Holy Cross holds on to beat Georgetown 27-24 at Cooper Field

Georgetown had the lead and the crowd at Cooper Field. It wasn't enough.

Holy Cross quarterback David Lynch threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Lincoln Fisher with 27 seconds left in the fourth quarter, lifting the Crusaders to a 27-24 road win and dropping the Hoyas to 3-5 on the year.

Georgetown built a 24-21 lead going into the fourth, and the defense held it there until the very end. But the final drive did them in.

The game started well enough for the Hoyas. Thomas Anderson split the uprights from 40 yards in the first quarter, then Clay Ash punched it in from a yard out to make it 10-0 before Holy Cross had answered once. Ash finished with 78 yards on 17 carries, the workhorse of a Georgetown ground game that never quit.

Holy Cross responded in the second quarter. Joseph Williams ran one in from a yard out, then Lynch connected with Luke Petitta on a 2-yard score to put the Crusaders up 14-10 with under three minutes left in the half. Georgetown answered fast. Gavin Beard found Jonathan Alexander on a 12-yard strike with 37 seconds to go before the break, and suddenly the Hoyas were back in front, 17-14 at halftime.

Jayden Sumpter's 4-yard run in the second quarter had given Georgetown an earlier cushion. That sequence of scoring, four touchdowns in roughly ten minutes of game time, turned a measured first half into a track meet.

Holy Cross took the lead back in the third when Lynch hit Ty Curran on a 33-yard pass. Curran was their most productive receiver on the day, catching six passes for 73 yards to go with that score. Georgetown reclaimed the edge later to make it 24-21, but couldn't put it away.

Beard finished 15 for 25 for 165 yards and that one touchdown, though he threw two interceptions. Alexander hauled in three catches for 76 yards and the score. Lynch went 16 for 26 for 140 yards and two touchdowns against one interception. Williams added 51 rushing yards in addition to his score, then threw the game-winning pass to Fisher in the final half-minute.

Holy Cross improves to 5-5. Georgetown's next chance to even things up comes on the road.

Fisher's catch with 27 seconds on the clock was the final swing of a game Georgetown nearly had in hand.