*-*!- DOWN OYARDS TO GO BOSTON COUEGE OUAJITBI 2b u visitors 32 i Football is a game of violence, % Spartan game. wr-* Tt requires sacrifice, dedication %nd self-denial. Vince Lombardi Fall Sports v % ;># f - V * I H.C. Army 14 The 1966 Holy Cross Varsity Football Team opened Purple forces. On defense, three juniors, Dick Giardi, its season with a trip to West Point, New York, to Glen Grieco, and Dick Krzyzek, were the stand-outs, play the Black Knights of the Hudson in Michie as they disrupted the Army offense all afternoon. Stadium. The Crusaders lost 14-0, but their style of The final decision reflected the offensive edge held play foreshadowed their successes in the later season. by the Black Knights, as both teams presented ex- The Cadets were led by quarterback Steve Lindell, cellent defensive efforts. The final statistics reflected fullback Mark Hamilton, and halfback Chuck Jarvis. this, as the Cadets gained 141 yards on the ground Hamilton and Jarvis scored the two touchdowns, and 134 in the air to the meager 44 and 95 yards with able assistance from field general Lindell. The for the Purple offensive. At no time were the Cru- game marked the return of Jack Lentz to the Holy saders able to move the ball deep in Army territory. Cross line-up after sitting out his entire junior year The big bright spot was the defense, and prog- with a knee injury. The Lentz to Pete Kiminer passing nosticators marked them as the key to Crusader for- combination provided the offensive highlight for the tunes in the coming season. Homecoming 1966 saw the Crusaders bring the Krzyzek's recovery of a Pete Walton fumble. Mike potential shown in the Army game back to Fitton Kaminski added the point, and H. C. had a 7-0 lead Field, where they beat Dartmouth—1965 Lambert at halftime. Trophy winners—and halted the Big Green winning The lead stood until the fourth quarter, when streak at eleven. Jack Lentz and Glen Grieco were Dartmouth gained possession on the Purple 30, and named the outstanding offensive and defensive players quarterback Mickey Beard brought the Indians in for in the upset win. Lentz also won the John Turko the score. Coach Bob Blackman decided to go for Memorial Award, given annually to the outstanding win with a two point conversion, but Beard's pass performer in the Homecoming contest. to Bob McLeod was broken up by cornerback Bob It rained all day, but the weather did not seem to Kurcz. bother the Crusaders—both on the field and in the The defense had a tremendous afternoon. Grieco stands—as everyone did their part for victory. Holy and Krzyzek spent the afternoon in the Green back- Cross scored in the second period, when Jack Lentz field, throttling Beard and speedster Gene Ryzewicz. capped a 30 yard scoring drive set up by Dick The victory was well deserved, and was a tribute to the work of the entire team. H.C. 7 Dartmouth 6 ^ * 1WV* V * .V S+ t ^ H.C. 14 Colgate 14 The Crusaders brought their record to 1-1-1 as they The Red Raiders completely outplayed the Cru- fought the Colgate Red Raiders to a 14-14 tie at saders in the first half. But even so, they could only newly dedicated Andy Ker Stadium in Hamilton, manage an 8-7 lead, on a touchdown and a safety, New York. at the midway point. After a frustrating first 30 minutes of football, Holy Cross rushed back with a big second half the Crusaders, under the leadership of Jack Lentz, rally on the deadly tosses of Jack Lentz. He hit on fought back with a devastating attack to gain the 11 of 17 passes in the half for 173 yards and one indifferent tie. touchdown. Colgate's quarterback—the elusive Ron The many aspects of kicking, or rather the failure Burton—kept the Crusader defense alert all after- of Colgate booters, gave the Crusaders their oppor- noon. Burton, a lightweight, avoided the heavy traf- tunity. The first Purple marker was scored by Paul fic with his quick moves and fakes. Scopetski as he raced 20 yards with a blocked kick. In the final analysis, the Crusaders played a tough Colgate scored two touchdowns, but on neither occa- team to a standstill, and left Hamilton looking for- sion could they add the PAT which would have ward to their next contest, against Boston University spelled victory. the following Saturday. H.C. 17 B.U. 14 The vaunted Holy Cross defense rose to the occasion as they shut off a last second Boston University drive on the one-foot line to preserve a 17-14 lead at Nickerson Field in Boston. Both Crusader touchdowns were set up by inter- ceptions. In the second period Dick Giardi grabbed a Terrier aerial at the B.U. 24, and five plays later Jack Lentz hit Tony D'Agata for the score. In the middle of the fourth quarter, safety Tom Kelly intercepted on the home 47, and raced it back 40 yards to the 7. Ralph Lilore carried it over for the score. Besides converting both PAT's, Mike Kraminski found the range from 29 yards out in the third quarter to provide the three point margin of victory. After a patented Purple first half, B.U. led 14-7. Terrier Reggie Rucker electrified the homecoming crowd with a 71 yard punt return in the first period. The other B.U. score came on a 35 yard pass play from quarterback Tom Thornton to end Capt. Bob Nichols. It was a serious contest all the way. In the closing moments the Terriers had a first and goal from the Crusader 6 yard line. On fourth down the clock ran out with the ball on the one foot line. Boston University had given the Purple a scare, and the team could thank a great last-ditch defensive effort for the 2-1-1 record they carried into the Syra- cuse game at Fitton Field. The Crusaders did indeed play Syracuse, and though they lost 28-6, they battled the machine-like Orange horde every step of the way. The play was even through the first half, as the score stood 0-0 at halftime. And in the third period the Cross was again on the move, only to have a freak pass interception give Syracuse a 7-0 lead, and an unsurmountable psychological advantage. The final score was hardly indicative of the final contest. The Orangemen added 21 more points in the fourth period, as the Crusaders were forced to pass, pass, pass, in a desperate attempt to come back. The statistics, unlike the score, were almost even, reflecting the true battle. Jack Lentz scored the only Holy Cross touchdown on a beautiful five yard run, as he carried three Orangemen over with him. However, the Crusader defense suffered two severe blows. Glen Grieco—All-East middle guard during four previous weeks, injured his ankle and missed the entire second half. "Crusader" Dick Giardi was ejected from the game early in the fourth quarter by the whistle-happy referees. The quality of the officiating throughout the contest was dubious. Near the end of the first half, a Kaminski field goal at- tempt was twice declared good, and then disallowed. After a tough first half of the season, the Cru- saders owned a credible 2-2-1 record, and Coach Mel Massucco hoped that fate would be kinder to the Purple in the future. H.C. 6 Syracuse 28 The Purple gridders faced the second half of their schedule quite optimistically. Talk about five con- secutive wins to close out the season was wide- spread. Buffalo had other ideas. Led by powerful fullback Lee Jones, the Bulls literally tore the vaunted Crusader defenses apart for five touchdowns in a 35 to 3 romp. The Cru- saders got on the scoreboard first on a Mike Kaminski field goal, but it was all Buffalo for the rest of the contest. Speedsters Mick Murtha, Rick Wells, and Jim Barks- dale made effective use of the Bulls' option rollout play, and Jones gained most of his 167 yards crash- ing through the middle of the Crusader line. The Holy Cross offense suddenly stopped moving after the field goal had given them the short-lived lead. Once the Bulls gained the momentum, they never lost it. The lone offensive standout for the Crusaders was Ralph Lilore, who ran for 73 yards in ten carries. Both the injured Jack Lentz and Phil O'Neil had a hand in trying to move the seemingly listless Cru- saders, but the cold, windy, and generally miserable game conditions seemed to bother Holy Cross more than they did Buffalo. This was perhaps the turning point of the season for the Crusaders. With their worst game of the season behind them, they were now prepared to tackle the rest of the schedule with added determina- tion and confidence. H.C 3 Buffalo 35 * c-raSw H.C. 16 U. Mass. 14 Recovering from the drubbing at Buffalo, the Cru- pre-med specialist booted field goals of 25, 22, and saders delighted a Parent's Weekend crowd as they 25 yards, in addition to his conversion of the Lentz edged past the University of Massachusetts Redmen touchdown. 16-14 at Fitton Field. Lentz displayed the form which he had exhibited The Purple dominated play for 55 minutes. But as a sophomore, picking up 110 yards overland in his then, the dazed Crusaders had to hold for dear life best effort of the season to date.