Published in the August 5th Bucks County Herald
It isn’t a conventional “three-peat.”
But when Holy Cross kicks off their conference football season on October 16th with Georgetown, Jake Reichwein and the Crusaders will seek a Patriot League three-peat nonetheless.
CB West’s Reichwein recorded five tackles and a sack in the Crusaders’ 20-3 victory over Lehigh last March 13th. He broke up a pass and made two more tackles in Holy Cross’s next game, a win over Fordham. “Jake is constantly in the weight room. He’s fast. He’s explosive,” assessed Holy Cross defensive coordinator Scott James, who coincidentally also coached Pennridge head coach Cody Muller at New Hampshire.
Holy Cross (3-1) squeezed four games into a choppy, COVD-altered schedule this past Spring. The most important one was their 33-10 win at Bucknell in the Patriot League title game.
“I wanted to go to a Patriot League school because they’re special academically,” shared Reichwein, who is entering his fourth collegiate year. “The thing that sold me was the change of culture. I wanted to be a part of, and help build, something special. It is really apparent now: going from a bad team to champions of the Patriot League and trying to make a splash on the national scale.”
“We tell the kids to say aloud the three things we preach every day- attention to detail, positive attitude, and urgency- and stink at any of them. Now how do you think your life is going to turn out?” James mused.
There is no shortage of athletes in the Reichwein family. Jake’s father, sister, and brother all competed in Division 1 sports. “We definitely had some battles going at it in football drills! And my sister and I would do cross-fit workouts and try to beat each other,” Reichwein smiled.
Reichwein played linebacker and running back at CB West. “It was a big adjustment coming to Holy Cross and switching my position,” Reichwein explained. “At linebacker, you’re looking at everything. At the defensive end, you have a set job to beat the guy in front of you. It was really difficult to do something I had never done before. But I had good coaches and they were encouraging.”
“Jake has long arms and broad shoulders,” James stated. “He didn’t have that far to go to transition to defensive end. He is strong and powerful. He has this ability to knock back an opponent but, as the ball runs away from him, he can get off that block pretty efficiently, and then his effort takes over.”
Reichwein also captained coach Adam Sherman’s basketball team at West. “Being able to guard people who are more athletic than you and not let people who are bigger than you box you out transferred to trying to beat somebody via tackle on the football field,” Reichwein noted. “I was in some pretty big football games at CB West. But big basketball games where you have to make a couple of foul shots when everyone is looking at you and being able to do that, really helped me to gain confidence. If I can do that, I can play in front of anybody.”
A torn labrum forced Reichwein to miss 2018. He made lemonade from the injury lemons, as his situation enabled him to observe and learn the defensive end position from the sidelines.
Reichwein attacked his rehab with a vengeance and played in 11 Holy Cross games during their 2019 Patriot League title run.
“Jake got hurt early in his career here, pretty significantly,” James noted. “Not only did he work his way back, but he also improved each step along the way by leaps and bounds. Our staff and I are so impressed with his work and the results of that work.”
Everyone thought that Reichwein’s learnings in 2019 would segue into a conventional 2020 season. However…
Players didn’t return to campus until January 2021. “You can get into funks where you’re not being pushed by anyone other than yourself,” Reichwein remembered. “Staying connected to our teammates, I think, was the biggest part for us. Putting things in the mirror that you need to get done every day. Holy Cross did a really good job of keeping the guys together. Every few days we would have Zoom meetings and talk about the film. Not just of the teams that we play but even NFL and situational stuff.”
“We lived three timelines at the same time,” James pointed out. “We’re thinking about developing a team that hadn’t seen each other in almost a year, which is not normal. Your second timeline is being told that you’re going to compete in six games (note: four were canceled due to COVID) and have an opportunity to play in the FCS tournament. The third one was the recruiting timeline. And finally, there was taking care of our families.”
“This summer has been a little different,” Reichwein shared. “We’re still working just as hard but our weight lifting has been more focused on keeping us healthy as well as keeping us big and strong. It’s less focused on schemes and more focused on technique because we just came off of a season where we installed all of our plays.”
The Crusaders’ season ended in the first round of FCS playoffs at South Dakota State in late April. The unconventional spring season forced a different offseason. Yet when Holy Cross kicks off their fall on September 4th at UConn, excitement- and appreciation for playing- will be running high.
Kuznetsov Keys Crusader D Line
Warrington’s Dan Kuznetsov grew up just minutes from Holy Cross teammate Jake Reichwein. The Philadelphia Catholic League sacks leader while a senior at LaSalle, Kuznetsov is another big reason for Holy Cross’ defensive efficiency.
Kuznetsov is a defensive end who is entering his fourth year at Holy Cross. He co-led the Crusaders with four tackles for loss during Holy Cross’ abbreviated Spring season. In 2019, Kuznetsov ranked second on Holy Cross in sacks and earned second-team All-League honors as the Crusaders reached their first FCS playoff since 2009.
Kuznetsov was a Patriot Academic Honor Roll selection who first played tight end before switching to defense. “Dan was cross-trained to play on both sides of the ball and did it very well,” praised Holy Cross defensive coordinator Scott James. “Just like Jake, his work ethic is so evident. There are no days off for Jake and for Dan.”
Kuznetsov “is one of my best friends at school. He’s a workhorse and a hard-nosed guy,” Reichwein added.
Photo courtesy of Holy Cross Football Website
