Fuller, Sluka sharp in Holy Cross' convincing victory at Bucknell

LEWISBURG, Pa. — After last week's disheartening loss to Harvard at Polar Park, the Holy Cross football team got its offense back in sync for the return to Patriot League play.

The Crusaders rolled up 34 points and more than 350 yards in the first half Saturday, then weathered a potent Bucknell offense in the third quarter before taking home a 55-27 victory over at Christy Mathewson Memorial Stadium.

For 12th-ranked HC (4-2, 2-0 Patriot), it's 18 straight Patriot League victories, 19 in a row against PL opponents. Also, the Crusaders have won 17 straight in the regular season on the road against FCS opponents.

The Bison, who lost, 57-0, to HC in last year's EBW Classic at Polar Park, dropped to 1-4, 0-2 in Patriot League play.

Jordan Fuller rushed for 147 yards and four touchdowns, including two in the second half while helping the Crusaders salt away the victory. Fuller has 13 rushing TDs through just six games this season.

After a rough Polar performance against the Crimson, Matthew Sluka bounced back with a remarkable first half at Bucknell. He completed 13 of 18 for 197 yards and a touchdown, and also carried nine times for 94 yards.

Sluka finished 19 of 28 for 258 yards and two touchdowns, and with 122 rushing yards on 15 carries.

For the game, HC amassed 574 yards, 316 rushing. And on defense, linebacker Jacob Dobbs had another solid day with 12 total tackles, eight solo and two takedowns for minus yardage. Free safety Curtis Harris-Lopez was in on eight tackles, 2½ from behind the line of scrimmage.

The Crusaders wasted little time Saturday. On the game's first play from scrimmage, Sluka took off up the middle for 67 yards to the Bucknell 4. Fuller took it in from there on the next play, and HC had a 7-0 lead just 53 seconds into the game.

The defense held the Bison to three-and-out, and Holy Cross' next possession started at the Bucknell 49 after a Jalen Coker 13-yard punt return. HC drove as far as the Bison 11 before Luis Palenzuela kicked a 28-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead.

Bucknell's ground game produced on its next possession. Coleman Bennett carried five times in seven plays, his 47-yard scoring run putting the Bison on the board. He rushed for 64 yards on the drive.

An old familiar play propelled the Crusaders back to a 10-point lead before the end of the quarter — a long TD strike from Sluka to Coker, this time for 55 yards with 3:07 left in the period.

HC punted in the first minute of the second quarter after a three-and-out, and Bucknell drove 68 yards to trim its deficit to 17-14. Ralph Rucker's 33-yard connection to Derrick Anderson Jr. on third-and-4 with 11:44 left in the half, with Matt Schearer's PAT, had the Bison within a field goal.

But the Crusaders put together a methodical march to go back ahead by 10. Sluka rushed twice, Fuller rushed twice, then Sluka's 23-yard hookup to Coker had HC first down on the Bucknell 25.

Sluka found Fuller for 5 yards, then Tyler Purdy did the rest, with carries of 16, 3 and a TD of 1, Palenzuela's point-after gave the Crusaders a 24-14 edge with 7:08 left in the half.

After the Bison failed to convert on fourth down with 5:16 on the clock, HC had another first-half opportunity from the Bucknell 34. The big play on this scoring drive was Sluka's completion to Byron Shipman to the Bison 18. Fuller carried the last two plays for his second TD, from 1 yard with 2:03 left. Palenzuela's PAT made it 31-14.

Yet the Crusaders weren't finished. They forced another three-and-out, and a 25-yard out-of-bounds punt had HC at the Bucknell 50 with 1:28 left. Holy Cross drove 45 yards before settling for Palenzuela's 22-yard field goal with 10 seconds to play in the half.

Coker had three catches for 96 yards and the TD in the first half.

Bucknell's offense came out sharp after intermission, scoring in two of their first three possessions to hang within 41-27 of the Crusaders. Between those TDs, HC had another quick-strike drive, this one covering 52 yards. Sluka connected with Shipman for 28 yards on the first play, then threw over the middle to Phoenix Dickson for a 24-yard TD play with 5:03 left in the third quarter.

The Bison had a chance to draw within a touchdown late in the third quarter, after Sluka's run on fourth-and-2 came up a yard short at the HC 34. Rucker completed 28 yards to Anderson to the Crusader 6, but after one incompletion, Holy Cross' Terrence Spence picked off a Rucker pass in the end zone on second down.

The offense, however, struggled on the ensuing possession, marred by an holding penalty before three incompletions. Through three quarters, HC had 115 penalty yards on 11 marched-off infractions.

Early in the fourth quarter, Bucknell drove inside the HC red zone but were stalled by a false start penalty, then stuffed by the Crusaders on a run for no gain and two incompletions, again turning the ball over on downs with 13 minutes left.

From there, Holy Cross worked on killing some clock while grounding out yardage. Six straight running plays moved HC from its 23 into Bucknell territory, with a Bison personal foul tacked on, moving the ball to the 33-yard line.

The Crusaders reached the 27 before Sluka attempted a pass, an incompletion, on the eighth play of the drive.

From there, Fuller rushed the final four carries of the drive, for 9, 5, 1, then 12 yards for the TD as the Crusaders not only restored a three-touchdown lead at 48-27, but killed 6:12 off the clock, a 12-play, 77-yard drive with 11 rushes.

Rucker (19 of 35, 248 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) then drove Bucknell to the Holy Cross 30 before fumbling, and the Crusaders' Jared Dyer recovered. Two plays later, Fuller ran up the middle 70 yards for his fourth touchdown with 4:07 left.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Holy Cross bounces back, rolls on road over Bucknell