'Sader seniors go out with win; Santana, Edger work trick play.

• Position: SPORTS

Byline: Steve Farley

WORCESTER - Before yesterday's season finale against Bucknell, Freddie Santana took in all the sights and sounds that surrounded him, and reflected on his stellar four-year career with the Crusaders.

"I looked around the stadium and I really appreciated what I had," Santana said after HC pounded the Bison, 34-9, in front of 4,297 fans and finished the season 6-5, 3-2 in the Patriot League. "I looked around and took a moment to take it all in."

Santana, one of 25 seniors who played their final game at Fitton Field, caught six passes for 118 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 39 more on two carries.

Sandwiched by two defenders, Santana hauled in a magnificent 43-yard pass from senior wide receiver Bill Edger, putting HC up by three touchdowns 17 seconds into the fourth quarter. Senior Bill Dornfried's PAT boosted the Crusaders' lead to 27-3.

Edger had secured a toss from senior quarterback Ryan Taggart, rolled to his right and lofted a long pass just before getting knocked down.

"It's been in the playbook for two weeks now," Santana said of the trick play. "We hadn't had the guts to run it. We convinced (the coaches) to finally run it."

"We were begging the coaches to call it because we were going with the wind," said Edger, who threw his one and only pass at HC. "Freddie made a hell of a catch. I got hit right when I threw it up, but I saw him go up for it. It got there, thank God, but barely.

"I told Fred, I was mad at him because he made that catch from Bill," said Taggart, who completed 13 of his 27 passes for 154 yards while picking up 28 more on the ground, including TD runs of 1 and 15 yards.

"In all honestly, (Bucknell) defended the play well," HC head coach Tom Gilmore said. "They actually hurried Edger. Our guys found a way to make the play."

The Crusaders started the season slowly, at 1-3, but finished strong with five victories in their last seven games for their sixth...