HS FOOTBALL: Holy Cross holds off Montrose for first victory

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

DUNMORE — In the defensive huddle as it tried to repel a late Montrose comeback bid, Holy Cross players talked about a lot of things.

Staying together. Not giving up. How hard they worked to get to this point.

And pulled pork.

“Our line coach, coach (Rob) Rucker, last week when we were watching film, he said if we win this week, he’ll bring us pulled pork,” junior Christian Novak said. “We all wanted it so bad.”

The Crusaders quenched their appetite by making two stops in the final minute to hang on for their first win, 27-20, over the Meteors in a Lackawanna Football Conference game Saturday afternoon at St. Anthony’s Playground’s Msgr. Crotti Field.

Chase Rutkoski threw for 192 yards and four touchdowns — three of which came in the first half. He also had two interceptions in the first half, part of five turnovers forced by the Holy Cross defense.

Rutkoski’s fourth TD pass came in the third quarter, one play after Novak recovered a fumble at the Montrose 35. He hit Luca Berardi for the score and Joel Patino’s kick gave the Crusaders a 27-13 lead with 2:57 left.

“I threw it up and knew he was going to come down with it because that’s the type of player he is,” Rutkoski said. “It was great because we knew we needed to keep the lead. We knew they weren’t done. We knew they were going to come back firing. They were going to play until the final whistle blows, so it was great to get that last touchdown.”

Indeed, Montrose responded with a five-play, 66-yard drive that Liam MacNamee capped with a 15-yard touchdown run. Gabriel DeLlano Duran’s extra point pulled the Meteors within 27-20 with 39 seconds left in the third.

MacNamee finished with 165 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries.

After forcing Holy Cross to punt on the ensuing possession, the Meteors took over at their 22 with 11:27 remaining. They held the ball for the next 11 minutes, putting together a 17-play drive that moved them to the Holy Cross 5. It included a 21-yard completion from quarterback Evan Strohl to tight end Lincoln Hobbs on fourth-and-9 at the Crusaders 45.

On fourth-and-goal at the 5, though, an illegal procedure penalty pushed Montrose back five yards. Now fourth-and-goal from the 10, the Holy Cross defense forced an incomplete pass to turn the ball over on downs with 37 seconds left.

“We gave up a couple big plays when we had them in third or fourth down,” Holy Cross head coach Joe Giorgio said. “But when we needed to, we really stepped up. The kids did a great job all day and played really well.”

Using their timeouts, Montrose stopped Holy Cross on three running plays to force a punt and get the ball back one last time. Riley Gardner’s 35-yard kick put the Meteors at midfield with 11 seconds left. Berardi intercepted Strohl’s heave to seal the victory for Holy Cross (1-3).

“This feels great. Everyone doubted us, no one thought we had a chance,” Novak said. “It feels great to prove everyone wrong and show we’re a lot more than people think we are. That we’re able to fight, that we do have passion and heart.”

In the first half, Berardi gave Holy Cross a 6-0 lead on its first possession when he eluded the pass rush and found a wide-open Berardi for a 45-yard touchdown pass with 8:29 left in the first quarter.

Later in the first, Rutkoski had his first interception. Three plays later, he connected on another 45-yard touchdown pass — this one to Tyler Kohut — then ran for the two-point conversion to make it 14-0 with 3:55 left.

A 67-yard touchdown run by MacNamee with 8:12 left in the second quarter got Montrose (3-1) on the scoreboard, 14-6. But the Crusaders answered with a 10-play, 70-yard drive that Rutkoski capped with a 14-yard touchdown pass to J.J. Concepcion that gave Holy Cross a 20-6 lead with 2:47 left before halftime.

Montrose recovered a fumble on the second-half kickoff at the Holy Cross 23. But three plays later, the Meteors fumbled and Keith Gregory recovered for the Crusaders at the 12 to halt that threat.

“We killed ourselves in the first half. Came out flat, turned the ball over, just dumb mistakes all over the place,” Montrose coach Brett Stage said. “It was really frustrating. We tried to rally in the second half, but came up short.

“We’ve got to stop the turnovers. Interceptions and fumbles, you’re not going to win games doing that.”

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos