blocked the guy too hard,” Chesney said. “That penalty ended up being on us and backed us up, so you couldn’t go for two. Now, if they would have taken that on the kick off, there’s a little more you want to think about there.
“For us, there was conversation of it, we were having trouble stopping them, but we had been good against their defense. So, we got to that two-point situation, do you want to put their offense back on the field? Or, the one team you feel you could beat is their defense and they just happened to be standing out on the field at that moment, why don’t we just try to do this now before we let them back out. To me, it wasn’t a gutsy call, it was just the most rational decision that could be made at that moment.”
That decision ultimately bumped the Crusaders up to No. 7 in the country and also set up what could be another special weekend at Fitton Field with another trophy at stake this Saturday.
“You feel it just because it’s so close, they’re so close to the field,” Chesney added when talking about the energy inside Fitton Field. “The energy and the noise coming out of that is real. You feel that energy. You can really feel that.