Holy Cross arrived at Bayside High School Field Sunday afternoon full of gusto, dreams of a regular-season division crown dancing in their heads.
They left beaten, 10-0 losers to Fordham Prep, a team devoid of confidence wondering what exactly happened to their once high-powered offense.
“Disappointing,” is how Holy Cross Coach Tom Pugh described the performance. “Very bad offensive game.”
“I’m shocked we didn’t put up more points,” senior running back Daryl Whiting said.
In this first-place showdown on the final Sunday of the regular season, Fordham Prep left Bayside High School field CHSFL “AA” champions; the Knights walked off bewildered and lost, their five-game winning streak suddently over.
The defense was hardly to blame. They limited the prolific Rams to just one first-half touchdown, backup quarterback Chris Moffa’s 14-yard sprint to pay dirt and a late Connor Brown 26-yard field goal.
The Knights were caught off guard early. Fordham resorted to a single wing attack with starting quarterback Lawrence DeSimone sitting out the first half due to breaking undisclosed team rules. They rotated Moffa and running back Calvin McCoy under center, running draws out of the formation.
Holy Cross certainly had their chances despite DeSimone’s return.
To start the second half, Holy Cross (5-3) drove into Fordham territory, but was unable to execute a fake punt. On the next possession, Travis Quarles recovered McCoy’s fumble, only for quarterback Brian Pugh to overthrow Robert DiRe — a pass that was picked off by PJ McGrande — on the very next play, washing away the momentum.
The Rams (7-1) could not build their lead, as safety Rodney Robinson, short-circuiting a promising drive, intercepted DeSimone.
Finally, after three quarters of inept offense, Holy Cross (5-2) seemed to be finding a rhythm, driving 52 yards in seven plays, all the way to the Fordham Prep 16-yard line. Whiting carried the ball three times for 23 yards. His understudy, junior Barrington Wallace, ran twice for 10. Therefore, when they lined up at the 16, one of them would seem to get his number called.
Did not happen.
Quarterback Brian Pugh fumbled the snap on first down. His backup, sophomore John Rose, the runner between the two, carried for one yard on second down, lost three on a third-down scramble and Brian Pugh’s pass on fourth down for Whiting fell incomplete.
“I thought we were going to run the same play again,” Whiting said. “I thought we were going to score.”
“I said let’s put John in there, get them spread out; that’s the reason we did it,” Tom Pugh said. “That’s the turning point. You drive down, score, it is a different game. It’s very frustrating.”
Despite the loss, Holy Cross secured the No. 3 seed. The Knights will meet 2-6 Kellenberg in the opening round of the CHSFL “AA” playoffs. St. Francis Prep (7-1), after their 19-16 double overtime victory over St. Peter’s, will be the second seed, and meet No. 7 Christ the King (2-6).
