Chase Edmonds broke Fordham’s single game rushing record on Saturday with 347 yards on the ground. Mike Groll/AP
By DREW CASEY
Chase Edmonds is an exceptional college football player. Honored with the Jerry Rice Award as the top freshman football player in the FCS last year, many are familiar with the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania native’s athletic talent. However, no one could have expected or predicted what the 5-foot-9 sophomore running back did on Saturday afternoon at Jack Coffey Field in the Bronx.
Helping the Fordham Rams to a 59-42 Patriot League win over the Lehigh Mountain Hawks, Edmonds rushed for a career-high 347 yards and totaled 402 all-purpose yards, including four total touchdowns.
The remarkable numbers set both Fordham and Patriot League single-game records. Edmonds even neared FCS records on a postcard-like, fall day at Rose Hill. Maurice Hicks rushed for 437 yards in a game for North Carolina A&T in 2001, while Joey Stockton amassed 467 all-purpose yards for Western Kentucky in 1995. 152 of Stockton’s yards came on punt and kick returns.
Despite the ultimate overall success that the Rams and Edmonds achieved on Saturday, the afternoon did not start out in promising fashion for the defending Patriot League champions.
After winning the opening coin toss and deferring possession until the second half, Fordham sent their defense, which allowed 570 total yards last week, to the field first. Despite starting deep in their own territory, Lehigh took an early 7-0 lead when junior quarterback Nick Shafnisky rushed three yards for his seventh touchdown of the season.
Attempting to answer and tie it up early, Fordham went three-and-out, giving possession quickly back to Lehigh. Shafnisky was not as equally up to the task this time, though, as sophomore free safety Caleb Ham intercepted his first of two Lehigh passes on the day. The Rams converted the turnover into points eight plays later when junior quarterback Kevin Anderson found freshman wide receiver Austin Longi in the end zone for a three-yard score. Longi’s fourth touchdown of the season tied it at seven.
Fordham’s defense kept the momentum on the home team’s side, when the unit forced a turnover on Lehigh’s next drive as well. Junior linebacker George Dawson recovered a Dom Bragalone fumble, and Fordham took over at their own 34-yard line.
Defense again turned into offense as senior tight end Phazahn Odom found the end zone on a 15-yard Anderson pass, putting the Rams on top for the first time.
With three losses entering play against tenth ranked Fordham, Lehigh did not begin to fold. In fact, they did just the opposite to close out the first half. The Mountain Hawks rattled off two straight touchdowns to take a 21-14 lead, and Fordham appeared to be in a bit of trouble. Junior place kicker Makay Redd helped to curb some of the visitor’s momentum, connecting on a 37-yard field goal with under two minutes remaining in the second quarter. Lehigh led 21-17 at halftime.
It was a tale of two halves.
Fordham emerged in the second half with new energy, in large part due to Edmonds, whose four scores all came in the final thirty minutes. The first second half highlight, though, was a recycled first half connection as Anderson hit Odom from 30 yards out to put the Rams up 24-21.
Enter Edmonds.
On Fordham’s next two drives, Edmonds scampered into the end zone from nine yards out before breaking off a 60-yard sprint to propel the Rams to a 38-21 lead.
Lehigh answered with a score early in the fourth quarter after Edmonds and Anderson coughed up a handoff to make it a two possession game. Sophomore Nana Amankwah-Ayeh scored his first collegiate touchdown to cut the Mountain Hawks deficit to 10.
Edmonds and Anderson quickly made up for their turnover as the two teamed up on a 50-yard catch and run to keep the Rams in front, 45-28, early in the fourth quarter.
It was then time for the defense to step up yet again with a big play. Junior defensive back Jihaad Pretlow, who returned a kickoff for a touchdown last week, intercepted a Lehigh pass and took it back 23 yards to the end zone to put Fordham up 52-28.
The game was still not quite over yet as Lehigh rattled off two quick scores to make it 52-42 with over seven minutes left in regulation.
Fordham quickly gave it back to Lehigh, but a late missed 34-yard field goal doomed the Mountain Hawks in the final minutes.
Edmonds added the final record-setting exclamation point just two plays after the missed field goal, rushing 75 yards for his fourth score of the afternoon.
In the end, Fordham outscored Lehigh 42-21 in the second half after being outscored 21-17 in the first two quarters.
Edmonds has now amassed 1,734 total yards and 23 touchdowns in just eight games this season.
The 7-1 squad is next in action on Saturday, October 31, at 1 p.m. at Colgate in Hamilton, New York. Colgate is 2-0 in the Patriot League and 3-4 overall.
