Remembering The Tie

If there's one person who's just a tad more excited than most about today's Harvard-Holy Cross showdown in The Stadium, it's Crusader Gill Fenerty.

The junior tailback makes no pretense of the fact that he's out to revenge the 10-10 tie between these two clubs a year ago.

Because it was that game that ended the Crusaders' hopes of an unbeaten, untied season and it was that game that ended Fenerty's dream season in Purple and White.

For just moments into the third quarter of that game, "someone's helmet hit me in the shoulder," Fenerty recalls now, His shoulder separated as a result, and the leading man in the Crusader's offensive show was forced to the sidelines for the final two games of the regular season. Fenerty returned for a playoff game against Western Carolina, but reinjured the shoulder in the first half.

So it's little wonder that the tie and the injury are upmost in the New Orleans native's mind.

"The tie is very much on our minds," says Fenerty, with a bit of ferocity in his voice and a desire to forget about the injury. "We haven't done well against Harvard in the past."

In fact, it's been three years since Holy Cross has beaten the Cantabs, and the Crimson leads the all time series 25-11-2.

"They're on our minds more than any other game," Fenerty says. "I guess you could say we're seeking revenge."

And in Fenerty, Holy Cross has just the ingredient to get that revenge. In only one year with the Crusader program, he already has become one of the college's all-time greats.

Last season Fenerty finished fifth in the nation in rushing, accumulating 1101 yards along the way, and he ran the ball for more than 100 yards in five games including an outstanding 337 yard performance against Columbia.

In that game Fenerty set six Holy Cross records, one New England record, and one NCAA record. To get a grasp of what he actually did to the Lion team, understand that Fenerty scored six touchdowns and averaged 18.7 yards per carry in that one game.

Overall last season, the 6-ft., 190-lb. tailback scored 15 touchdown in only nine games. He also garnered some pretty impressive post-season honors, including Third Team All-American and First Team All New England.

Most believe that after this season Fenerty will own nearly every Holy Cross rushing record. And that's not bad for someone who transferred to the Worcester school from Louisiana State University just a year ago.

Change

"I wanted a little change and a different atomosphere (from LSU)," Fenerty says, citing Holy Cross's "smaller, more academic" style as a major reason for his transfer. He adds that he's also fond of the smaller amount of emphasis Holy Cross places on football.

Today, though, Fenerty admits he's got a great deal of emphasis vested in winning, and gaining some revenge