Yale takes advantage of Holy Cross miscues, rallies for late score to upend Crusaders
WORCESTER — Holy Cross earned its first win of 2024 last week at Bryant, and the Crusaders were obviously eager to build on that momentum against Yale Saturday at Fitton Field.
HC never led in the game, but battled the two-time defending Ivy League champion and came back to tie the score five times, including on sophomore running back Jayden Clerveaux’s 1-yard touchdown run with 3:35 left.
After that score, Yale got the ball at its own 36, and aided by two critical Holy Cross penalties, worked its way down the field and into the end zone.
Senior running back Nathan Denney scored his second touchdown of the day with 12 seconds left and Yale prevailed, 38-31, before a soggy Family Weekend crowd of 15,117.
Yale, which was playing its season opener, snapped a three-game losing streak to the Crusaders (1-3).
During the winning drive, Yale went for it on fourth-and-6 from the Holy Cross 33. Junior quarterback Brogan McCaughey’s pass was incomplete, but a pass interference penalty against the Crusaders gave the Bulldogs a fresh set of downs at the 28. McCaughey’s 20-yard completion to senior David Pantelis set up Denney’s TD. Earlier in the drive, HC was flagged for a personal foul.
“In those moments, the ability to execute is important,” Holy Cross coach Dan Curran said, “and this group has done some really good things, but those penalties were killers. Some of those were bang-bang, and we have to learn from those mistakes and understand to not put yourself in those situations. Control what you can control.”
Holy Cross senior quarterback Joe Pesansky’s Hail Mary attempt fell incomplete as time expired.
HC lost All-American senior running back Jordan Fuller to a season-ending injury at Bryant, and Clerveaux and junior running back Sam Slade took on expanded roles in the Holy Cross offense.
Clerveaux scored three touchdowns and Slade carried nine times for 30 yards.
“Jayden stepped up and did an unbelievable job,” Curran said. “We weren’t surprised. We knew when his number was called he would deliver. Sam did a good job too. We will continue to need that kind of effort moving forward.”
Fuller was at the game to support his teammates.
“We love him,” Clerveaux said. “He’s our brother. Having him here with us means the world to us.”
Pesansky was 12-26 for 229 yards and a 74-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Maxwell Warren. Junior Max Mosey caught five passes for 129 yards.
Yale lost senior starting quarterback Grant Jordan to an injury in the first quarter, but McCaughey filled in admirably, completing 18 of 32 attempts for 217 yards and a touchdown and also rushing for a TD.
“No matter who is out there, we have to do our 1/11th,” said HC senior linebacker Frankie Monte, who made a game-high 17 tackles. “We have to do our job every single play. Nothing changed.”
The first half ended with an interesting sequence.
The Crusaders, with the help of a Cam Jones pass breakup in the end zone, prevented the Bulldogs, who drove to the HC 29, from adding six points.
Yale lined up for a 46-yard field goal with 43 seconds left, but just before the Bulldogs tried to pull a fake, Curran called time out.
Junior Nick Conforti missed the field goal, and HC went to work. Pesansky’s 37-yard completion to Mosey set up sophomore Daniel Porto’s career-long 45-yard field goal and the teams went to the locker room tied at 17.
“That was huge,” Curran said. “No question we took momentum into halftime.”
The Crusaders came out hot to start the second half, and after three straight completions, for 36 yards, by Pesansky, HC was at the Yale 15.
The Bulldogs halted the drive, however, with a strip sack by Breylan Thompson. Zairon Jackson-Bass recovered and Yale capitalized on the takeaway.
On fourth-and-6 from the Holy Cross 24, McCaughey connected with Pantelis for a touchdown.
Clerveaux scored on a 6-yard run 11 seconds into the fourth quarter to make it 24-24.
After scoring the tying touchdown, the Crusaders went three and out on back-to-back possessions and, following the second one, an 8-yard punt put the Bulldogs in prime position, at the HC 21, with 8:01 left.
From 5 yards out, Denney took it in for the go-ahead score.
“This is a resilient group,” said Curran, whose team plays at Syracuse next week, “and they will continue to do that. They believe in each other. Every week is a new opportunity.”
—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @JenTolandTG.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Mistakes down stretch costly as Holy Cross falls to Yale
