By Joseph Staszewski
Holy Cross’ strong second half to the season continued.
Its offense finally got rolling in the third quarter and the Knights shut out Mount St. Michael after halftime to earn a 16-6 CHSFL victory at Bayside Athletic Complex Saturday afternoon. Holy Cross went 3-2 in its final five games after starting 0-4. It earned the No. 7 seed and a matchup with defending league champion St. Anthony’s next week.
“They picked up the pace.” Holy Cross coach Tom Pugh said. “This has been a tough season.”
His team trailed Mount 6-3 at the half as Cross (3-6, 3-4) only mustered a 32-yard field goal by Talles Moreira. Quarterback Josh Evans heated up in the second half, throwing a touchdown pass to Ahmed Bah in the third and fourth quarter. Evans completed 12 of 26 passes for 100 yards. Bar had five catches for 56 yards and Paul Yodice had seven grabs for 44 yards. Calvert Springer added an interception and the Knights recovered two fumbles.
“He’s got two great receivers,” Pugh said of Evans. “Bah is a big target and Paulie has over 40 catches in the league this year.”
He believes his club has a shot to knock off the No. 2 Friars. Holy Cross lost 30-7 during the regular season meeting and trailed just 17-7 heading into the fourth quarter. Evans was injured that day.
“If we can generate some offense we can hang with them,” Pugh said.
Benjamin Cardozo 48, Far Rockaway 0: Christian Wheatley rushed for 174 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries and also caught a touchdown pass for Cardozo (2-7). Ryan Modeste carried the ball 14 times for 132 yards and a score. Manuel Ritoe added a rushing touchdown and Darrin McRae caught a pass in the end zone.
Jamaica 14, Franklin K. Lane 6: Garfield McDonald carried the ball 18 times for 120 yards and two touchdowns for Jamaica (5-4). Muhammad Ahmed made five tackles, including three sacks.
Eagle Academy II 58, Info Tech 8: Nicholas Suda went 2 of 4 passing for 73 yards and a touchdown to Xavier Mateo for Info Tech (2-7). He also added 11 tackles. Jean Claude Previlon caught a 62-yard pass.
OTHER SCORES
Tottenville 29, Flushing 9
Campus Magnet 18, Beach Channel 12
Xavier 56, St. Francis Prep 0
