WORCESTER, Mass. - The Holy Cross football team kicks off their 2023 season Saturday at Fitton Field against Merrimack. 

Holy Cross is ranked in the top five in many pre-season polls, and Merrimack won seven of their last eight games to finish last season. The Crusaders are looking forward to their clash with the Warriors. 

"Merrimack's a great team," said guard C.J. Hanson. "They put the work in, the defensive line is one of the strongpoints of their defense, twitchy up front, move a lot of parts, they have some good linebackers."

"It's a great experience, it's a great time, we get to play a very good team in Merrimack," said wide receiver Byron Shipman. "They beat us before, so we're going to play our hardest. We're going to do everything we can to beat this team."

"We know they're a tough team, we know they're physical," said cornerback Terrence Spence. "We know they want to beat us as bad as we want to beat them."

Kickoff on Saturday is set for 2 p.m.