1981 Holy Cross Crusaders football team

The 1981 Holy Cross Crusaders football team was an American football team that represented the College of the Holy Cross as an independent during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by a new head coach, Rick E. Carter. The team compiled a record of 6–5.^[1]

1981 Holy Cross Crusaders football
Conference	Independent
Record	6–5
Head coach	Rick E. Carter (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Mark Duffner (1st season)
Captains	John Andreoli Dave Boisture Wayne Thornton
Home stadium	Fitton Field
Seasons ← 1980 1982 →

1981 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Pittsburgh		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
No. 3 Penn State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Miami (FL)		–		–				9	–	2	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				9	–	2	–	1
No. 17 West Virginia		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Colgate		–		–				7	–	3	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Navy		–		–				7	–	4	–	1
Cincinnati		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Florida State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Holy Cross		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Tulane		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
UNLV		–		–				6	–	6	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				6	–	6	–	0
Temple		–		–				5	–	5	–	0
Boston College		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Louisville		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Notre Dame		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
William & Mary		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				4	–	6	–	1
Richmond		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Army		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
North Texas State		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Georgia Tech		–		–				1	–	10	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				1	–	10	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

This would be Holy Cross' last season in the NCAA's top level of competition. Shortly after the season ended, the NCAA reassigned the Crusaders, along with several other football teams, to Division I-AA^[2] now known as the Football Championship Subdivision.

All 1981 home games were played at Fitton Field on the Holy Cross campus in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	Boston University	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	W 14–6	5,000	[3]
September 19	at UMass	Alumni Stadium Hadley, MA	L 10–13	9,960	[4]
September 26	at Harvard	Harvard Stadium Boston, MA	W 33–19	17,000	[5]
October 3	at Dartmouth	Memorial Field Hanover, NH	W 28–0	7,203	[6]
October 10	Yale	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	L 28–29	21,601	[7]
October 17	at Connecticut	Memorial Stadium Storrs, CT	L 24–44	11,884	[8]
October 24	Brown^	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	W 34–24	14,792	[9]
October 31	Columbia	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	W 14–7	8,041	[10]
November 7	at Army	Michie Stadium West Point, NY	W 28–13	33,642	[11]
November 14	Colgate	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	L 13–34	17,241	[12]
November 28	Boston College	Fitton Field Worcester, MA (rivalry)	L 24–28	22,500	[13]
Homecoming ^ Family Weekend

Statistical leaders

Statistical leaders for the 1981 Crusaders included:^[14]

• Rushing: Mark Covington, 763 yards and 11 touchdowns on 209 attempts
• Passing: Dave Boisture, 1,101 yards, 92 completions and 2 touchdowns on 178 attempts
• Receiving: Mike Redding, 363 yards on 31 receptions
• Scoring: Mark Covington, 66 points from 11 touchdowns
• Total offense: Dave Boisture, 1,254 yards (1,101 passing, 153 rushing)
• All-purpose yards: (tie) 785 yards for Andy Clivio (564 rushing, 208 returning, 13 receiving) and Mark Covington (763 rushing, 22 receiving)
• Interceptions: Rob Porter, 5 interceptions for 35 yards
• Tackles: Harry Flaherty, 101 total tackles

References

1. "2019 Holy Cross Football Fact Book" (PDF). Worcester, Mass.: College of the Holy Cross. p. 124. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
2. Roberts, Ernie (December 4, 1981). "Big Guys on Block Bully Ivy, HC Football". The Boston Globe. Boston, Mass.
3. Eisenberg, Harry (September 13, 1981). "HC Grounds Down BU". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 58 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Monahan, Bob (September 20, 1981). "UMass' Late Rally Crosses Up HC". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 56 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Monahan, Bob (September 27, 1981). "Harvard Can't Handle Holy Cross". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 78 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Roberts, Ernie (October 4, 1981). "HC Cuffs Dartmouth, 28-0". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 85 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Strauss, Michael (October 11, 1981). "Yale Beats Holy Cross, 29-28". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S8.
8. Concannon, Joe (October 18, 1981). "Connecticut Survives". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 80 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Roberts, Ernie (October 25, 1981). "HC Rolls by Brown". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 86 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Singelais, Neil (November 1, 1981). "Holy Cross Holds Off Columbia". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 86 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Shaughnessy, Dan (November 8, 1981). "HC Rally Clinches Winning Season". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 80 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Singelais, Neil (November 15, 1981). "Colgate Crushes Holy Cross". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 81 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Roberts, Ernie (November 29, 1981). "The Rivalry Lives: BC Edges HC, 28-24". The Boston Globe. Boston, Mass.
14. "2019 Holy Cross Football Fact Book" (PDF). Worcester, Mass.: College of the Holy Cross. pp. 68–73. Retrieved June 15, 2020.