Boston College blows out Holy Cross to open up 2-0 for first time since 2015

Boston College blows out Holy Cross to open up 2-0 for first time since 2015

By JACK SALMON

The Boston College Eagles and the Holy Cross Crusaders met on Saturday, September 8th to renew a classic New England rivalry that has been dormant since 1986. The two teams used to be the powerhouses of New England football, with BC holding a slight edge in total meetings at 48-31-3. While the rivalry brought the same excitement, as Alumni Stadium was packed with over 40,000 people, the game was not competitive, with Boston College dominating every aspect of the game and winning 62-14.

Boston College was clearly the more physical and skilled team on the field. Coming into the game as a 99.5% favorite, BC sure lived up to those expectations. On the opening drive of the game, BC marched 76 yards in a little over a minute on only 4 plays. The drive was highlighted by an AJ Dillon run for 52 yards on the first play of the game and was capped off by a 7 yard touchdown run for AJ. The Defensive was just as impressive as the offense, as they forced a quick 3-and-out, while barley giving up 5 yards. After Holy Cross punted, Boston College had the ball at the their own 26 yard line, and from here AJ Dillon took over and effectively ended the game, just 5 minutes after it started. He received a hand-off from Anthony Brown and cut right, through a gap, and broke through two tackles, acrobatically maintaining his balance on his way to a 74 yard touchdown run, matching the longest of his collegiate career.

By the end of the first quarter, the starters on offense were out of the game, and Boston College had a commanding 21-0 lead, thanks to a third AJ Dillon rushing touchdown later in the quarter. The Eagles had 6 first downs and 218 total yards in the first quarter, while Holy Cross had managed just 21 yards enroute to 4 punts. From the second quarter on, the game really served as a tune-up for the second and third string backups, as the first team barley needed a quarter to prove themselves and push the game out of reach for Holy Cross.

In the second quarter, the offense was led by back-up quarterback EJ Perry, who got significant playing time for the second time in two weeks. He ended 9-12 for 95 yards with two touchdowns, including his first collegiate touchdown pass. True freshman David Bailey led the rushing game following Dillon’s departure and ran for 80 yards. The defense remained strong again, as Holy Cross didn’t gain a first down until there were just 44 seconds left in the half. This was the first time Holy Cross began to drive the ball, but this was abruptly stopped as Hamp Cheevers outdid Lukas Denis’ 60 yard pick-six from last week, by intercepting a pass from Emmett Clifford and taking it back 81 yards for a touchdown with 20 seconds left in the half.

Up 34-0 at half, Boston College was well on their way to victory. The second half saw Boston College replace all of their starters, as the last of the starting defense came to the bench. The third quarter began quickly for the offense, as Davon Jones punched in the ball on fourth and goal to put BC up 41-0. Later EJ Perry connected with CJ Lewis for a 33 yard strike, the first of Lewis’ career. Boston College went to their third string quarterback, Matt McDonald late in the third quarter, and he also threw for his first collegiate touchdown. He ended the day 5-6 with 107 yards and two touchdowns.

Holy Cross got on the board late in the third quarter as Spencer Gilliam came flying through the BC punt defense and blocked a punt that Cristos Argyus recovered and scored. This ended BC’s shut out and made the score 48-7. Just minutes later Holy Cross’ special teams defense struck again, as Mack Kortebein blocked a punt that Gilliam returned for a touchdown, to make the score 55-14. These were the only points Holy Cross would score all game, as their offense was never able to crack BC’s tight defense.

Aside from a few special teams issues with punting, this was another dominating and confidence-boosting win for BC. Although they were only out there for a quarter, Boston College’s starting offense looked lethal again. AJ Dillon showed why he’s a Heisman candidate, running all over Holy Cross for 149 yards and 3 touchdowns on only 6 carries in 3 offensive possessions. Quarterback Anthony Brown looked locked-in again, as he completed all his passes. The starting defense was immaculate, as they only gave up 57 yards and one first down in the first half. The second and third strings gained valuable playing time and looked very capable as well. Two games into the season Boston College Football looks like a force to be reckoned with.They have an excellent offense, which put up 610 yards and has been elite in the passing and running games. The defense is also performing at an elite level, as it didn’t let up any points to Holy Cross’ offense today.. BC will look to ride this momentum into a Thursday night game at Wake Forest, a revenge game for BC after Wake’s win at Chestnut Hill last year. Assuming Boston College can win that game, which shouldn’t be a problem if they keep playing that this level, don’t be surprised to see the eagles ranked nationally come week four of the College Football season.