WORCESTER – Before the Bulldogs and Crusaders met on Saturday at Fitton Field, there was some verbal sparring between Yale senior Sean Sullivan and Holy Cross junior Cam Nolan, who formerly played on the offensive line at St. John’s High.
“Sean is a great kid and a lot of fun to be around,” said Nolan, HC’s backup right back from Oxford who has played in all three games this season, before Tuesday’s practice at Kuzniewski Field. “He loves to laugh, but he’s all in when it gets serious. He’s the best.”
The HC Family Weekend, which begins at 2 p.m., is Yale’s 2024 opener. The Crusaders (1-2) will look to build on last week’s 43-22 win at Bryant and extend their winning streak against the Bulldogs to four games.
“Holy Cross is a good team and they’ve always been a good team,” Sullivan said in a phone interview from New Haven, Connecticut, earlier this week. “I think it’s going to be a good game on Saturday.”
Last year, the 6-foot-5, 295-pound Sullivan, who grew up in Westborough, returned from a torn ACL that kept him out for all of 2022. He secured the starting left guard position and helped Yale win its second consecutive Ivy League title.
The Bulldogs are the Ivy League preseason favorites in 2024.
“We want to have a great year,” Sullivan said. “We want to build on the last few years, maintain the success and have fun as a group.”
Sullivan at left tackle and Nolan at left guard played side-by-side on St. John’s offensive line. In 2019, the pair were part of a great offense that averaged nearly 40 points per game and helped the Pioneers to an appearance in the Division 3 state finals.
“I looked up to him,” said Nolan, who first played on the offensive line as a sophomore at St. John’s. “He taught me a lot. He was a really good leader.”
The last time Yale came to Worcester in 2022, Sullivan did not play as he recovered from his knee injury.
He has, however, played at Fitton Field once before, in the long-running Thanksgiving Day duel between St. John and St. Peter-Marian.
This tradition ended when St. Peter-Marian and Holy Name merged to form St. Paul. Sullivan and Nolan played in the 95th and last meeting between St. John’s and SPM on Thanksgiving 2019, a 35-12 victory for the Pioneers.
“I loved my time at St. John’s,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan’s maternal grandparents, Joe and Anne Doyle, are originally from Worcester, and Joe played football at St. Peter’s, so this game had special meaning for Sullivan’s family.
“My grandfather played in that game, so it was a great experience for him, too,” Sullivan said. “It was awesome. It made him super proud.”
Joe Doyle, who played on UMass’ 1964 Yankee Conference championship team, coached Hoosac Valley High School and won two Super Bowl titles in Western Mass. He was inducted into the Massachusetts Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 1995.
Joe and Anne live in Adams.
Sullivan is also close friends with Holy Cross junior wide receiver Matt Brunelle from Paxton, who attended St. John’s before transferring to Loomis Chaffee, and Brunelle’s older brother Jay, a teammate of Sullivan’s at St. John’s and Yale.
At Yale, Sullivan plays for coach Tony Reno, who grew up in Oxford and played at Worcester State.
Nolan’s mother, Kristin (Croteau), was a year behind Reno at Oxford High. Kristin played alongside the great Carla Berube on Oxford’s undefeated Division 2 girls basketball state championship teams of 1992 and 1993.
Kristin Nolan is one of HC’s team moms this fall.
After graduating from St. John’s University, Sullivan attracted interest from Ivy League and Patriot League universities, including Holy Cross.
As a freshman at Yale, he played in eight games and came back stronger last season after ACL surgery.
“I’ve come back to a place I’m happy with,” Sullivan said. “I haven’t had any problems since. I feel ready to go.”
Yale is seeking three consecutive Ivy titles for the first time since 1979-81.
The Crusaders have averaged 35.6 points against the Bulldogs over the past three seasons.
“They’re an older unit on defense,” Nolan said. “They’re going to be a very good team. They’re strong up front.”
—Contact Jennifer Toland at [email protected]. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @JenTolandTG.
