BC to honor 9/11 hero at UMass
Eagles wearing red bandana uniforms on 20th anniversary of terrorist attacks
The Boston College Eagles will bring a somber home game tradition to Amherst this weekend.
BC (1-0) will take on the UMass Minutemen (0-1) Saturday (3:30) at McGuirk Stadium wearing its red bandana uniforms on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that toppled the World Trade Center towers in lower Manhattan.
The red bandana game is played annually in honor of former BC lacrosse player Welles Crowther, a New York native who lost his life on a rescue mission in the South Tower.
Crowther became known as the “man in the red bandana,” a decorative lucky charm from his playing days. Crowther wore a bandana over his face amid the dust and smoke while saving dozens from the inferno.
“We are going to wear our red bandana jerseys for the game so that will technically be the red bandana game,” said BC head coach Jeff Hafley, who grew up Montvale, N.J., a township 19 miles from lower Manhattan.
“We talk all about Welles and we talk all about the red bandana game. How could we not wear those jerseys on 9/11 on the 20th anniversary? We talked about it and it was a no-brainer. We are going to do that in honor of every single person that was affected by 9/11.”
BC starting defensive end Shitta Sillah was born on Sept.11, 2001, and grew up in Somerset, N.J. Sillah, a 6-foot-4, 253-pound junior, has donned the red bandana uniform in the past but feels the added significance for wearing it this weekend.
“Being born on 9/11 was crazy because 9/11 was a tragic day in American history,” said Sillah. “The red bandana is very special because Welles Crowther is a former BC lacrosse player that sacrificed his life to save many people. That makes this very important and very special for us.”
BC is playing its full slate of nonconference games in September while UMass is engaging its second straight opponent from the ACC.
The Minutemen opened the season with a 51-7 loss to Pittsburgh at Heinz Field. Panthers quarterback Kenny Pickett had a solid day, completing 27-of-37 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns with a passer rating of 152.6.
UMass coach Walt Bell must prepare his defense for the greater challenge posed by Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec, who was the ACC co-quarterback of the week following the Eagles’ 51-0 win over Colgate at Alumni Stadium.
Jurkovec completed 16-of23 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns in three quarters of work. He also led the team in rushing with 61 yards on five carries that included a 41-yard bootleg. Jurkovec finished with an off-the-charts 214 passer rating. Zay Flowers caught seven passes for 135 yards and a touchdown and was named the ACC receiver of the week.
“He is a great player and he will be a draft pick,” Bell said of Jurkovec. “I don’t know where but he will be a draftable guy because he is big and tall and strong.
“I think the offense they are running right now suits him really well. Where Ken Pickett was a great athlete and great runner, Phil is really strong and really hard to bring down. He’s very rugged and he is hard to get on the ground so it’s another great challenge.”
Boston College and UMass will square off for the 27th time with the Eagles leading the series 21-5, winning the last 10 matchups. BC’s last game at McGuirk was in 1982.
“UMass is just like another away game for us. We’ll go there and play them,” said Hafley. “I think it is great for the region and any chance we can to spread our brand out across New England is good.”