College football: Double threat at QB with Sluka, Siderman has Holy Cross offense surging

As Holy Cross sophomore quarterbacks Matthew Sluka and Marco Siderman battled for the starting spot in the preseason, both exhibited their attributes to coach Bob Chesney.

Sluka, who started two games last spring and added an exciting element to HC’s run game, continued to impress with his legs, while Siderman showed his arm strength.

“We feel good about both of them in many different ways,” Chesney said at the beginning of the season, and that’s been the sentiment throughout the Crusaders’ fantastic fall.

Sluka has started every game – and he played brilliantly in last week’s win at Fordham, which clinched Holy Cross its third straight Patriot League title – while Siderman has played in all 10 and led the Crusaders in their victories against Monmouth and Lafayette.

“At the beginning there was probably resistance (to sharing time),” Chesney said this week, “but now I think they realize they need each other. There are things Marco does really, really well that Matt can learn from and there are things Matt does really, really well that Marco can learn from. They are both competitors first and that’s the nature of the beast. They both want to be ‘the guy,’ but at the same time, they care about the team.

“It’s challenging because they both really believe in themselves and they believe they can win any game,” Chesney said, “but that’s exactly what you want from that position group.”

Siderman, who has completed 66% of his throws this season, played just one full series last week at Fordham as HC battled not only the Rams, but the elements – rain, wind, lightning – and watched as Sluka led the Crusaders to a 52-24 win.

“I was super happy for him,” Siderman said before Wednesday’s practice at Kuzniewski Field. “The weather was limiting the passing abilities, so I completely understood why we’d go with him the whole game. It opened up more of the offense.”

The Crusaders put up a season-high 558 yards of offense and Sluka accounted for four touchdowns (two pass, two rush). He passed for a career-high 272 yards, highlighted by a 54-yard TD pass to senior Tenio Ayeni and a corner ball completion to junior Ayir Ayeni, who was double covered, and rushed for 104 yards.

“He was Superman,” Chesney said.

In the spring, Sluka led the team with 268 rushing yards and scored four TDs. He completed 20 passes for 187 yards and two scores and was the Patriot League Rookie of the Year.

This season, Sluka has rushed for 651 yards and a team-high 13 touchdowns, completing 56% of his attempts for 1,126 yards for nine TDs. He has thrown four interceptions.

“Coming into the spring,” Sluka said, “it was kind of like, ‘Go out there and make plays and see what happens,’ and now it’s learning the game, how the plays work and why they’re working, and that has built a lot of confidence in me. Seeing the field, trusting my guys and communication builds a better offense.”

Sluka played well in HC’s opening win at UConn, and both QBs struggled in the shocking loss to Merrimack the next week. Sluka and Siderman each made key plays in the win at Yale, and Siderman was 13-15 for a career-high 181 yards and two TDs in a convincing win at Monmouth.

“At first, (sharing time) was a little mix, because that’s your competition,” Sluka said, “but I think you realize, especially in college and as you get older, you need each other. It’s a team, and whoever can step up and make plays is huge overall. We complement each other well.”

Siderman, who once threw seven touchdown passes in a high school game, has passed for 859 yards, 6 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.

“At the end of the day,” Siderman said, “we’re friends. We have to root for each other because we have the same goal.”

Chesney recognizes the dynamics of the two-QB strategy, and believes Sluka and Siderman have both emerged as leaders this season.

“They both want to be in there at all times,” Chesney said. “I think there are some mental gymnastics they have to jump through to make sure they’re putting their best body language and best foot forward, so that the team can see that when they get their number called, they have to be ready to produce and have the team say, ‘Yes, he’s in here. Let’s go.’”

Holy Cross (8-2, 5-0) wraps up the regular season at 1 p.m. Saturday at Bucknell (1-9, 0-5). HC has the chance to finish a full Patriot League season undefeated for the first time since 1991. The Crusaders will find out their first-round FCS playoff opponent Sunday.

Chesney expects last-place Bucknell to be motivated to take down the three-time defending PL champions this weekend.

“That’s something we’re fully aware of,” Chesney said, “and fully preparing for.”

Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @JenTandG.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: College football, Holy Cross, Matthew Sluka, Marco Siderman, Bob Chesney