Crimson Looks to Nail Cross Today

When Harvard takes on Holy Cross today at Fitton Field, the Crimson will have almost nothing to lose and even less to gain.

But Harvard will have plenty to prove.

The Crusaders (3-4-1) are about as close to big-time Division I-AA football as it gets around here. And although the Cross is suffering through a disappointing season, it is still a solid football team and a real test for the Crimson.

Harvard (5-2, 4-1 Ivy), despite impressive wins over Brown (25-17) last week and UMass (10-3) earlier this season, hasn't yet defeated a traditional powerhouse like Holy Cross.

And, in only its second game ever at Worcester, the Crimson needs a victory over Holy Cross today to prove it has the pluck to match up against its next two opponents, perennial Ivy contenders Penn and Yale.

"It's a tough game because you're trying to go in there and go all out and win it," Crimson Coach Joe Restic said after the Brown victory last week. "If you don't keep it going, that will hurt you more at Penn and Yale than anything else. We play [the Holy Cross game] just like an Ivy game."

The Cross, which has been ranked as high as 20th in Division I-AA this year, last week stayed with Division I-A top-25 power Army for three quarters before bowing out, 34-12. Earlier this season, Holy Cross purged Delaware, the preseason number one in Division I-AA, by a 22-6 margin.

But the Crusaders have shown more than a little schizophrenia, sustaining lopsided losses to UMass (27-3) and UConn (22-2). And Holy Cross just slipped by Dartmouth, 17-14.

The Crusaders and Crimson have split their series over the past five years, with each team winning two and a 10-10 tie in 1983. Harvard hasn't nailed the Cross since 1982--in its first contest at Fitton Field.

Hammering Holy Cross this year will be tough for the Crimson, as the Crusaders, despite a mediocre record, are a very dangerous football team. Led by All-America running back Gill "The Thrill" Fenerty--who has rushed for over 1000 yards in each of the past three seasons--and fullback Chuck Doyle (371 yards) the Cross running attack eats up soft defenses.

Fortunately for Cantabrigians, the Crimson defense is anything but soft. Linemen K.C. Smith and Bill Ross, teamed with backers Scott Collins and Captain Brent Wilkinson, shore up a rush-crushing wall.

But Holy Cross runs almost twice as often as it passes. And that's good strategy against Harvard. Not only is frosh quarterback Jeff Wiley (517 yards passing) untested and inaccurate, but the Crimson secondary--led by the foursome of Cecil Cox, Ken Tarczy, Lee Oldenberg and Frank Ciota--have stifled aerial pursuits all season long.

Offensively, Harvard will have to get a good passing game from senior signalcaller Brian White to crucify the Crusaders. White had the best game of his career against the Cross last year, connecting on 13 of 15 passes for 210 yards and two scores. He'll have to do more of the same this time around.

The Crusaders are weak defending the pass, but solid on the ground. Tackle Ed Kutschke, end Tom Patton and linebacker Jerry McCabe maul opposing runners, as this corps heads the Purple pack that shut down Delaware's famed Wing-T.

But this week, Holy Cross will be trying to handle a Harvard rushing nucleus that has begun to pick up momentum.

Fullback Robert Santiago picked up 86 yards against a stingy Brown defense last week, and backfield-mates George Sorbara (230 yards this year) and Joe Pusateri (165 yards) have oiled the versatile Multiflex offense.

Restic's offensive wizardry will match up against the impeccable football instincts of Cross Coach Rick Carter, who has been rumored to be the heir to the coaching job at another Jesuit school, Notre Dame.

Carter, who led the Crusaders to Division I-AA national prominence last year, has had trouble in the newly formed Colonial League, but his troops will be shooting for their first-ever home win over the Crimson.