Holy Cross starts slow; St. Francis Prep prevails

It was not a very satisfying start for Holy Cross. They lost to Mansfield High School, 28-0, at Endicott College in Massachusetts. After an ugly first half, one in which they trailed by 21 points, the Knights played far better. They were closing in on a score late in the fourth quarter before the game was called due to lightning.
“We bonded,” Holy Cross Coach Tom Pugh said. “It was a good experience for the kids, playing against a good team. I’m proud of them. They came back in the second half and made it a pretty good game.”
Offensively, junior running back Barrington Wallace led Holy Cross with 67 yards rushing on seven carries, and Darryl Whiting added 47 on the ground. Quarterback Brian Pugh completed 4-of-9 passes for 47 yards and Reggie Francklin had seven solo tackles. The third-ranked team in Massachusetts, Mansfield certainly proved to be an upper-echelon opponent. With an 89-man roster, they overpowered the Knights at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, but the loss could still prove to be a positive influence.
“If you play a very weak team, you get a false sense of how good you are,” Pugh said. “I’m hoping we went the other way.”
In other action, St. Francis Prep topped St. John the Baptist on Long Island, 7-0, and Christ the King fell to Masconomet, 27-13, also at Endicott College.

-Zachary Braziller