Aug. 22, 2009
PHOTO GALLERY
Bronx, N.Y. - Despite the offense finding the end zone more than it did in the first scrimmage, the Fordham defense again displayed that it has the knack of creating turnovers in the second scrimmage of camp on Murphy Field.
In the first scrimmage it was fumble recoveries for the defense, who recovered five fumbles, while today the squad picked off four passes while the offense answered with three touchdowns and two field goals.
"We played better on both sides of the ball today," said head coach Tom Masella. "The offense made some big plays and found the end zone and the defense continued to force turnovers."
The scrimmage started out with the first units on the field and the offense proceeded to move the ball from its own 29 to the defense's 26. Quarterback John Skelton got the drive started with a 16-yard completion to Brad Pierre and Xavier Martin picked up another first down on the next play with a 14-yard carry to put the ball on the defense's 31. The offense would pick up five yards two plays later when the defense was caught with 12 men on the field but the offense could get no closer and a 44-yard Kevin Heinowitz field goal attempt was short.
The second defense then made quick work of the second offense. After a seven-yard gain on a Doug Papy to Patrick Miller pass on first down the defense held firm, forcing a punt after the offense couldn't gain any further yardage.
The first units returned to the field with the offense taking over on its own 38 and Skelton completed three straight passes to move the ball to the 30 yard line of the defense. Skelton found three different receivers on the drive, the first a seven-yard pass to Jason Caldwell, the second a ten-yard gain to Pierre and the final a 15-yard connection with Jason Weston. A Darryl Whiting carry netted three yards on the next play and, after an incompletion, Skelton found David Moore with a ten-yard pass to put the ball on the 17. On the next play, Skelton rolled around the left side and into the end zone.
The second offense was about to line up for a second down play on the defense's 14 when a lightning bolt sent everyone scurrying into the Lombardi Center.
After a 30-minute delay, the teams were back on the field and the second defense kept the second offense in check as a 32-yard field goal try went wide.
The first offense then managed to move the ball from its own 20 across midfield to the defense's 45 but a Skelton pass on third and one was incomplete and the offense punted the ball. The third down play was set up by a 14-yard connection from Skelton to Moore.
The second defense stepped it up on the next series as Jamal Haruna picked off a pass on the third play of the drive. Jock Payten almost intercepted the first pass of the series and after Thomas Lloyd tackled Jamir Livingston in the backfield on the next play, Haruna stepped in front of a pass on the 41 and returned it to the 20.
Working with a short field, Skelton connected with Moore in the left corner of the end zone with an 18-yard scoring strike three plays later.
The third units took the field next and freshman quarterback James Avedesian moved the offense downfield, completing all three pass attempts to Darryl Robinson for 42 yards, including a big 22-yard completion on third and seven from the defense's 35. But the drive stalled on the six where Heinowitz came on to boot a 24-yard field goal.
On the next series the first strings squared off with Whiting setting the pace for the offense, picking up 17 yards on the first play from scrimmage. After a flag moved the offense back five yards, Skelton connected with Caldwell for a 14-yard gain and Whiting picked up the first down with a two-yard carry. A John Skelton to Stephen Skelton completion gained eight yards and John Skelton then picked up 14 more on a keeper, putting the ball down on the 15. But the defense dug in with Lloyd recording a tackle for loss of two yards and, one play later, Jordan Bledsoe sacked Skelton on third down as the offense settled for a 32-yard Heinowitz field goal.
The second offense was driving on the next series, picking up 25 yards on the first two plays, before Patrick McGee chipped in with back-to-back tackles for loss and Michael Hickman sacked the quarterback on third and long, forcing the offense to punt.
The offense then went into a two-minute drill, facing a first down on its own 25 with 1:10 on the clock. The first defense held the first offense to a three-and-out when Isiejah Allen broke up a Skelton pass on third down.
The second offense didn't have any better luck as a third down pass was deflected and Brandon Brown intercepted the ball on the 37.
The first offense then was presented with a first down on it own 32 with 1:15 remaining and in need of a touchdown. But the defense wouldn't budge with Allen picking off a fourth down pass on the offense's 40.
After a short break, the first offense got on track, moving 70 yards on six plays for a touchdown. Skelton started the drive with a ten-yard pass to Caldwell and then hit Whiting for a nine-yard gain. After an incompletion, Whiting broke through the line and motored down to the 25, a 16-yard gain. Two plays later, Skelton hit Caldwell in the left flat and Caldwell brought it in for six points.
The rest of the day was all defense as the second and third offensive units were held to just two first downs over the final seven series. Payten ended one drive with an interception and the defense notched four tackles for loss.
"We're two weeks away from Rhode Island but we're still not where we need to be," said Masella. "We have to work hard these next two weeks and get better every day."
Skelton completed 13 of 26 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns while also gaining 37 yards on three carries with one score.
Caldwell led the receivers with four catches for 56 yards and one touchdown while Robinson had four receptions for 51 yards and Moore hauled in three passes for 42 yards and a score.
Whiting led all rushers with 47 yards on six carries while Martin finished with 24 yards on four rushes and Lewis netted 30 yards on six rushes.
Defensively, Lloyd made three tackles for loss while Clifton Stuckey, McGee and Kelvin Colbert each notched three solo tackles with one of McGee's being for loss and Stuckey adding a pass break-up. Allen finished with two tackles, two pass deflections and an interception.
Fordham will open the 2009 season on Saturday, September 5th, when the Rams travel to Kingston, R.I., to face the University of Rhode Island at 1:00 p.m. Season tickets are now available on the Fordham Athletic Website at www.fordhamsports.com.
