The football team had another wild road game with an overtime win on Nov. 15, ousting Holy Cross 31-24. The victory marked the third straight OT game for the Orange and Blue. Once again, the Bison showcased their late game toughness under pressure.

The team traveled to Worcester to compete in a cold afternoon match-up against the Crusaders. Going into the event, the Bison had recorded two overtime games. They defeated Lafayette 27-24 at home on Nov. 1 and came close to upsetting nationally-ranked Fordham in a 30-27 loss on Nov. 7. The first three quarters of the Holy Cross game gave no indication that another wild ending was in store for the Orange and Blue.

Most of the game’s action took place in the last quarter. A five-yard touchdown scramble from quarterback Trey Lauletta ’15 created a 17-14 lead early in the fourth. After forcing their opponent to punt, the Orange and Blue were unable to recover the ball, and Holy Cross picked up prime position at the 26-yard line.

Three plays later, Colin Jonov ’18 recorded his second interception for the team. The Bison’s celebration was short-lived when Lauletta lost the ball on a sack at the Orange and Blue 18-yard line, which led to a 21-17 lead for the Crusaders.

Matt DelMauro ’16 led the drive back down the field for the Bison, with his 36-yard catch and seven-yard touchdown run, putting the team back in the lead 24-21. Holy Cross answered with a five-minute drive down the field that resulted in a 32-yard field goal with four seconds left, evening the score at 24.

Lauletta and DelMauro led the charge for the Bison offense in overtime, and DelMauro eventually scored his third touchdown of the game on a three-yard rush into the endzone. The Holy Cross offense was unable to answer, giving the Orange and Blue the victory.

“I think we played well,” DelMauro said. “We’ve fought through so much adversity this year that we feel there is no situation that we can’t overcome. When the game went to overtime, we were confident that we would get the job done. We give everything we got every game. There is no quit in us.”

The Bison defensive line played a strong game and contributed to many of the Crusaders’ mistakes in the last few minutes of play. It held Holy Cross to 319 total offensive yards, compared to the Bison’s 363. Jaylen Amaker ’15 and Evan Byers ’15 had 12 and 10 tackles, respectively.

Amaker recorded a career-high, and Byers moved into second on the program’s career tackles list. On offense, Lauletta finished  for 203 yards. Jake Hartman ’15 and Will Carter ’17 both had strong games, with Hartman grabbing seven passes for 87 yards and Carter recording 46 yards with five catches.

“[Going] 8-2 is obviously a very big accomplishment and is something to be proud of, but it is disappointing that we were not able to win the league,” DelMauro said. “Now we have to handle our business in the last game against Colgate and send our seniors out the right way, with a win, and hopefully get an at-large bid to the playoffs.”

The Bison will conclude their regular season on Nov. 22 at 1 p.m. at home against Colgate. If they win, the Bison will reach nine wins for only the third time in program history.