Holy Cross gets back to .500

As Holy Cross sat outside their locker room in the bowels of Carnesecca Arena at St. John’s University three weeks ago, there was nothing much said. It was too quiet.
Moments earlier, they had been beaten by St. Francis Prep, 14-7, in the Battle of the Boulevard for the first time since 2002. Coach Tom Pugh wasn’t sure how they would react to such adversity.
He knows now. His Knights (2-2, 2-1 CHSFL ‘AA’) rebounded with a double overtime, 19-18 win over Archbishop Stepinac, and crushed Cardinal Hayes, 35-21, last Friday night in a game they led by 35-7, shortly after halftime.
“We played a team (Mansfield High School) that was a national power and then the Prep game we lost in the last minute; almost came back. We were playing some tough teams,” Pugh said. “Now, we’re okay.”
Senior running back Daryl Whiting ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns and caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brian Pugh. Barrington Wallace ran for 61 yards and Justin Moore scored from one-yard out.
Linebacker Terrence Coon picked off a lateral and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown, junior Reggie Franklin had a team-high 12 tackles and a sack, and Jacquan Bryant added 7 1/2 tackles.
“We’ve improved defensively, that’s the big thing,” Pugh said.

- Zachary Braziller