Box Score Sept. 19, 2009
Final Stats |
Photo Gallery 
| Football Highlights vs. Columbia
Bronx, N.Y. -
It was a numbers game for the Fordham Rams in Saturday night's Liberty Cup game against Columbia, some good, some bad. First the good numbers for the Rams. Senior quarterback John Skelton threw for career-high 383 yards and four touchdowns, becoming the school's all-time leader in passing touchdowns in the process. Now the bad numbers, the final score, that read Columbia 40, Fordham 28, as the Lions took back the trophy from the Rams, who had held it the past two years.
Skelton completed 25 of 47 passes for his 383 yards and the four scores, bringing his career total to 48 scoring strikes, surpassing Kevin Eakin's former record of 45, set from 2000-03. He already is the all-time leader in both completions and passing yards with tonight's numbers bringing his total to 571 completions for 6,900 yards.
"I thought we played hard and played well in spots but we didn't make enough plays," said Fordham head coach Tom Masella. "We had a chance down by six with the ball in the fourth quarter but we couldn't make the big play."
The turning point of the game came when Jared Morine stepped in front of a Skelton pass with 4:33 remaining, returning the interception 36 yards for a touchdown to give Columbia a 40-28 lead. The Rams had picked up 16 yards on two plays before the interception to put the ball on the Fordham 34.
Fordham took the ensuing kickoff and moved into Columbia territory as Skelton completed two passes for 41 yards, the second a 30-yarder to Asa Lucas, and then Skelton carried for 15 yards to put the ball on the Lions' 13. But three plays later, Andy Shalbrack intercepted a pass in the end zone to end the threat.
The Rams got on the board first, taking over on their own 27 following a missed 42-yard Greg Guttas field goal attempt. It took Fordham just three plays to find the end zone as Skelton found a streaking Lucas down the right sideline with a 70-yard scoring strike, giving Fordham a 7-0 lead with 8:26 left in the first.
Later in the quarter, Columbia took over on the Fordham 41 and on the first play of the drive, M.A. Olawale found Andrew Kennedy with a 38-yard pass over the middle to put the ball on the here where Olawale brought it in to knot the game at seven with 3:32 remaining in the period.
Late in the first, the Rams faced a fourth and one from midfield but Darryl Whiting couldn't pick up the yard and the ball went back to Columbia who drove 51 yards on ten plays with Ray Rangel taking it in on fourth down from the one to put Columbia up 13-7 1:46 into the second.
Fordham came right back as Skelton used his arm and his legs, rushing for 23 yards and completing all three passes on the ensuring drive for 34 yards, including an eight-yard scoring strike to his brother, Stephen Skelton, to help the Rams regained the lead, 14-13, with 10:13 left in the half.
The lead was short-lived as a 24-yard Columbia kickoff return was aided by a 15-yard face mask penalty, setting the Lions up on the Fordham 42. Three plays later, Olawale scored on the ground from five yards out to give Columbia a 20-14 lead with 8:46 left in the second.
Later in the quarter, Columbia's Alex Gross intercepted Skelton on the Fordham 18 and he returned the pick to the Fordham six. The Lions would score on a nine-yard pass from Olawale to Andrew Kennedy two plays later to take a 27-14 lead, three minutes before halftime.
Fordham came right back, driving 55 yards on seven plays with Skelton hooking up with David Moore for a 12-yard touchdown pass to cut the Fordham deficit back to six, 27-21, with 1:27 remaining.
The Lions drove into Fordham territory on the next possession but on fourth down, Jordan Bledsoe sacked Olawale, giving the ball back to the Rams on their own 39 with 32 seconds left. Skelton completed passes to Jason Weston (seven yards) and Lucas (16 yards) to put the ball on the Columbia 38. Three plays later Skelton found Brad Pierre down the right side with a 19-yard connection and the gain was extended by a roughing the passer penalty on Columbia that placed the ball on the Columbia 12 with three seconds left. But the Rams couldn't capitalize on the play as Kevin Heinowitz's 30-yard field goal attempt was deflected by Shalbrack as time expired.
Fordham went three-and-out on the first possession of the second half and a 42-yard Austin Knowlin punt return put the ball on the Fordham 40 for the Lions. Three plays later, Olawale found Kennedy with a 32-yard touchdown pass to increase the Columbia lead to 13, 34-21, 2:36 into the third.
Later in the third Fordham took over on its own seven following a punt and Skelton led the Rams on a 93-yard scoring drive, connecting with Jason Caldwell on a 20-yard pass for the score with 1:24 remaining in the period. Skelton completed all five pass attempts in the drive for 83 yards.
Early in the fourth, the Rams moved to the Lions' 29 but three incomplete passes forced the Rams into a fourth and ten situation where Skelton was sacked, turning the ball back over to Columbia.
The Lions drove out to midfield and converted a fourth and two from the Fordham 43 but two plays later, Olawale fumbled and the ball was recovered by Fordham's James Crockett on the Rams' 39. Fordham couldn't take advantage of the turnover and punted the ball back to Columbia.
On their next possession, the Rams took over on their own 18 following a punt and four plays later Morine returned the interception for the score.
Skelton completed passes to nine different receivers, four each to Lucas (127 yards), Moore (46 yards) and Stephen Skelton (35 yards). Xavier Martin led the Rams' rushing attack, carrying 14 times for 63 yards.
Defensively, Isiejah Allen led Fordham with eleven tackles, eight solo, including two for loss while David Mendez added nine stops, six solo, and Clifton Stuckey also recorded nine tackles, three solo.
The Rams will open their 2009 Patriot League schedule next Saturday as they travel to Hamilton, N.Y., to face Colgate University, the defending League champions, at 6:00 p.m.
"The season starts again next week with our Patriot League opener," said Masella. "It's a whole new season but we need to make some adjustments and play more consistently."
Notes: John Skelton was named the Fordham MVP following the game with Olawale being named the Columbia MVP...The MVP trophies were sponsored by the NYPD Finest and FDNY Bravest football teams who had members in attendance... The Columbia win evens the all-time Liberty Cup record at four wins each... Columbia now leads the all-time series, 12-6... Fordham is now 8-12 all-time in night games... The Rams were without the services of senior center Robby Reis and junior linebacker Andre Delaire, who both missed the game with an injury... Freshman punter Patrick Murray, who just joined the Rams, punted five times for 274 yards, an average of 45.7 yards/punt... Martin had gained over 100 yards rushing in each of the past two games against Columbia... The Rams were whistled for 14 penalties for 164 yards... A moment of silence was observed prior to the game to recognize the passing of NCAA president Myles Brand.
