Nov. 30, 2007
Bronx, N.Y. - Listen to the 2007 Fordham Football Season Wrap Up on WFUV (90.7 FM) on Saturday afternoon, December 1st, on the weekly One-on-One broadcast, or listen to it live or archived on the internet at wfuv.org.
Entering the 2007 season there were almost no expectations of the Fordham football Rams... except for the expectations they put on themselves.
Picked to finish sixth in the seven-team Patriot League, head coach Tom Masella, the 2007 Patriot League Coach of the Year, and his Rams established three goals for the season: regain control of the Liberty Cup from Columbia, win the Patriot League championship and practice on Thanksgiving Day, meaning Fordham would win the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Championships. And they accomplished all three, defeating Columbia, 27-10, on September 15th and then checking off the other two goals with a 24-21 win over Holy Cross on November 3rd, a win which clinched the Patriot League title and the automatic bid.
"I didn't worry about being picked to finish sixth," said Masella. "I've been on teams that have been picked to finished 12th and ended up winning the league. What I was more concerned with was the attitude of the team and this team had such a great attitude from day one."
The Rams traveled to Massachusetts for the first round NCAA Division I playoff game on November 24th, giving the seventh-ranked Minutemen all they could handle, tying the game at 35 in the fourth quarter before falling, 49-35, to end the season with an 8-4 mark.
The first four games were a series of ups and downs for the Rams, opening the season with a thrilling 27-23 win over Rhode Island on a last second touchdown pass from John Skelton to James Caldwell. The Rams then came home and dropped a 23-20 decision to Albany before taking the Liberty Cup back from Columbia.
The Rams then hosted Dayton for Homecoming, falling behind 24-3 after three quarters before storming back to tie the game at 24. But the Flyers scored a late touchdown to ruin the Rams' Homecoming.
What proved to be the turning point came in the next contest as Fordham traveled up to Hamilton, N.Y., to open the Patriot League schedule. The Rams quickly fell behind 14-0 to the Raiders and missed an opportunity to cut the deficit to 24-20 in the closing seconds of the first half. But Fordham exploded for 21 points in the third quarter and held on for a 34-31 win.
"The Colgate win told me a lot about this team," said Masella. "When we came back to win that game I sensed that this could be a special season for us."
The Colgate victory started a streak of six straight wins for the Rams, five of those Patriot League contests, which ended with a season-ending loss to Bucknell. Included in that run was a road win over Lafayette, the three-time defending Patriot League champions, and a triumph over Lehigh, only Fordham's second win over the Mountain Hawks in 20 meetings.
The 2007 Rams were led by a rejuvenated offense as well as a "bend but don't break" defense. Leading the offense was sophomore quarterback John Skelton, who completed 216 of 383 passes for 2,650 yards and 22 touchdowns. His 22 touchdown passes tied for the third most in Fordham history, while his 216 completions is fourth-best and his 2,650 passing yards is the fifth-best single season total in school history.
In the offensive backfield, the Rams had a powerful one-two punch in senior Jonte Coven and freshman Xavier Martin, the 2007 Patriot League Rookie of the Year. Coven, a 2007 First Team All-Patriot League pick, led the Rams with 968 rushing yards on 192 carries (5.0 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 a 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 80.7 yards/game this season, second best in the Patriot League.
Martin enjoyed a successful freshman season, rushing for 635 yards on 127 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 63.5 yards per game, third best in the League, and also chipped in as the team's leading kick returner with a 21.6 average on 22 returns.
Skelton had a plethora of talent to throw to with five receivers catching 20 or more passes this fall, led by sophomore Asa Lucas and junior Richard Rayborn. Lucas, who received Second Team All-League accolades, led the team with 680 receiving yards and was second with 40 receptions (17.0 yards/receptions) with two touchdowns. He closed out the regular season by grabbing ten passes for 178 yards against Bucknell and then grabbed eight for 107 yards in the NCAA playoff game at Massachusetts. The 178 receiving yards is the seventh best single game in school history.
At tight end, junior Cody Kritzer caught 12 passes for 157 yards and three touchdowns, including key scores in wins over Lehigh and Holy Cross, as well as a touchdown in the NCAA playoff game at Massachusetts. Junior Bo Marchand also had a solid fall at tight end for the Rams, hauling in four passes for 39 yards.
Rayborn led the squad with 43 receptions for 562 yards (13.1 yards/catch) and a team-high five receiving touchdowns while freshman David Moore caught 24 passes for 269 yards and three scores and senior Sylvester Clarke closed out his career with 21 catches for 261 yards and four touchdowns.
The offensive line was a big part of the offense's success with senior captains Mike Breznicky and Mike Nardone, who both received All-Patriot League honors, anchoring the line, along with juniors Justin Sarabaez and Ian Pace and sophomores Robby Reis and Andrew Tyshovnytsky.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Rams were led by an experienced and talented linebacking corps, directed by senior captains Earl Hudnell and Dominique Owens. Hudnell, who was named Honorable Mention All-American and First Team All-Patriot League, finished the season with 59 total tackles, 38 solo, including a Patriot League-best 15.5 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.
Owens, a Second Team All-League pick this fall, recorded 82 total tackles in 2007, 44 solo, including seven for a loss and one sack while he also had two pass deflections and one forced fumble.
Sophomore James Crockett, who received Second Team All-Patriot League honors, was also a force on defense, closing out the season with 70 total tackles, third best on the team, including 43 solo. He also had 6.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks while intercepting three 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.
Sophomores Ryan Darcey and Asil Mulbah, along with freshmen Isa Abdul El-Quddus, Nick Magiera and Andre Delaire, also contributed at linebacker.
Senior captain Sam Orah and junior Matt Loucks guided a relatively young defensive secondary, which included junior Kenny Thompson, sophomores Isiejah Allen, Kelvin Colbert and Tommy Martin and freshmen Jamal Haruna and Bryson Wilson.
Orah, a Second Team All-Patriot League selection, led the Fordham defensive backfield with nine pass deflections to go along with 46 total tackles, 32 solo. He registered three tackles for loss and two interceptions while also blocking a field goal, a block which sealed the Rams' 34-31 win at Colgate.
Loucks, who made an amazing 26 total tackles in the Albany game to earn national Defensive Player of the Week honors, led the Fordham defense with 84 total tackles, 48 solo. He also picked off a pair of passes and broke up three others.
Allen made 67 total tackles on the year, 36 solo, including four for loss, and he had three interceptions and five pass break ups.
The defensive line was anchored by juniors Greg DeMarco, Ryan Kleve, Fonzie Culver, Ryan Mehra and Brian Tracz and sophomore Darzell Wright.
Mehra was named Second Team All-Patriot League after recording 30 total tackles in 2007, 21 solo, including 5.5 for loss and 2.5 sacks. He also forced two fumbles and had one quarterback hurry.
Kleve led the defensive line with 41 total tackles, 23 solo, including seven for loss and 2.5 sacks, while DeMarco finished with 40 stops, 11 solo, including six for loss.
On special teams the Rams were covered by senior punter Ben Dato and junior placekicker Adam Danko. Dato, an All-American punter in 2006, led the Patriot League and was ranked third in the NCAA FCS, averaging 44.7 yards/punt. He punted 67 times for 2,992 yards with 26 of his 67 punts being down inside the opponent's 20. His 2,992 punting yards is a Fordham single season record, surpassing the former record of 2,931 yards set by Anthony DeFino in 2005. Dato, who was named First Team All-Patriot League in 2006 and 2007, was named Special Teams Player of the Week twice in 2007. The Fordham punt return squad had the highest net punting averaging in all of NCAA Division I football (40.52 yards/punt).
In his first year as the starter, Danko connected on seven of his ten field goal attempts and converted 43 of 46 PATs. The 43 PATs is the third most in a single season for a Ram.
All told, 12 Rams were honored by the Patriot League coaches with three earning First Team honors (Coven, Dato and Hudnell) and nine more being named to the Second Team (Breznicky, Crockett, Lucas, Martin, Mehra, Nardone, Orah, Owens and Skelton).
The good news for Fordham fans is that the Rams return eight of the eleven starters on each side of the ball. The bad news is that it's nine months until Fordham opens the 2008 season as the Rams host the University of Rhode Island on Jack Coffey Field on September 6th.
