.png&type=webp)
University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
2-0
Holy Cross
1-1
#18 UMass Cruises Past Holy Cross, 31-7
September 11, 2010 | Football
Sept. 11, 2010
Box Score |
Notes |
Photo Gallery 
| Buy Your Own Copy Of This Game: $9.99
AMHERST, Mass. - The #18 UMass football team rolled over in-state rival Holy Cross, beating the Crusaders 31-7 on Saturday night at McGuirk Stadium in front of 16,352. The Minutemen (2-0) outgained Holy Cross (1-1) 525-213, including 358-69 in the first half.
Senior quarterback Kyle Havens was 25-of-38 for 293 yards with two touchdowns. His favorite target was fellow senior and roommate Anthony Nelson, who had eight catches for 103 yards. On the ground, junior Jonathan Hernandez rushed for 75 yards and a TD while senior John Griffin had 71 yards as well as a score.
The Minutemen took a 31-0 lead into halftime, its largest intermission advantage since leading 35-0 at Rhode Island on Nov. 1, 2008. UMass scored on its final five possessions of the first half. Senior receiver Dan Sheeran (19-yard TD reception) and Rob Blanchflower (3-yard TD reception) each tallied the first score of their careers. The other two TDs came on 1-yard rushes by Griffin and Hernandez. Caleb Violette closed the first half with a career-long 37-yard field goal as the half expired.
Sophomore Perry McIntyre led UMass with seven tackles. Junior Tyler Holmes had six stops and an interception for the second game in a row.
In the first half, in addition to outgaining the Crusaders by 289 yards, the Minutemen held a 21-3 edge in first downs, 140-11 in rushing yards and 21:34-8:26 in time of possession. UMass also converted 7-of-12 third downs and held Holy Cross unsuccessful at 0-of-5.
Holy Cross ended the shutout attempt as Freddie Santana scored on a 20-yard pass from Ryan Taggart with a 2:52 left in the third quarter. The drive took just one play coming after a blocked punt by Perry Townsend.
The crowd was the 16th largest all-time at McGuirk Stadium and the 10th or more than 15,000 since 2004. UMass is now 8-0 all-time in night games at McGuirk Stadium.
UMass heads to Michigan (2-0) next week to play before what could be the largest crowd in college football history. Michigan drew the record 113,090 to its 2010 season opener on Sept. 4. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network with a kickoff just after 12 p.m. The largest crowd ever to watch a UMass game came in 2008, at Texas Tech with an attendance of 53,190.
Team Stats
HC 0, UMASS 7
UMASS - D. Sheeran 19 yd pass from K. Havens (C. Violette kick) 7 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:51
HC 0, UMASS 14
UMASS - J. Griffin 1 yd run (C. Violette kick), 6 plays, 42 yards, TOP 2:21
HC 0, UMASS 21
UMASS - J. Hernandez 1 yd run (C. Violette kick), 11 plays, 57 yards, TOP 4:24
HC 0, UMASS 28
UMASS - R. Blanchflower 3 yd pass from K. Havens (C. Violette kick) 14 plays, 81 yards, TOP 6:17
HC 0, UMASS 31
UMASS - C. Violette 37 yd field goal 12 plays, 47 yards, TOP 1:28
HC 7, UMASS 31
HC - Freddie Santana 20 yd pass from Ryan Taggart (Rob Dornfried kick) 1 plays, 20 yards, TOP 0:08
