Holy Cross washes away New Hampshire, advances to FCS quarterfinals

WORCESTER — Holy Cross captured its fourth straight Patriot League championship and finished the regular season undefeated — two tremendous accomplishments — but from the start of the year, HC’s goals for 2022 were much loftier.

The Crusaders believed they were a national title contender, and Saturday at soggy Fitton Field, they proved it.

HC overcame rain, wind and fog, while having some fun combating the elements, to defeat the University of New Hampshire, 35-19, in the second round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

The Crusaders, the first 12-win team in program history, advance to the national quarterfinals and will play top-seeded South Dakota State, noon Saturday, Dec. 10, in Brookings, South Dakota.

“We’re on a mission,” Holy Cross coach Bob Chesney said. “We’ve been preparing this for a while, and there’s more to this goal.”

Holy Cross is the first Patriot League team since Colgate in 2018 to make it to the FCS quarterfinals.

UNH, which shared the Colonial Athletic Association regular-season title with William & Mary, finished 9-4.

HC senior running back Peter Oliver rushed for a career-high 175 yards and two touchdowns, the Crusaders forced five turnovers, including two interceptions by senior cornerback Walter Reynolds, blocked their FCS-leading eighth punt of the season, and held UNH star running back Dylan Laube to 52 yards on 17 carries.

“It was a battle overall,” Chesney said. “You get out there, and you know nothing is going to come easy. They’re a great football team, very well coached, and they play with that edge and energy and inspiration a lot like we do. I think when it’s said and done, you hope you can put your best foot forward and make plays when they’re presented to you. I thought we played a complete game. There were some really neat things that went on on that field today.”

Oliver, the former St. John’s High star from Auburn, left HC’s game against Bryant on Nov. 12 early after sustaining a concussion. He missed the regular-season finale at Georgetown but was cleared for Saturday’s game during HC’s bye week.

“I started feeling really good,” Oliver said, “and knew I was going to play today.”

Oliver scored Holy Cross’ first touchdown midway through the first quarter, following Reynolds’ first interception, and, behind Oliver, the Crusaders continued their downhill attack against the Wildcats.

Oliver had a season-high 30 carries.

“He’s a warrior,” Chesney said. “I loved watching him battle — his pad level, his knee drive, protecting the ball. Sometimes there were four or five guys ripping at that ball, and it’s just pinned to his chest. It was a phenomenal effort all the way around.”

Oliver’s output was the highest by a Holy Cross running back since Dom Cozier rushed for 190 yards against Lehigh in 2019.

Laube rolled up a UNH-record 424 all-purpose yards in the Wildcats’ first-round win over Fordham, and was obviously a concern for the HC defense, which did a terrific job corralling him. Laube had five receptions for 18 yards.

“He’s a great player for them,” said Holy Cross senior linebacker Liam Anderson, who had a team-high six tackles. “Stopping him, especially in these conditions, just meant getting a pad on him and running through him until he’s on the ground. We knew coming into this game we couldn’t arm tackle him all day, so it was just a little bit more awareness on focusing on tackling fundamentals.”

There was plenty of action, but little scoring, the first half, which ended with Holy Cross on top, 7-5.

Each team had a blocked punt — UNH’s resulted in a safety — Holy Cross lost its first fumble of the season, and HC senior kicker Ng missed two field goals, one into the wind and one with it. With 5 seconds left in the first half, Ng lined up for another FG, but holder Patrick Haughney fumbled the snap.

The Wildcats ran just seven offensive plays for 10 yards in the first quarter.

After a few missed opportunities in the first half, the Crusaders capitalized on two takeaways to open the third quarter.

On UNH’s opening possession, sophomore quarterback Max Brosmer picked up a low snap, then senior defensive lineman Dan Kuztensov came in to knock the ball out of Brosmer’s hands. Anderson recovered it at the UNH 33 and set up Oliver’s 4-yard TD run.

Reynolds’ team-leading fifth interception of the year stalled UNH’s next drive. Reynolds returned the pick 51 yards to the UNH 19, and Sluka threw a 5-yard TD pass to junior Jalen Coker as the Crusaders took a 21-5 lead.

“Coach Chesney talked about taking it to them first,” Reynolds said, “and opportunities are going to present themselves, so being able to make the most of those and put points on the board was something we knew were going to have to do. To get those was crucial.”

The Crusaders didn’t get much going with the passing game (6 of 16, 63 yards), but Sluka carried 12 times for 103 yards and two touchdowns.

Two UNH players were ejected from the game, including junior safety Max Oxendine, who was flagged for targeting when he knocked Sluka’s helmet off in the third quarter.

Holy Cross held the Wildcats, who came in averaging 30.6 points and who scored 52 in last week’s win over Fordham, to 264 yards, their second-lowest total of the season.

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

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Holy Cross upends New Hampshire, advances to FCS quarterfinals