By Jimmy Gilmartin ‘23

Last Friday, the Crusader football team traveled to the College of DuPage where they won 13-10 in a tough fought battle against Benet Academy.

The Crusaders took an early lead in the first quarter after quarterback Ryan Hartz connected with wide receiver Rickey Taylor on a touchdown that gave them an early 7-0 advantage.

Benet Academy soon responded with a touchdown pass of their own in the second quarter. After a well fought first half, the game was tied at 7.

Both teams failed to score in the third quarter. Benet Academy had a great shot to score 3 points on a field goal, but linebacker Brendan Arnold made sure that did not happen.

Safety Jack Morrison said, “Brendan made a great play to get through his blocker and shot his hands up to block the kick. It was a key play in the game and gave us momentum.”

Benet gained the lead after a field goal made the score 10-7. Down in the fourth with time running out, it was time for the crusader offense to rally.

Ryan Hartz threw a screen pass to running back Randall Nauden for a 25-yard touchdown to give the Crusaders a 13-10 lead with less than 2 minutes left in the game.

“The whole team knew we would be able to get the stop on defense and close out the game, so we were pretty excited after that touchdown,” said defensive end Nick Dorn.

Safety Jake Dugger sealed the game with a huge interception, and the Crusaders ran out the clock to win the game.

Defensive tackle Sean Ryan said, “I think this win shows a lot about how our team can react to tough situations and get wins in close games.”