By Nicolas Hall ‘24

The Battle of Pulaski- Marist vs. Brother Rice. One of Brother Rice’s most important games of the year. This year’s game was a nail-biter which came down to the wire. It was a hard fought game by both teams, and unfortunately, the team I was hoping would lose, won on a dramatic last minute touchdown.

Great efforts by both teams were made under the Friday night lights at Marist’s stadium.

The first half was a one-sided game, with Marist dominating the whole half. At the end of the first half, the score was 24-3. Rice’s three points were made by a great kick from Senior Ronan Culkin.

Heading into the second half, the Crusader Crazies were not feeling too optimistic about the rest of the game, but Brother Rice proved us wrong. With a few of their crucial players out, they gave it their all on the field despite the missing players.

Senior Ryan Hartz said, “Despite being down Maloney on the line, the big dogs really stepped up.”

In the early moments of the second half, Hartz completed a 13-yard pass to senior Dylan McDonnell, and kicked off the Crusader comeback. On the next drive, the defense stopped the Redhawks. They were forced to punt. In came the punter, and senior Jimmy Czerwinski blocked the punt! Swooping in, Junior Conor Stack picked up the ball and ran into the endzone. The Crazies went wild!

Towards the end of the third quarter, Ryan Hartz completed a pass to senior Kevin Worthy to tie up the game. The atmosphere was electric. The Crazies were as loud as ever. They were screaming and jumping. Brother Rice’s sideline was ecstatic.

It was now the final countdown. The final quarter. It all came down to this. The final quarter was hard fought by both the defenses and drew the game to the last minute, all tied up at 24-24. Brother Rice was held up in the final minutes, and Marist was driving down the field.

One of Brother Rice’s parents said, “Everyone around me, including myself, were at the edge of our seats watching this final minute.”

The Marist Redhawks had the ball in their own half with 42 seconds left. Senior Owen Winters let the ball fly, and it fell right into the hands of freshman Stephen Brown for the touchdown.

Battling up the field, the Crusaders fell short of the game-tying touchdown and had an upsetting loss. The Crazies and fans were devastated. Although the Crusaders lost, they gave it their all in the final half. Marist, we will get you guys next year.