By Mac Murzyn ‘24
On Saturday, Sept. 30, the Crusader freshman football team had a CCL matchup at home against the Mount Carmel Caravan. The Crusaders entered the game undefeated, and the Caravan entered the game 5-1.
Quarterback Rocco Galasso had a big game, leading the Crusader offense with an opening drive touchdown. Galasso finished the morning going 11 out of 13 with 189 yards, and two passing touchdowns. He also rushed for 62 yards.
Galasso said, “The mindset was great by the offense, our main goal was to score. The passing game was working well, but the run game was not, so we were trying to figure that out. We have high confidence in ourselves and we think we can be a great team. We come to practice to get better every day.”
The Crusader defense dominated the entire game, only letting up one score in three and a half quarters. The defensive line applied pressure, which led Mount Carmel’s quarterback to scramble in what felt like every play.
The defense was led by linebacker Jack McGinnis, who had four sacks, 11 total tackles, and an assist on an interception.
McGinnis said, “The feeling was just like winning any other game. Our coaches know to keep us level headed and to never get cocky but beating a rival team always feels great.”
First year freshman football coach Joe Terri is excited about his team and the way they came out Saturday morning.
Coach Terri said, “Against Mount Carmel, the offense, defense and special teams came out in the first half on fire, scoring three times and holding them to one score on one big play that was because of a defensive miscue. The second half, however, was not our best half of football. I think that it was a character building moment for this team though. They have not experienced that much adversity this season, and they had to fight in the second half of the game to not only hold onto the lead but seal the victory in the end. I feel like that was a needed experience for them as a group to lose momentum and have to fight to regain it for the win.”
The freshmen play Nazareth Academy on Saturday, Oct. 7, and plan on keeping the momentum going to win the CCL.
