This past Saturday, Boston College held its annual “For Welles” Red Bandana Game. This amazing tradition started in 2014 to honor former Boston College student and lacrosse player Welles Crowther. During the attacks on New York on September 11th, 2001, Welles Crowther found himself inside the World Trade Center. While everyone around him was panicking and rushing to the exits to save themselves, Welles Crowther stayed behind and helped everyone he saw get to the exits. He wore his famous red bandanna over his face to block the smoke and went up and down the collapsing building saving eighteen lives. As a result of this, Welles Crowther lost his life but became a true hero in the process. In remembrance of his heroic actions on 9/11, Boston College introduced the Red Bandanna Game to honor him.
After coming off a close loss to #6 ranked Missouri, the Eagles hoped to bounce back against Michigan State. In the first quarter, Michigan State started their scoring with an early field goal by Jonathan Kim to give them an early 3-0 lead. After this, each team was held scoreless until the second quarter when Eagles running back Turbo Richard notched an 11-yard touchdown run, however a missed extra point by Boston College would limit them to 6 points. The Eagles did not hold the lead long, though, as Michigan State quickly scored on a 1-yard touchdown run by Aidan Chiles, followed by another field goal for Michigan State, making the lead 13-6 Michigan State going into halftime. While the teams were in the locker room getting ready for the final half, the energy at Alumni Stadium began to pick up. Andrew Garside, who was at the game, described how “the energy in the stadium really began to ramp up during halftime, and everyone got behind the Eagles ready for a comeback.”
Coming out on the field for the second half, the noise and energy of the crowd had seemingly gotten to Michigan State, as on the opening kickoff, Michigan State returner Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams fumbled the ball and Boston College recovered it at the Michigan five-yard line. Although the Eagles could not score a touchdown, they were able to kick a field goal and make the score 13-9. Now Michigan State had the ball once again, and with the crowd still roaring Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles threw an interception, which resulted in a touchdown shortly after by Boston College running back Treshaun Ward, making the score 16-13 in favor of BC. The Spartans did not give up, though, as they were able to add another field goal to tie the game, and another late one in the 4th quarter to take the lead 19-16. With two minutes remaining in the game, Boston College star quarterback Thomas Castellanos drove the Eagles down the field 75 yards for a touchdown. As a result of this, the crowd became louder than ever and did everything in their power to help the Eagles win. With Michigan State down to their last breath, Aidan Chiles threw another interception, resulting in a 23-19 Eagles win. As soon as this happened, thousands of fans stormed the field to celebrate with the Eagles players, and Dom Lieto, who was at the game, described “The joy in the stadium was unimaginable, and people began chanting ‘For Welles’ when the game was over.”
