Aug. 25, 2015
CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - The potential for a strong season was once again undone by hard luck in close games for Holy Cross in 2014, with the Crusaders going 2-6 in contests decided by a touchdown or less in their 4-8 campaign a year ago.
The Crusaders look to finish more of those competitive contests with victories in 2015, and have a good place to start with a pair of Preseason All-Patriot League juniors on offense in quarterback Peter Pujals and wide receiver Jake Wieczorek. The offensive and defensive units each bring back seven starters, and both units will hope that leads to improvement as the Crusaders finished sixth in the Patriot League in both scoring offense and scoring defense last season.
A preview of the 2015 Holy Cross Crusaders season is included below, with a look at the offense, defense, special teams and schedule as well as links to team information. Video interviews with Holy Cross Head Coach Tom Gilmore and student-athletes Peter Pujals and Matt Bhaya are also available on Patriot League Network.
For more on all of the teams, read the 2015 Patriot League Football Preview and follow coverage on the @PatriotLeagueFB Twitter account.
HEAD COACH: Tom Gilmore, 12th Season at Holy Cross: 60-64 overall/Holy Cross, 35-31 Patriot League
2014 RECORD: 4-8 overall, 2-4 Patriot League (T5th place)
PATRIOT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL: 6th
PRESEASON ALL-PATRIOT LEAGUE: Peter Pujals (Jr., QB); Jake Wieczorek (Jr., WR)
OFFENSE: Holy Cross has a solid core back on offense with seven starters returning, including the Preseason All-League quarterback in Peter Pujals. The junior has started since early in his freshman season and threw for 2,353 yards and 10 touchdowns while rushing for 705 yards and six scores last season. Top players are also back at the skill positions in running back Gabe Guild (588 yards, 5 TD), Preseason All-League wide receiver Jake Wieczorek (50 rec., 694 yards, 5 TD) and fellow wideout Kalif Raymond (39 rec., 305 yards, 2 TD) as well as tight end Lucas Nikolaisen (12 rec., 106 yards). Hunter Hudgins and James Murray are back as starters on the offensive line, though the unit loses Jay Knighton and Blake Berresford after each player started all 12 games last season.
DEFENSE: The Crusaders bring back seven starters on the defensive side of the ball, though they lose their top two tacklers at linebacker in John Zakrzewski and Shane Thompson. Dean Doe, Mike Galantini and Richard Barber are back on the line after combining for 91 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and six sacks last year. Three starters are also returning in the defensive backfield as seniors Steven Martinez (43 TT, 4 INT) and Matt Bhaya (40 TT, 4 PBU) are back along with sophomore Alim Muhammad (32 TT, 4 PBU).
SPECIAL TEAMS: Connor Fitzgerald is back for the Crusaders after going 11-of-17 on field goals and averaging 41.2 yards per punt in taking on both duties last season. Raymond has also shown to be a dynamic player in the return game.
SCHEDULE: The Crusaders open their season with a pair of road games, visiting Monmouth (Sept. 5) and Towson (Sept. 19) around a bye on Sept. 12. A three-game homestand follows, beginning with the Patriot League opener against Colgate (Sept. 26) followed by matchups with Albany (Oct. 3) and Brown (Oct. 10). Two more Patriot League games are next with a trip to Fordham (Oct. 17) and home date with Lafayette (Oct. 24) followed by the non-League finale at home against Bryant (Oct. 31). Three League games complete the slate in November with trips to Lehigh (Nov. 7) and Bucknell (Nov. 14) and the finale at home against Georgetown (Nov. 21).