Theodhosi, Bears Beat Holy Cross 24-21
Saturday, September 15, 2012
120 yards rushing in a single game constitutes a great game for a running back in college.
120 yards rushing in your first game back from a torn ACL in one knee is even greater.
120 yards rushing in your first game back from tearing your ACL's in both knees is simply off the charts!
Such is the life of Brown University senior tail back Spiro "Alex" Theodhosi. "Theo", as his teammates call him, was an absolute beast on Saturday and his inspirational performance helped his Bears claw back in the 4th quarter to beat Holy Cross 24-21 in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Theodhosi would be the first to tell you that he could not have done it alone. Brown's offensive line simply wore down the Holy Cross defensive front opening up big holes for him to run through late in the game.
Down 7-3 at halftime, the Bears struggled offensively in the first half to find anything that would work consistently. "We couldn't get anything going in the first half," said Brown head coach Phil Estes. "We tried to find the right personnel groupings and right formations, but nothing worked. But then we got things going in the second half."
Trailing 14-3 midway through the third, Brown senriorQB Patrick Donnelly (24-41 for 199 yards, 2 TD 2 INT) faked a handoff to Jordan Evans on a Jet Sweep to the right. He hid the ball on his hip and bootlegged left where he connected with a wide open Telef Lundevall for a 38-yard touchdown to pull the Bears to within four points at 14-10.
The Crusaders answered that touchdown with one of their own on the ensuing drive when running back Eddie Houghton capped off an 83-yard drive with a 1-yard TD plunge to make it 21-10 Holy Cross heading into the 4th quarter.
And that 4th quarter was dominated by the Bears. In the opening minutes of the 4th, Brown mounted a 13-play, 73-yard drive which culminated in a touchdown pass from Donnelly to senior WR Jonah Fay from 2-yards out.
Then, after the defense did its job, Brown got the ball back on it's own 16-yard line with 7:46 to play. From there, the offense methodically marched down the field with some fantastic running by Theodhosi to the Holy Cross 10-yard line. Then, with the Crusaders expecting more of Theodhosi, Donnelly kept it himself and scampered around the right end and into the endzone putting Brown up 24-21 with 1:24 to play.
Holy Cross has a chance to answer with a potential game-tying or game-winning drive, but the Brown defense had other ideas.
The Bears "D" knocked starting QB Kevin Watson (26-40 for 223 yards, 1 TD 0 INT) from the game when they hit him in the backfield. Back-up QB Ryan Laughlin came in and completed a pass for a first down before his second pass attempt was intercepted by All-Ivy senior defensive back AJ Cruz to seal the victory for Brown.
With the win Brown moves to (1-0) on the season while Holy Cross falls to (0-2).
The Bears host Ivy League rival Harvard at Brown Stadium next Saturday at 4:30pm in a game that will be nationally televised on the NBC Sports Network. Portable lights will be erected at Brown Stadium for the game.
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