By Sam Belden
Chase Edmonds was delivered an electric performance, rushing for 155 yards and a touchdown. (Andrea Garcia/The Fordham Ram)
After dropping its season opener to Navy last week, the Fordham football team bounced back in its first home game of the season on Saturday, Sept. 10. Going up against the Elizabeth City State University Vikings in front of a rowdy crowd at Jack Coffey Field, the Rams set a team record by scoring a whopping 83 points, giving them a 62-point margin of victory in their first win of 2016.
While Fordham’s offense was held in check last week in Annapolis, the team had no trouble advancing downfield against the ECSU defense. Senior quarterback Kevin Anderson threw for 225 yards and four touchdowns, finding a receiver on 18 of his 28 attempts. Junior running back Chase Edmonds also had a productive game, rushing for 155 yards on 16 carries.
The game was a blowout from the very start, with Fordham enjoying plenty of offensive highlights in the first quarter. Anderson connected for two touchdowns, finding senior wide receiver Robbie Cantelli for the first and sophomore wide receiver Austin Longi for the second. Meanwhile, both Edmonds and fellow running back Kendall Pearcey pulled off significant touchdown runs — 54 and 36 yards, respectively.
All told, the Rams scored on each of their first seven possessions, racking up 48 points before the Vikings even got on the board. By the time quarterback Daquan Neal found the end zone for ECSU’s first score of the game, there were less than three minutes remaining in the first half. Fordham led 48-14 at the midway point.
While any sense of urgency had left the game by the start of the second half, Fordham continued to extend its lead. A few notable bench players, including junior quarterback Luke Medlock, got a taste of the action in the fourth quarter. The Vikings struggled to get anything going in the second half, leading to the final score of 83-21.
While the Rams’ offense delivered a relentless performance, the defense was also in fine form, grabbing four interceptions. In all, Fordham amassed 707 total yards to ECSU’s 220.
After posting a 1-1 record to start the year, the Rams are off next weekend. They will resume their season on Sept. 24 when they host the University of Pennsylvania Quakers.
