Holy Cross QB Matt Sluka on the run in FCS…
Holy Cross QB Matt Sluka on the run in FCS playoffs
Holy Cross head football coach Bob Chesney shares a laugh with players during media day at Fitton Field on Aug. 10 in Worcester. The Crusaders will play South Dakota State in a national quarterfinal game Saturday. (Staff Photo By Chris Christo/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
By Rich Thompson | richard.thompson@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald
PUBLISHED: December 7, 2022 at 11:31 a.m. | UPDATED: December 7, 2022 at 5:18 p.m.
Holy Cross quarterback Matthew Sluka found his footing when the elements limited his passing options in the Crusaders' 35-19 win over New Hampshire in the second round for the FCS playoffs at Fitton Field.
Sluka rushed the ball 12 times for 103 net yards, including touchdown runs of three and 47 yards on a muddy and slick natural grass field.
The 6-3, 215-pound dual threat sophomore from Locust Valley, N.Y., will need to find his proper RPO balance when the No. 8 seed Crusaders (12-0) take on No. 1 seed South Dakota State (11-1) in a quarterfinal match on Saturday (noon) at Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings, S.D. SDS annihilated Delaware 42-6 in its second-round match.
"When they are designed runs, he's big, he's strong and he's elusive," said Holy Cross coach Bob Chesney, the 2022 Patriot League Coach of the Year. "He does a great job just getting downhill and executing the run play just like a running back.
"They are not all called runs and a lot of times he can just create a little bit on his own. I think that is really important for the success of this team. If things are covered down field, he can create after that fact."
Sluka was an All-Patriot League and All-New England first-team selection on the first Holy Cross team to win 12 games in a season. Under Sluka's game management, Holy Cross has averaged 38.75 points per game with 265 first downs.
Sluka leads the team in rushing with 1,021 yards on 177 carries for a 5.8 average and 10 touchdowns. He has completed 141-of-240 passes for 2,354 yards, 26 touchdowns and three interceptions.
"He sees the field better than any quarterback I've been around and it is fun to watch him and when he gets out into the open on that second level, anything can happen," said Chesney.
"There are times we'll have two different plays he can go to. If he gets a certain look and thinks the play's not good, he knows what to check to. He has the ability to do that and he has grown in that department."
Featured attraction
The program has friends in high places in the national sports media market.
The Crusaders and the Jackrabbits will do battle in the prime noon Eastern Standard Time slot on ESPN before a monopolized national audience and will serve as warmup act to the annual Army vs. Navy game.
"It was a cool thing and I actually spoke to the programing director at ESPN, Burke Magnus, who is an alum of Holy Cross," said Chesney. "I spoke to him on Sunday and he might have nudged them in that direction to get into that spot. Whether that is true or not, who knows?
"But I thought was pretty neat to hear from him and see the support from all the way around. But every other team is on Friday night so we are the only show in town come high noon on Saturday. Following us is Army-Navy.
"So, it is an opportunity for us to be on that national stage for the whole world to watch and see the type of football we play."
Kicked around
Place kicker Derek Ng has been a reliable scorer all season, but the stormy conditions knocked him off of his game against the Wildcats.
Ng was 0-for-2 on field goal attempts and has a third blown up by a mishandled snap. He made the mental and physical adjustments needed on a slick field with wind driven rain to go 5-of-5 on PAT conversions.
Ng has made 13-of-20 field goal attempts with a long of 52 and made 53 PATs to lead the Crusaders in scoring with 92 points. South Dakota State has given up 14.75 points per game and is very stringy in the defensive red zone. Ng is positioned to be a difference maker in a close game.
"He is very confident in himself, as he should be," said Chesney. "He is in the same mental state that he's been in since the beginning of this year and he should be.
"He's a damn good kicker and is the leading points scorer in the history of this school and by and far the best in the Patriot League. He is ready for this opportunity."
FCS football playoffs
holy cross football
Rich Thompson | Sports Reporter
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