Football Defeats Bucknell 20-9 on Senior Day

Bronx, N.Y - Today's Fordham University football game was a showcase of the time-honored wedding tradition of something old and something new. The old was in the form of senior running back Chase Edmonds, who capped a record-setting career by rushing for 185 yards and two long touchdowns, while the new was in the form of junior quarterback Austin King, who made his first collegiate start for the Rams. The two combined to lead the Rams to a 20-9 season-ending Patriot League win over Bucknell University on Jack Coffey Field.
 
With the win, Fordham closes out the season with a 4-7 overall record, 3-3 in the Patriot League, while Bucknell falls to 5-6 overall, 2-4 in the conference.
 

Another version of "something old, something new" was seen in junior Austin Longi's 90-yard punt return, a school and Patriot League record.  The former school mark was 85 yards by Len Eshmont in 1939 and the former league record was 89 yards by Jesse Boyd of Colgate in 1997.
 
The game was a defensive battle for the first quarter and a half until Edmonds took a handoff and burst through the line, getting to the right sideline and outracing the Bucknell defenders to the end zone for a 65-yard scoring run with 8:11 left in the second.
 
The 7-0 score held until late in the third when Bucknell's John Burdick connected on a 27-yard field, the first of three for Burdick, to make it a 7-3 game.
 

Burdick booted two more field goals over the first five minutes of the fourth quarter to give Bucknell a 9-7 lead but just under two minutes later, Longi fielded an Alex Pechin punt on the Fordham ten and brought it back 90 yards for a 13-9 Fordham lead.
 
Later in the quarter, the Rams held the Bison on a fourth down play from the Fordham 45 and on the first play of the ensuing possession Edmonds covered the 55 yards to give Fordham the 20-9 lead.
 
Notes
 
The game was the final collegiate contest for 21 Fordham seniors who were honored in a pregame ceremony.
 
Longi's 90-yard punt return is a school and Patriot League record (former school mark was 85 yards by Len Eshmont in 1939 and the former league record was 89 yards by Jesse Boyd of Colgate in 1997).
 
Chase Edmonds closes out his career with 5,862 career rushing yards along with 74 career touchdowns and 67 career rushing touchdown, all school and Patriot League records. His 5,862 career rushing yards is fifth best in NCAA FCS history while his 67 career rushing touchdowns is fourth best and his career rushing yards/game average of 133.2 is 14th best
 
The Fordham defense held an opponent with a touchdown for the first time since the Rams shut out Lock Haven in the 2012 season-opener and the first time for a Patriot League opponent since a 17-0 blanking of Bucknell in 2008.
 
Fordham defensive coordinator John Bowes saw lots of familiar faces on the other sideline as he served as a member of the Bucknell University coaching staff for four years, before arriving at Fordham in the spring.
 
Graduate student quarterback Kevin Anderson missed the game due to an injury. It marked the sixth game this year in which Anderson and Edmonds did not start together at quarterback and running back, respectively.
 
The Fordham offensive line featured Anthony Coyle (LT), Jake Trautman (LG), Dominic Lombard (C), Garrett Donaldson (RG) and Nick Zackelj (RT), the seventh different starting lineup combination on the line for the Rams in 2017 as the line was hit by injuries all season.
 
The Rams have now taken five straight from Bucknell but the Bison still lead the all-time series, 18-15.
 
By the Numbers
 
4-for-22 – Bucknell's third down conversion rate.
 
4- Interceptions on the year for Antonio Jackson, a team-high.
 

8 – Tackles for Niko Thorpe, all solo, a team-high.
 
8 – Team tackles for a loss by Fordham, led by two from freshman Glenn Cunningham.
 
10 – First downs by Bucknell, a season-low for a Fordham opponent.
 
32 – Home wins for the Rams since 2012.
 
32-5 – Fordham's record on Jack Coffey Field since 2012.
 
61 – Long punt for freshman Andrew Mevis, one yard shy of his season-best.
 
67 – Career rushing touchdowns for Chase Edmonds, a school and Patriot League career record.
 
68 –Rushing yards by Bucknell, third fewest for a Fordham opponent this year.
 
74 – Career touchdowns for Chase Edmonds, a school and Patriot League career record.
 
5,862 – Career rushing yards for Chase Edmonds, a school and Patriot League career record.
 
7,374 - Career all-purpose yards for Chase Edmonds, a school and Patriot League career record, tenth best in NCAA FCS history.
 
What's Next?
 
The Rams will open the 2018 season on Saturday, September 1, at Charlotte.