Football

Holy Cross gets revenge on Newport in dominant fashion

by Evan Dennison November 14, 2026November 14, 2026

Garrett Frederick (3) lifts up Dustin Wilson (23) to celebrate a touchdown. Photo provided | Charles Bolton

To say Holy Cross had all the motivation in the world facing Newport Friday night at To say Holy Cross had all the motivation in the world facing Newport on Friday night at Thomas More would be an understatement.

The Wildcats had ended the Indians’ season in each of the past three years. On a chilly evening, the Indians made sure that streak came to an end.

Holy Cross dominated from the opening kickoff and cruised to a 26-0 victory, advancing to the third round of the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

The Indians were so dominant that Newport didn’t record its first first down until the later stages of the fourth quarter.

“They ended our season last year, so we came in with the mindset that we were gonna end their season this year,” Indians quarterback Brian Ferguson said. “We locked in, and didn’t let them determine about anything. We had to get our revenge.”

Ferguson and Dustin Wilson each rushed for two touchdowns in the victory. Wilson also spearheaded a stingy defensive effort that left Newport searching for running lanes all night.

Despite winning two straight regular-season district titles, Holy Cross still needed to prove it was ready to take the next step. On Friday night, the Indians took a giant leap.

PHOTOS: Slideshow provided by Charles Bolton

“This group of kids is a special group,” Indians coach Curt Spencer said. “Some of these kids I’ve had five, six years. I’ve known these kids. I know their tendencies. I know their temperaments. I know them well. So it’s a good group. It’s been fun.”

The tone was set from the opening drive, as the Indians marched 63 yards down the field on nine plays, all of them runs.

“The opening drive always tells you how the game’s gonna go,” Wilson said. “It was us driving it down their throat, lets them know that we came off the bus ready, we aren’t backing down, and this year we aren’t losing.”

Newport’s night couldn’t have started much worse. Its first play from scrimmage resulted in a loss of 18 yards following a bad snap. The Wildcats struggled to find their footing from there, needing a long run from Damarco Jackson late in the fourth quarter just to get out of negative rushing yardage for the game.

The loss ends Newport’s season at 6-6. The Wildcats were hoping to make a third consecutive trip to the region championship game.

Holy Cross entered halftime with a 6-0 lead before recovering two consecutive kickoffs to open the second half. Neither was necessarily an onside kick, but rather a squib kick that bounced off Newport players and allowed the Indians to recover.

“We got lucky on a couple of them hitting their players,” Spencer said. “That’s not the intention. The intention is keeping it on the ground and not letting those guys get out in space. Because if you out kick your coverage against a team like that, you’re in trouble, and I don’t want to do that.”

Ferguson capitalized with two touchdown runs, while Wilson added his second rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter to put the finishing touches on the 26-0 victory.

Holy Cross finished with 250 total yards compared to Newport’s 47, including 211 yards on the ground. Wilson led the Indians with 81 rushing yards, followed by Charles Ogelsby with 67 and Ferguson with 57.

The Indians will now travel to Bethlehem next week with a chance to capture their first region title since 2016.

The victory also marked the 10th win of the season, making Holy Cross the first team in program history to record 10 wins in back-to-back seasons.

“In the two years we’ve been here, we had more wins or like one short of nine years prior,” Spencer said.

INDIANS 26, WILDCATS 0

NEWPORT — 0-0-0-0 — 0

HOLY CROSS — 6-0-14-6 — 26

Scoring Plays

1st Quarter

(HC) Wilson 1-yard run (6:52) Kick failed

3rd Quarter

(HC) Ferguson 8-yard run (5:54) Romito kick

(HC) Ferguson 5-yard run (2:25) Romito kick