Holy Cross’ Brandon Pelzer fights off a tackle. (Denis Gostev)
Not even Holy Cross coach Tom Pugh was exactly sure what to make of his young team. The Knights were going to be fast and athletic, but just how good are they really?
“Nobody picked us,” Pugh said.
That may change after Holy Cross knocked off highly touted Xaverian ,15-13, in a CHSFL Class AAA game yesterday afternoon at Bayside Athletic Field. The Clippers, ranked No. 2 in the city by The Post, were picked to be one of the league’s best teams, but the Knights defense kept their high-powered offense suppressed.
“This is a big win to turn some heads,” quarterback Yianni Gavalas said.
Holy Cross allowed just seven points. The other Xaverian (1-1, 0-1 AAA) touchdown came off a blocked field goal that Carmine Colletti ran back 70 yards for a score to make it 15-6 midway through the fourth quarter.
“I don’t think I would have normally gone for that field goal, but I thought it was a kill shot, because it would have been 18 and that’s three scores,” Pugh said.
No. 7 Holy Cross (2-0, 1-0) got a safety in the first quarter on a high Xaverian snap into the end zone and stopped the Clippers three times on fourth down. Lekeith Celestain had an interception in the end zone by outleaping Xaverian receiver Sean Binckes late in the second quarter. He also added three catches for 55 yards.
On consecutive fourth downs in the first half, tackle Dimeji Bamishile batted down a Kearney pass at the line and stopped him with just a half yard to go.
“That was a good test for them,” Pugh said of his defense. “But you can’t beat speed if you don’t have speed. We are lucky.”
Xaverian pulled within 15-13 on a 1-yard run by Zach Kearney with 2:50 left in the game, but the Knights were able to run out the clock. A host of penalties kept the Clippers, who also blocked a punt, from ever getting into an offensive rhythm. Laray Smith rushed for 113 yards on 22 carries.
“We could never get into a flow,” Xaverian coach Joe DeSiena said. “It was an untimely mistake, a penalty, a bad snap, a safety as result of a bad snap. Then the safety comes back and bites you.”
Holy Cross built on the safety when Gavalas hit Pierrot Senat for a 10-yard TD pass to make it 8-0 with 3:54 left in the first half. Gavalas completed 12-of-18 passes for 149 yards. Jordan Francklin punched in a 2-yard run to help extend the lead to 15-0 early in the third before the Knights survived a scare late.
“It’s big for us,” Celestain said. “Everybody predicted against us. We had something to prove.”