Camden Catholic blanks Holy Cross

The curse is gone.

Camden Catholic, which Holy Cross had defeated by an aggregate score of 74-14 over the last three years, shut out the visitors last night, 27-0.

And Irish quarterback Joe Brennan sparkled at his position in the Burlco/Olympic National Division win.

Operating out of the shotgun most of the night, the junior completed 18 of 32 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception.

The 6-foot-4, 195-pound Division I prospect also ran for a touchdown and showed poise and authority.

"We had a lot of emotion going into this game because Holy Cross wasn't going to disrespect us again," Brennan said. "The shutout feels great because Holy Cross is a great football team.

"Today's win shows the potential our team has this year."

The shutout was the first for Holy Cross (3-1, 2-1 division) this season and put the Irish (4-0, 2-0), ranked No. 3 in South Jersey by The Inquirer, in the driver's seat in the division with games against Willingboro, Cinnaminson and Bishop Eustace remaining.

Brennan, who entered the game with 638 yards passing and eight TDs, found Tyler Brown in the end zone with a 48-yard bomb for the first score with 3 minutes, 5 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Terrance Casper caught a 13-yard pass from Brennan for the next touchdown near the end of the second period, and with the help of Mike Conway's kicking, the Irish had a 14-0 lead at intermission.

At that point, the junior signal-caller had completed 11 of 21 passes for 161 yards because the Lancers weren't able to get to him for the most part.

The Lancers mounted an eight-minute drive to start the second half; however, two big defensive plays by Casper and Anthony Gallo stopped them on the Irish's 22-yard line.

"They did a heck of a job on defense," Holy Cross coach Tim McAneney said. "If it's 14-7, it's a different ball game."

Casper hauled in a 20-yard TD pass from Brennan, and Brennan outran the defense for 36 yards to the end zone in the third quarter to end the scoring.

Sherard Cadogan didn't score for the Irish, but he earned high marks on offense (seven catches for 92 yards) and defense (two sacks).

Holy Cross 0 0 0 0 - 0

Camden Catholic 7 7 0 13 - 27

CC: Brown 48 pass from Brennan (Conway kick)

CC: Casper 13 pass from Brennan (Conway kick)

CC: Casper 20 pass from Brennan (kick failed)

CC: Brennan 36 run (Conway kick)