Nov. 20, 2007

Bronx, N.Y. - After turning around a program that won three games in 2006 to become the 2007 Patriot League champions, Fordham University head football coach Tom Masella was recognized as the Patriot League Coach of the Year it was announced today. The Patriot League awards are selected by the League's seven head coaches.

Joining Masella in garnering a major award was freshman running back Xavier Martin (Staten Island, N.Y./Xaverian), who was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Year. Martin becomes the third Ram to earn Rookie of the Year honors, joining placekicker Micah Clukey (2003) and current teammate and backfield partner, Jonte Coven (2004).

Besides Martin, 11 other Rams earned All-Patriot League honors. Earning First Team accolades were senior running back Jonte Coven (Stone Mountain, Ga./Stephenson), senior linebacker Earl Hudnell (West Palm Beach, Fla./Suncoast) and senior punter Ben Dato (Wyomissing, Pa/Wyomissing) while Martin, sophomore quarterback John Skelton (El Paso, Tex./Burges), senior center Mike Breznicky (Scarsdale, N.Y./Eastchester), senior offensive lineman Mike Nardone (Pittstown, Pa./Pittstown Area), sophomore wide receiver Asa Lucas (Scranton, Pa./West Scranton), junior defensive lineman Ryan Mehra (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood), sophomore linebacker James Crockett (Maple Heights, Ohio/St. Peter Chanel), senior linebacker Dominique Owens (Columbia, Md./Oakland Hills) and senior defensive back Sam Orah (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg) all were named to the Second Team.

The Rams finished the regular season with an 8-3 overall record and a 5-1 Patriot League mark, winning the League title for the second time in the past five years (2002). Fordham, who was picked to finish sixth of the seven Patriot League teams prior to the season, displayed one of the biggest turnarounds in the NCAA this year, going from 3-8 in 2006 to 8-3 this fall.

Masella, who is also a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award which is given to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) national coach of the year since 1987, arrived at Rose Hill in 2006 after serving as head coach at Central Connecticut State University for two years, leading the Blue Devils to back-to-back Northeast Conference (NEC) titles, the school's first ever football championships, in 2004 and 2005. He led the squad to 15 wins over the two seasons, the most victories recorded over a two-year period by a Central Connecticut State football team in school history.

Martin enjoyed a successful freshman season, rushing for 612 yards on 122 carries with a team-high eight touchdowns. He opened his career in style, gaining 157 yards and scoring three times to lift the Rams past Columbia on Sept. 15th and earn Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors. He just kept going after that, earning two more Rookie awards and playing a significant role in Fordham's rise to the top of the Patriot League. He averaged 5.0 yards per carry and 68.0 yards per game, third best in the League, and also chipped in as the team's leading kick returner with a 23.5 average on 17 returns.

Coven leads the Rams with 926 rushing yards on 183 carries (5.1 yards/rush) with five touchdowns while also catching 12 passes for 75 yards. He opened the season with a then-career high 119 yards and then bettered that with 152-yard game at Georgetown. In his biggest game of the year, Coven earned Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week honors in Fordham's 24-21 League-clinching win over Holy Cross, rushing for a career-best 167 yards and one touchdown. He averaged 84.2 yards/game, second best in the Patriot League and 51st in the NCAA Division FCS.

Hudnell, a senior captain, finished the regular season with 56 total tackles, 36 solo, including a Patriot League-best 14.5 tackles for loss. He also registered three sacks while picking off three passes, one of which he returned 40 yards for a touchdown in the win over Lehigh. Hudnell also had three pass deflections and two quarterback hurries. He is tied for 36th in the NCAA FCS in tackles for a loss, averaging 1.32/game.

Dato, an All-American punter last fall, leads the Patriot League and is ranked second in the NCAA FCS, averaging 45.0 yards/punt. He has punted 60 times for 2,703 yards with 24 of his 60 punts being down inside the opponent's 20. His 2,703 punting yards is the sixth best single season total in Fordham history, while his 45.0 average is second best. Dato, who was also named First Team All-Patriot League last year, was named Special Teams Player of the Week twice in 2007. The Fordham punt return squad has the highest net punting averaging in all of NCAA Division I football (40.87 yards/punt).

Skelton is the leader of the revitalized Fordham offense, completing 191 of 337 passes for 2,369 yards and 19 touchdowns on the year. In the regular season finale, he completed 34 of 50 passes for 366 yards and one score. The 366 passing yards is the seventh best single game total in Fordham history. Skelton is second in the Patriot League in passing offense, averaging 215.4 passing yards/game and also second in total offense, averaging 240.5 yards/game, the 24th best total in the NCAA FCS. He was twice honored as the League's Offensive Player of the Week, the first time following the Colgate game, in which he completed 17 of 29 passes for 217 yards and a career-high three touchdowns, and the second following the Lafayette game. Against the Leopards, Skelton completed 19 of 26 passes for 323 yards and two touchdowns while also scoring Fordham's opening touchdown on a one-yard run.

Breznicky, a senior captain, is a three-year starter on the offensive line for the Rams, the past two at center. He has helped open the holes for the Rams to gain over 2,000 rushing yards while also protecting quarterback John Skelton, allowing just 22 sacks on 346 pass attempts.

Nardone, a senior captain, is a two-year starter on the offensive line at right guard for the Rams. He has helped open the holes allowing the Fordham offense to gain over 2,000 rushing yards while also protecting quarterback John Skelton, allowing just 22 sacks on 346 pass attempts.

Lucas, a sophomore wide out, is second on the team with 32 receptions for a team-high 573 yards (17.9 yards/receptions) with two touchdowns. He closed out the regular season by grabbing ten passes for 178 yards against Bucknell. The 178 receiving yards is the seventh best single game in school history. He is ranked fifth in the Patriot League in receiving yards per game, averaging 63.7 yards/game.

Mehra, a junior defensive tackle, has 29 total tackles in 2007, 21 solo, including 5.5 for a loss and 2.5 sacks. He has also forced two fumbles and had one quarterback hurry. His best game came in the season opening win over Rhode Island when he recorded five solo tackles and forced a fumble.

Crockett closed out the regular season with 63 total tackles, third best on the team, including 41 solo. He also had 6.5 tackles for a loss and 2.5 sacks while intercepting two passes and breaking up five others. He earned NCAA FCS Defensive Player of the Week honors by the Sports Network, College Sporting News and SME Networks following the Holy Cross win in which he recovered a fumble in the end zone for a score and picked off a pass in the final seconds to secure the Fordham victory. On the touchdown, Holy Cross' Josh Jenkins attempted to field a punt on the Holy Cross five but fumbled the ball into the end zone where Crockett fell on it for a 21-7 Fordham advantage with 4:18 left in the third. Then, with the Crusaders driving for a potential game-winning score, Crockett stepped in front of a Dominic Randolph pass attempt with ten seconds remaining, only Randolph's sixth interception this season in 393 attempts. Crockett finished with seven total tackles, four solo, including one for a loss and two pass deflections.

Owens, a senior captain at linebacker, has recorded a team-high 78 total tackles so far in 2007, 43 solo. Included in those 78 tackles are seven for a loss and one sack while he also has two pass deflections and one forced fumble. Owens is ranked fifth in the Patriot League in tackles per game (7.1). He recorded double figure tackle totals in three games this fall, highlighted by a 12-tackle performance in the win over Lehigh.

Orah, a senior captain, leads the Fordham defensive backfield with eight pass deflections to go along with 42 total tackles, 30 solo. He also has registered three tackles for a loss and has two interceptions while also blocking a kick. Orah made a career-high ten tackles in the Albany game while he recorded six stops and broke up three passes in the win over Lehigh. He is currently third in the Patriot League, averaging 0.91 pass deflections per game.

The Rams will travel to Amherst, Massachusetts, this Saturday to take on the University of Massachusetts in the first round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship.