The 1981 Holy Cross Crusaders football team was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team that represented the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...

as an independent during the

1981 NCAA Division I-A football season The 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Clemson Tigers, unbeaten and untied, claiming the national championship after a victory over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. This was also the first year of the California Bowl, played in Fres ...

. The team was led by a new head coach, Rick E. Carter. The team compiled a record of 6–5. 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 now known as the Football Championship Subdivision. All 1981 home games were played at

Fitton Field Fitton Field is a football stadium in Worcester, Massachusetts primarily used for College of the Holy Cross sporting events. The stadium opened in 1908 as the official home for the Holy Cross Crusaders football team. Before that, most games were ...

on the Holy Cross campus in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

Schedule

Statistical leaders

Statistical leaders for the 1981 Crusaders included: * 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

{{Holy Cross Crusaders football navbox Holy Cross Holy Cross Crusaders football seasons Holy Cross Crusaders football