By Sam Belden
The Rams opened Patriot League play with a 35-7 over Lafayette on Saturday. Mike Groll/AP
Like last year, Fordham Football split its first two games of this 2015 season. Since then, the team has been undefeated and kept on pace to qualify for a third consecutive playoff berth. In their most recent game, a 35-7 road win against Patriot League opponent Lafayette, the Rams pulled it out by continuing to do what they have done all year: mixing it up on offense and refusing to let the other team charge down the field.
It was the first win for the Rams while visiting the Leopards since 2007. In the three matchups between the two teams at Lafayette’s Fisher Stadium Lafayette won every time.
On Saturday, however, Fordham’s explosive ground game was on full display. The running back tandem of sophomore Chase Edmonds and junior Kendall Pearcey combined for 276 rushing yards and three touchdowns en route to the decisive victory.
“Our offensive success is contingent upon our ability to run the ball well,” said head coach Joe Moorhead, currently in his fourth season at the helm. “I was very pleased with the performance of our offensive line, tight ends and running backs in the run game.”
While the end result was positive for Fordham, the Rams started the game off on the wrong foot. After junior Jihaad Pretlow, returning the opening kickoff, failed to successfully lateral to Pearcey, Lafayette took over on the Fordham ten. A short touchdown run from running back DeSean Brown gave the Leopards the first lead of the game.
Later on in the first quarter, the home team prepared for a field goal attempt, but graduate student Stephen Hodge swooped in to block the kick, holding Lafayette to a one-score lead. Then, junior George Dawson recovered the ball for Fordham and ran it to the Lafayette five, giving his team an opportunity to score the equalizing touchdown. On the next play, junior quarterback Kevin Anderson did just that, finding senior tight end Phazahn Odom in the end zone to tie the score at seven apiece.
Just as the first quarter was winding down, Edmonds broke through the Lafayette defense to go on a 67 yard touchdown run, doubling the Rams’ score. They scored again within the first few minutes of the second when Pearcey ran it 16 yards into the end zone. By the end of the first half, Fordham lead by 14.
Early on in the second half, Anderson continued the Rams’ scoring demonstration, connecting with freshman wide receiver Corey Caddle on a 71-yard touchdown pass. Edmonds scored the Fordham’s final seven points toward the end of the third, running the ball a single yard into the end zone. The fourth quarter was scoreless, and when the clock ran out, Fordham was ahead by 28 points.
Statistically, Edmonds was the main difference-maker for Fordham, putting up a career-high 234 rushing yards and two touchdowns. It was his third 200-rushing yard game of his collegiate career. Now, the Pennsylvania native has 654 on the season, along with 237 receiving yards and 10 total touchdowns. Moorhead praised Edmonds, calling him a “special player.”
Anderson was also valuable, hitting just half of his targets but throwing two touchdown passes and zero interceptions. After throwing for five touchdowns with a 70-plus completion percentage in each of the past two weeks, it was notable regression, but this game was Edmonds’ show. Two of his receivers, Caddle and Odom, made a pair of catches, both scoring a touchdown.
Not to be forgotten are the contributions of Fordham’s defenders. While the Rams were three-for-three in scoring touchdowns once in the red zone, Lafayette crossed the goal line in just one of five attempts. The defenders dished out 10 tackles for losses and five sacks, stopping the Leopards time after time. By the end of the game, they had successfully worn down the opposition; the Rams controlled the ball for almost 11 minutes in the fourth quarter.
“I was very pleased with our defensive performance,” said Moorhead. “We focused on four primary factors entering the game: stopping the run game, limiting explosive plays, playing well on third down and pressuring the QB. And, for the most part, we succeeded.”
Fordham’s special teams unit also had a banner day, blocking two Lafayette field goal attempts to hold its score to the single-digits.
The fact that Saturday’s win was Fordham’s first game of conference play makes it all the more significant. After this week, the Rams will begin a five-week slate of Patriot League games to close out the regular season. While Fordham currently has the best overall record in the conference, Moorhead is aware of how quickly things can change. “There is tremendous parity in our [conference],” he said. “We have to be on top of our game every week in order to achieve our goals.”
Next, Fordham will head to Philadelphia for a road matchup against the University of Pennsylvania, its second Ivy League opponent of the year (the Rams previously defeated Columbia, 44-24). The game will be held this Saturday at 1 p.m. at Penn’s Franklin Field.
