Interesting if nothing else

Football
Jeremy Rice

UMass walked into the locker room with a 30-9 lead at halftime, but UMass coach Don Brown is by no means happy with his team's performance. Numerous personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties highlighted a very sloppy two quarters by both teams. UMass was hit for 8 penalties for a total of 89 yards.

Special teams was especially unorthodox. Holy Cross gave up a 100 yard kickoff return for a touchdown, and both squads muffed a couple of punts.

Matt Lawrence was the brightest star for the Minutemen, racking up 124 yards on 13 carries in the first half alone - a 9.5 yard average. He also had a 70 yard touchdown run called back due to a holding penalty. Tony Nelson also had a good half, rushing for 41 yards on six carries, a 6.8 yard average.

With the game pretty much out of reach, Nelson may acquire more carries in the second half in garbage time, but it looks like Brown has chosen Lawrence as his featured back, and it's clear why.

Nelson may have more power, but Lawrence has tremendous speed and a deceptive ability to cutback into the field from the sideline. He appears stiff in the hips at times near the line of scrimmage or in the, but then surprises you with a brilliant move in the open field. The slow Holy Cross defense may have made him look better in the first half than he really was.

Next week's matchup at Colgate may give you a better idea of what Lawrence can really do against a challenging opponent.

More from the press box after the third quarter.