Football Game Preview: Holy Cross Knights vs. Christ the King Royals

Two dominant backs in Antoine Williams and Isaiah Smith are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Holy Cross Knights will square off against the Christ the King Royals at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Holy Cross is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last three games.

Holy Cross is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They blew past St. Dominic, posting a 42-0 win. Given the Knights' advantage in MaxPreps' New York football rankings (they are ranked 211th, while the Bayhawks are ranked 496th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.

Madden Martinez

Passer Rating

10/18/25 vs Nazareth	177.1
11/08/25 vs St. Dominic	156.3
09/12/25 @ Kennedy Catholic	146.4
09/21/25 vs St. John the Baptist	133.1
11/01/25 @ Mt. St. Michael Academy	115.3
+ 4 more games

Among those leading the charge was Madden Martinez, who threw for 118 yards and three TDs while completing 75% of his passes, and also punched in one score on the ground. His passing game has become a key predictor of Holy Cross' success: the team is undefeated when his passer rating is 100 or higher, but only 1-3 otherwise.

Christ the King never got on the board in their matchup two weeks ago, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Kennedy Catholic on Saturday. They took down the Gaels 32-13.

Holy Cross' record is now 6-3. As for Christ the King, their record now sits at 6-4.

Holy Cross beat Christ the King 16-6 in their previous meeting back in September. Will the Knights repeat their success, or do the Royals have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.