Holy Cross football will play in a state playoff game for the first time in a decade when it hosts New Fairfield in a Class S quarterfinal on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Municipal Stadium.
The fourth-seeded Crusaders (8-2) are in the postseason for the first time since 2011, when they won the Class S state championship, 34-27, over Cromwell at Rentschler Field in East Hartford. The fifth-seeded Rebels (8-2) come from the South-West Conference.
Holy Cross will need to contain New Fairfield’s two-headed rushing attack of senior Jason Caswell (1621 yards, 16 touchdowns) and junior Justin McCormack (366 yards, 10 touchdowns). The Rebels have run for 2731 yards, or 273.1 yards per game, and 34 touchdowns. Stopping the run is paramount for the Crusaders. The New Fairfield defense is led by junior Thomas Leary (88 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries), senior Kevin Martinson (74 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 6 sacks) and senior Shane Rattigan (40 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 3 sacks).
Holy Cross will be looking to its own dynamic junior running back, Tom Ligi, to lead the way. Ligi ran for 1178 yards and 20 touchdowns during the regular season. The Crusaders have been using two quarterbacks, junior David Kacprzyski and freshman Drew Caouette, lately.
The Holy Cross defense has been led by senior Mahkai Wilson, senior Jameson Fauth, sophomore Roehn Maldonado, junior Josh Holland and Ligi. Junior Kevin Matiz kicks the extra points and is a threat on punt returns.
Statistics for New Fairfield from MaxPreps.com.
Photo caption: Holy Cross football will host a playoff game Tuesday, its first since 2011. (Copyright, Sports on CT-69, file)
