Holy Cross Routs Bucknell 34-3 as Jojo Williams Runs for 144 on Homecoming

Bucknell kicked a field goal on its first possession at Fitton Field. That was the last time the Bison scored all afternoon.

Holy Cross answered with 34 straight points, ran for a season-best 272 yards and picked off three passes in a 34-3 Homecoming rout of Bucknell on Saturday, Oct. 24, in Worcester. One week after getting handled 30-7 at Harvard, the Crusaders looked like a team that took the lesson personally.

Holy Cross improved to 3-5 overall and 3-2 in the Patriot League, its third straight league win. Bucknell dropped to 1-7 and 0-5, its fifth loss in a row. The Crusaders have now beaten the Bison eight straight times, which is starting to feel less like a rivalry than a standing appointment.

A promising start, then a long day

For about five minutes, Bucknell had a plan. The Bison opened with a tidy nine-play, 65-yard drive. Quarterback Christopher Dietrich went 3-for-3 for 45 yards on the march, Michael Cadden carried three times for 27, and Juan Garanton finished it with a 28-yard field goal. Bucknell led 3-0 with 10:14 left in the first quarter.

Holy Cross needed two plays to flip it. Sophomore running back Joseph Williams, better known around Worcester as Jojo, picked up three yards, a 15-yard Bucknell penalty moved the ball along, and then Williams found a crease and was gone for 47 yards. It was 7-3 at the 9:42 mark, and it never got closer.

Bucknell briefly kept it from snowballing. England Allen made a third-down stop at the Bucknell 24, and Owen Saraceno missed the ensuing 42-yard field goal.

Then came the play that changed the temperature of the whole afternoon. With 14 seconds left in the first quarter, a Dietrich pass bounced off a receiver's hands and straight to senior safety Chisom Onwuzurigbo, who returned it 36 yards for a touchdown. The extra point missed, but the message landed. Holy Cross led 13-3.

Turnovers turned into points

The second Bucknell giveaway did just as much damage. Sophomore linebacker Tyler Georgs picked off Dietrich and returned it 14 yards to the Bucknell 35. On the very next snap, junior quarterback David Lynch found junior receiver Ty Curran for a 35-yard touchdown, and Holy Cross was up 20-3 with 5:51 left in the half.

Freshman Lucas Rost gave Bucknell a jolt by intercepting Lynch on third down, the first pick of his career, but the Bison offense did nothing with the extra chance.

The third quarter opened with more of the same. Senior edge rusher Carlo Crocetti sacked Dietrich on third down to end Bucknell's first drive. On the ensuing punt, the snap sailed high, the punter could not handle it, and senior captain Adam Due and sophomore Lincoln Fisher dropped him at the Bucknell 20. Lynch and Curran connected again a few plays later, this time from eight yards out, for a 27-3 lead with 3:10 left in the third.

Jake Croce closed the scoring early in the fourth with a 15-yard touchdown run after the defense forced a three-and-out. Bucknell's last real threat reached the Holy Cross 12, where junior edge Rushaune Vilane and junior defensive tackle Gabe Flores combined on an eight-yard sack and freshman defensive back Travon Chardonet grabbed the third interception of the day with 4:08 to play. The second half ended without the Bison scoring a single point.

Jojo Williams and the guys up front

Williams earned the Turco Award as Homecoming MVP, and he earned every bit of it. He ran 18 times for a career-high 144 yards and a touchdown, his third straight game over 100 yards.

He was quick to share the credit. Williams said he gathered his offensive line when he received the award and told them, "The key to success is you guys." He added: "It's the offensive line. Our chemistry has been clicking on so many levels, our experience playing together."

He was not the only back eating. Junior Datrell Jones ran nine times for a career-best 80 yards, and Croce added 35 yards and a score. Lynch went 11-of-20 for 110 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Curran was the target that mattered, catching six passes for 67 yards and both scores.

"The work we've put in the whole year, we were able to put that on display today," Curran said.

On defense, Due led the way with 11 tackles and 1.5 for loss. It was his third double-digit game of the season, and he is averaging 12 tackles a game at Fitton Field this year. Onwuzurigbo's interception was his first of the season and the first pick-six of his career, and he credited the practice week for it.

"On Tuesday, I had a play just like that," he said. "I made that pick, but it was the 10 guys doing their job and they helped me out."

The numbers that matter

Bucknell actually won time of possession, 31:22 to 28:38, and threw for more yards, 162 to 110. Dietrich completed 12 of 18 passes, which looks efficient right up until you notice three of the throws went to the other team, and one of them went for six points.

The real gap was on the ground. Holy Cross averaged more than seven yards a carry on 38 rushes. Bucknell managed 84 rushing yards on 36 attempts, and that number is propped up by Cadden, who ran 26 times for 102 yards in his first 100-yard game as a Bison. Take him out and the rest of the Bucknell run game went backward.

Bucknell also went 0-for-2 on fourth down, while Holy Cross converted its only try. Biagiarelli was a bright spot for the visitors with 11 tackles and five tackles for loss, a monster line on a day when his offense gave him little room to breathe. Rost added five tackles and a tackle for loss to go with his interception.

The three points were the fewest Holy Cross has allowed since shutting out Georgetown in 2024. The full breakdown is in the official box score (opens in a new tab).

History in the building

Holy Cross honored its 1986, 1991 and 2021 Patriot League championship teams during the game, and former coach Mark Duffner, a member of the school's Varsity Club Hall of Fame, joined the celebration. Duffner also visited practice that week, and his message stuck with head coach Dan Curran.

"His biggest thing talking to the team was telling them how fortunate they are," Curran said. "When you're in the day today and you're grinding, you take things for granted."

Holy Cross has now won four of its last five Homecoming games.

What it means

Holy Cross has found its footing in league play, and three straight Patriot League wins have the Crusaders at 3-2 with room to climb. The schedule did not get friendlier. Next was a home game against No. 25 Richmond at Fitton Field on Oct. 31, the second game of a homestand that would say a lot about whether this group is a real contender.

For Bucknell, the problems are not hard to spot. The Bison can move the ball in spurts, but they have not protected it. Next on the schedule was a trip to Lehigh, which led the league, a tall order for a team still searching for its first conference win. Both schools posted recaps, from Holy Cross (opens in a new tab) and from Bucknell (opens in a new tab).

The last word

"This was a complete team win with contributions from a bunch of guys in all three phases," Dan Curran said.

That is coach speak, sure, but the box score backs him up. The offense ran over people and the defense scored. A week after Harvard, that is the response a coach wants.

Sources: Holy Cross Athletics and Bucknell Athletics recaps, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, The Daily Item and the Williamsport Sun-Gazette. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Holy Cross Athletics.