By Tiffany Williams –
OXFORD, Ohio — Miami (Ohio) scored touchdowns on its first five meaningful possessions, added a special-teams score and built a 42-point halftime lead before cruising to a 45-7 victory over Holy Cross Friday afternoon at Fred C. Yager Stadium.
Miami improved to 1-1, while Holy Cross fell to 0-3 overall and 0-2 in conference play. The RedHawks led 14-0 after the first quarter, erupted for 28 points in the second and carried a 42-0 advantage into halftime. Holy Cross finally broke through late in the third quarter.
The game kicked off at 1:02 p.m. in rainy conditions with a temperature of 76 degrees and a light north wind. An announced crowd of 11,126 attended in Oxford.
Holy Cross received the opening kickoff and started at its own 25. Joseph Williams carried twice for three combined yards before David Lynch threw incomplete on third-and-seven. Ethan Moss punted only 30 yards, giving Miami excellent field position at its own 42.
The RedHawks immediately took advantage.
Rodney Nelson rushed for three yards before David McComb found Christian Ross for 10 yards and Lynel Billups-Williams for six. Scoop Smith then broke a 10-yard run to the Holy Cross 24, and Toney Coleman Jr. added seven more.
D’Shawntae Jones ripped off a 14-yard run to the Holy Cross 3, and McComb kept the football on the next snap for a three-yard touchdown.
Kellan McLaughlin converted the extra point, completing a seven-play, 58-yard drive and putting Miami ahead 7-0 with 9:31 remaining in the first quarter.
Holy Cross showed some life on its next possession. Williams rushed six yards, and Lynch found Lincoln Fisher for nine yards and a first down. Williams added three more, but Lynch was eventually sacked for a six-yard loss by Tyler Dikos, forcing another punt.
Miami took over at its own 25 and methodically went 75 yards.
McComb connected with Maleek Huggins for 18 yards and later found Ross for seven on third-and-four. After a false-start penalty pushed the RedHawks backward, McComb recovered with another completion to Huggins.
Nelson gained five yards and Jones converted third-and-two with a two-yard run.
McComb then delivered the explosive play. He found Ross for a 34-yard touchdown with 2:16 remaining in the first quarter.
McLaughlin added the extra point, and Miami’s lead grew to 14-0.
Holy Cross went three-and-out again, and Miami started at its own 46 with 1:19 remaining in the quarter.
A penalty initially pushed the RedHawks backward, but McComb erased it with a 23-yard completion to Carl Jenkins Jr. He followed with another 23-yard completion to Smith, moving Miami all the way to the Holy Cross 18 as the quarter expired.
Miami completed the drive early in the second quarter.
Nelson rushed 10 yards to the Holy Cross 8, and a defensive pass-interference penalty gave the RedHawks first-and-goal from the 2.
Jones took the handoff and powered in for the touchdown.
McLaughlin’s extra point made it 21-0 with 13:35 remaining.
Holy Cross again failed to answer. Lynch threw incomplete, Cal Swanson was stopped for no gain and Williams lost a yard on third down.
Alessandro Garrett punted, and Miami took over at its own 42.
The RedHawks needed only three plays to score.
McComb found Billups-Williams for 20 yards and then Huggins for 28, moving the ball all the way to the Holy Cross 10.
On the next snap, McComb connected with Damarion Witten for a 10-yard touchdown.
McLaughlin converted again, and Miami’s lead ballooned to 28-0 with 10:31 remaining.
Holy Cross picked up five yards on a Lynch completion to Jake Croce and four more on a Croce run, but Lynch lost four yards on third down.
Garrett came out to punt.
Miami’s special teams turned the game into a rout.
Smith blocked the punt, and Leo Colombi recovered the football at the Holy Cross 23 and returned it for a touchdown.
McLaughlin added the extra point with 8:26 remaining, giving Miami a 35-0 lead.
Holy Cross finally produced its best sustained drive of the first half.
Williams gained two yards, Lynch found Fisher for seven and Swanson converted third-and-one with a four-yard run.
A false-start penalty later left Holy Cross facing third-and-15, but Lynch delivered his biggest completion of the half, finding SirCharles Gordon for 36 yards to the Miami 31.
The Crusaders could not finish the drive.
Lynch threw three consecutive incompletions before finding Croce for eight yards on fourth-and-10. Croce was stopped at the Miami 23, two yards short of the marker, and the RedHawks took over on downs.
Miami then delivered another touchdown drive.
Starting at its own 23, McComb found Billups-Williams for 19 yards. Jones followed with runs of four and 22 yards, moving the RedHawks to the Holy Cross 32.
McComb gained three yards on the ground, and Jones added another yard.
Facing third-and-six from the Holy Cross 28, McComb connected with Billups-Williams for a 28-yard touchdown.
McLaughlin’s extra point made it 42-0 with 1:11 remaining in the first half.
Holy Cross managed only 12 yards on its final possession of the half, and Miami went into the break with complete control.
The RedHawks had scored on five offensive drives and one blocked-punt return. Holy Cross had not crossed the goal line and had struggled to sustain possessions.
Miami opened the second half with the football and turned to its running game.
Lazaro Rogers, Cade Yacamelli and Caleb Heavner repeatedly moved the chains as the RedHawks consumed 9:35 on a 14-play, 69-yard drive.
Rogers ripped off a 19-yard run and followed with another 10-yard carry. Yacamelli later gained 12 yards to the Holy Cross 10.
Holy Cross finally kept Miami out of the end zone, stopping the RedHawks at the 6.
McLaughlin came on and converted a 24-yard field goal with 5:25 remaining in the third quarter, increasing the margin to 45-0.
Holy Cross then put together its only touchdown drive of the afternoon.
Datrell Jones opened with a 14-yard run and added four more. Lynch found Williams for 21 yards to the Miami 36 before Williams rushed three yards.
Lynch converted third-and-seven with an eight-yard pass to Gordon and later found Gordon again for 10 yards to the Miami 15.
With 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Lynch connected with Fisher for a 15-yard touchdown.
Owen Saraceno added the extra point, completing a nine-play, 75-yard drive and cutting Miami’s lead to 45-7.
Miami took the football back with only 30 seconds remaining in the third and carried the possession deep into the fourth quarter.
The RedHawks continued running the football, using Yacamelli, Chancellor Sparks and Heavner to chew up more than nine minutes.
A Sparks fumble was recovered by Miami, and the RedHawks eventually punted from midfield with 6:04 remaining.
Pierse Stainton pinned Holy Cross at its own 10.
Holy Cross moved out to its own 34 on its final possession.
Lynch rushed six yards and found Lucas Weir for 13. Croce added a two-yard run, but a false-start penalty helped stall the possession.
Lynch completed an eight-yard pass to Croce on third-and-13, leaving Holy Cross short of the first down.
Garrett punted with 3:04 remaining, and Miami took over at its own 33.
The RedHawks ran out the remaining clock.
Sparks carried four times, gaining 16 yards and one first down, before Heavner kneeled on the game’s final offensive snap.
Miami closed out the 45-7 victory.
Miami finished with 437 yards of total offense compared with 181 for Holy Cross. The RedHawks rushed for 201 yards and passed for 236 while averaging 8.1 yards per offensive play. Holy Cross managed only 40 rushing yards and 141 through the air.
The most striking individual statistic belonged to McComb.
The Miami quarterback completed all 13 of his pass attempts for 234 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. He also rushed three times for 12 yards and scored Miami’s opening touchdown.
Billups-Williams led Miami with four receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown. Huggins caught three passes for 54 yards, Ross finished with three catches for 51 yards and a touchdown, and Witten caught the 10-yard scoring pass in the second quarter.
Jones led Miami’s rushing attack with 47 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Rogers added 36 yards on four attempts, Yacamelli finished with 26 and Sparks added 25 as the RedHawks spread 201 rushing yards across nine ball carriers.
Lynch completed 13 of 25 passes for 141 yards and one touchdown without an interception, but Miami sacked him once and held him to minus-four net rushing yards.
Gordon led Holy Cross with 54 receiving yards on three catches. Fisher caught three passes for 31 yards and the Crusaders’ only touchdown, while Williams added a 21-yard reception.
Holy Cross finished with only 10 first downs compared with Miami’s 25 and possessed the football for just 21:41. The RedHawks controlled possession for 38:19 and converted five of eight third downs.
Miami’s dominance was established almost entirely before halftime. The RedHawks scored on touchdown drives of 58, 75, 54, 58 and 77 yards, added Colombi’s blocked-punt return and entered the locker room ahead 42-0.
Holy Cross finally produced a strong third-quarter scoring drive, but by then the outcome had long been decided. Miami’s perfect passing performance from McComb, balanced ground game and special-teams touchdown carried the RedHawks to a decisive 45-7 victory.
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