Sept. 11, 2004

Box Score

Worcester, Mass. - For the second year in a row, the USD Toreros won a thriller over the Holy Cross Crusaders. With 1:29 left in the fourth quarter and the game tied 24-24, San Diego's John Koker had a perfect punt to back Holy Cross to their own 4 yard line. On the next play, the Crusaders' Steven Silva fumbled and USD's Philip Bretsch recovered it on the 8 yard line. Evan Harney then burst through the middle for an 8 yard touchdown run, giving the Toreros a 31-24 lead with just 1:19 remaining in the game.

On the ensuing kickoff, Holy Cross' Casey Gough had a 92 yard return all the way to the Torero 5 yard line. The Crusaders tied the game on a 1 yard pass from John O'Neil to Sean Gruber with 45 seconds left on the clock. The Toreros had one last chance to win the game in regulation, starting their next drive on their own 45 yard line. After two straight near interceptions, Todd Mortensen connected with Michael Gasperson for 15 yards, bringing the ball to Holy Cross' 40 yard line. Mortensen and Gasperson hooked up again on the next play for 14 yards, putting the ball on the 26 yard line with 8.6 seconds on the clock. Trying one last play before bringing on the field goal unit, Mortensen threw the ball to the end zone and receiver Adam Hannula came down with the ball for the winning score.

Holy Cross started the scoring in the first quarter with a 27 yard field goal. USD tied the game when Hutch Parker kicked a 32 yard field goal with 1:53 left in the first. The two teams traded touchdowns in the second quarter with Harney tying the game at ten just before halftime.

USD took the lead just over 5 minutes into the second half when Mortensen connected with Matt Koller for a 35 yard touchdown. Chase McBride returned an intercept for 84 yards and a touchdown less than a minute into the fourth quarter, putting the Toreros up by 14. Crusader quarterback John O'Neil then threw touchdown passes to Brian Gavin and Sean Gruber to tie the score at 24, setting up the dramatic finish.

Torero quarterback Todd Mortensen finished the game 19-35 for 267 with 2 TDs and 0 INTs. Seven of those completions went to Adam Hannula, who finished with 92 yards and the game-winning touchdown. Evan Harney led USD on the ground with 80 yard and 2 TDs on 22 carries.