1971 Holy Cross Crusaders football team
American college football season
The 1971 Holy Cross Crusaders football team was an American football team that represented the College of the Holy Cross during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season . Ed Doherty took over for his first year as head coach. The team compiled a record of 4–6.[ 1]
Holy Cross competed as an independent despite having announced in May 1971 that the Crusaders, along with the Boston University Terriers , would join the Yankee Conference . Because their previous scheduling commitments would not allow them to play the full Yankee round-robin in 1971 and 1972, HC and BU continued to compete as football independents and were not eligible for the Yankee Conference championship.[ 2] Holy Cross did play non-conference games against two longstanding Yankee teams in 1971, losing to both Connecticut and Massachusetts .
All home games were played at Fitton Field on the Holy Cross campus in Worcester, Massachusetts .
Schedule
Date Opponent Site Result Attendance Source September 25 at Harvard
W 21–16 14,000 [ 3]
October 2 at Dartmouth
L 9–28 13,750 [ 4]
October 9 Colgate
Fitton Field Worcester, MA W 28–14 15,000 [ 5]
October 16 Boston University
Fitton Field Worcester, MA W 28–14 17,500 [ 6]
October 23 at Syracuse
L 21–63 18,308 [ 7]
October 30 Northeastern ^
Fitton Field Worcester, MA W 17–7 14,000 [ 8]
November 6 at UMass
L 27–38 14,500 [ 9]
November 13 at Rutgers
L 13–14 8,500 [ 10]
November 20 at Connecticut
L 17–24 14,397 [ 11]
November 27 vs. Boston College
L 12–48 22,205 [ 12]
Homecoming^ Family Weekend
Statistical leaders
Statistical leaders for the 1971 Crusaders included:[ 13]
Rushing: Joe Wilson, 973 yards and 9 touchdowns on 177 attempts
Passing: Mickey Connolly, 433 yards, 35 completions and 4 touchdowns on 85 attempts
Receiving: Jack VonOhlen, 260 yards and 2 touchdowns on 16 receptions
Scoring: Joe Wilson, 54 points from 9 touchdowns
Total offense: Joe Wilson, 973 yards (all rushing)
All-purpose yards: Joe Wilson, 1,128 yards (973 rushing, 114 receiving)
Interceptions: Dan Harper, 5 interceptions for 93 yards
References
^ "2019 Holy Cross Football Fact Book" (PDF) . Worcester, Mass.: College of the Holy Cross. p. 123. Retrieved June 15, 2020 .
^ "Boston U., Holy Cross Join Yankee Conference" . Hartford Courant . Hartford, Conn. United Press International . May 26, 1971. p. 35 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Cady, Steve (September 26, 1971). "Holy Cross Ends Slump in 21-16 Harvard Upset". The New York Times . New York, N.Y. p. S5.
^ McGowen, Deane (October 3, 1971). "Dartmouth Downs Holy Cross, 28-9, by Capitalizing on Fumble Recoveries". The New York Times . New York, N.Y. p. S4.
^ Gammons, Peter (October 10, 1971). "Holy Cross Back on Beam, Colgate on Short End, 28-14" . Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 84 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Rosa, Francis (October 17, 1971). "Holy Cross, Wilson Stun BU, 28-14" . Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 81 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Crowley, P.J. (October 24, 1971). "Syracuse Makes Holy Cross Wince, 63-21" . Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 63 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Nason, Jerry (October 31, 1971). "Wilson Carries HC over NU, 17-7" . Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 91 – via Newspapers.com . Attendance figure in "Holy Cross Defeats Northeastern, 17-7". The New York Times . New York, N.Y. Associated Press . October 31, 1971. p. S4.
^ Gammons, Peter (November 7, 1971). "UMass, Metallo (258 Yds., 4 TDs) Topple HC, 38-27" . Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 90 – via Newspapers.com .
^ O'Brien, Ken (November 14, 1971). "Holy Cross! Rutgers Finally Nails a Win" . The Sunday Home News . New Brunswick, N.J. p. A1 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Canfield, Owen (November 21, 1971). "UConn Rally Tops Crusaders" . The Hartford Courant . Hartford, Conn. p. 1C – via Newspapers.com .
^ Nason, Jerry (November 28, 1971). "BC's Bombs Trip Up 'Soft Touch' HC, 21-7" . Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 85 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "2019 Holy Cross Football Fact Book" (PDF) . Worcester, Mass.: College of the Holy Cross. pp. 68–73. Retrieved June 15, 2020 .
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