Box Score Oct. 9, 2010
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Bethlehem, Pa. -
For the fifth straight game, the Fordham University football squad played a game that was decided by fewer than seven points. Unfortunately for the Rams, for the third consecutive game they found themselves on the short end of a close game, falling to Lehigh University, 21-17, in Goodman Stadium.
With the loss, Fordham falls to 2-4 on the year while Lehigh improves to 3-2.
The Rams dominated the game on the stat sheet, running 81 plays and gaining more than 400 yards of offense while holding Lehigh to 270 yards of offense, but Fordham couldn't produce the big play, coming up short on a fourth and goal play from the two and then turning the ball over at midfield which the Mountain Hawks turned into what proved to be the winning score.
"It was a great football game but we came up short," said Fordham head coach Tom Masella. "The guys played hard today but we just didn't make enough plays."
Trailing 21-17 with 2:37 remaining, the Rams had one final chance for the win, driving from their own 19 to the Lehigh 28 but a fourth down pass from Blake Wayne to Stephen Skelton fell incomplete and the Rams turned the ball back over to Lehigh with just under a minute left and the Mountain Hawks who ran out the clock.
On the third play of the final series, Wayne hooked up with Skelton for a 31-yard gain on second down, brining the ball out to the Fordham 45. Wayne and Skelton then hooked up again for a 13-yard gain and another r15 yards was tacked on for a roughing the passer penalty against Lehigh that placed the ball on the Lehigh 27. Wayne was tackled for a loss of three on first down and then completed a short pass to Jason Caldwell for two yards on second down. An incomplete pass to David Moore on third down brought up fourth and eleven for the Rams but Wayne's pass to Skelton was short and Skelton couldn't grab it before it hit the ground.
After each team went three-and-out on their first possessions, the Mountain Hawks took a 7-0 lead when Chris Lum hit Ryan Spadola with a short pass that Spadola turned into a 12-yard touchdown, despite television replays showing Spadola's knee touching the ground just outside the Fordham five.
The Rams responded with a 32-yard field goal from
Patrick Murray which capped a nine-play, 50-yard drive. The big play was the first play of the drive when Wayne handed off to
David Moore running to the right. Moore turned and lateraled the ball back to Wayne who threw deep downfield to Caldwell for a 42-yard pickup.
After the Fordham defense forced a three-and-out from the Mountain Hawks, Wayne drove the Rams from their own 47 to the Lehigh eleven where Xavier Martin gained seven yards on first down and Jamir Livingston rushed for two more on second down play. On third down, Livingston tried to jump over the pile but was stopped and on fourth down, Wayne rolled right and then back to the left but couldn't find daylight as the Rams turned the ball back over to Lehigh on the five. The drive was kept alive by a 15-yard pass from Wayne to Skelton which was aided by a roughing the passer penalty on the Mountain Hawks.
Lehigh could only move out to its own 30 before punting the ball back to Fordham as the Rams took over on their own 34. Wayne then completed four straight passes, the final a 39-yard scoring pass to Moore, who came back on an underthrown ball as the Rams took a 10-7 lead with 6:08 left in the second.
But the lead was short-lived as Lehigh returned the ensuing kickoff to its own 47 and the Mountain Hawks drove the 53 yards on seven plays, scoring on a six-yard rush from Michael Colvin, to take a 14-10 lead with 2:39 left in the half.
Wayne then directed a two minute offense for the Rams, moving the ball from the Fordham 12 to the Lehigh 21, completing all three of his passes, including a six-yarder to Patrick Miller on fourth and three from the Lehigh 27. But on first down at the Lehigh 21, the ball was snapped past Wayne who was able to fall on the ball back on the 32 with 18 seconds left and the Rams could get no closer to the end zone.
Caldwell returned the second half kickoff for Fordham to the Rams' 41 but three plays gained just nine yards and Murray lined up to punt from the 50. The Rams attempted a fake punt with the snap going to Justin Yancey who gained a first down by taking the ballot the Lehigh 48 but he fumbled and the ball was recovered by Lehigh's John Veniero on the Lehigh 49.
The Mountain Hawks took advantage of the Fordham turnover, covering the 51 yards on seven plays with Lum finding Zach Barket with a 17-yard scoring strike with 10:28 left in the third to put Lehigh up 21-10.
Neither team was able to do much on offense until the Rams took over on their own 38 as the Fordham defense stopped Sean Farrell for no gain on a fourth and one play from the Fordham 38.
The Rams then mounted a 13-play, 62-yard drive with Darryl Whiting covering the last two to cut the Fordham deficit to four, 21-17, with a minute left in the third. Wayne completed all three pass attempts on the drive for 25 yards, including a big 12-yard completion to Skelton on third-and-eight from midfield.
On Fordham's first possession of the fourth quarter, the Rams moved into Lehigh territory, eventually getting down to the Lehigh 32 but a fourth down and eight pass from Wayne to Moore was incomplete.
Lehigh took the ball and drove to the Fordham 19 where Jake Peery attempted to give the Mountain Hawks a seven-point lead but his 36-yard field goal attempt was short.
The Rams moved the ball out to midfield on the ensuing possession but Wayne couldn't connect with Caldwell on a fourth down pass and the ball went back to Lehigh with 3:48 left.
Wayne finished the day completing 24 of 41 passes for 343 yards, all season-highs, with one touchdown with seven of the passes going to Skelton for 89 yards and six to Caldwell for 77 yards. Martin also finished with four catches for 71 yards and he rushed for 34 yards while Moore had three receptions for 81 yards and the touchdown.
Defensively, Brendan Melanophy led the Rams with ten tackles, six solo, while Jamal Haruna and Nick Magiera each finished with seven stops, with Haruna having one for loss and Magiera forcing a fumble.
The Rams will next be in action on Saturday, October 16th, as they travel to New Haven, Conn., to face the Yale University Bulldogs at 12:00 p.m. in a game that will be televised live by the YES Network.
Notes
Lehigh has won three straight against Fordham and now leads the all-time series, 21-2...Caldwell's seven receptions and 77 receiving yards bring his career totals to 162 receptions for 2,321 yards... He is ranked third on the Fordham career receptions list, two behind Tom Garlick, and moves into second on the career receiving yards list... Caldwell also returned four kickoffs for 61 yards to bring his all-purpose total to 143 yards... Wayne's 343 passing yards are the 16th most in a game for a Ram... Fordham picked up 21 first downs but was only three-for-16 on third down conversions... The Rams have gained more than 400 yards of total offense in four of their six games this year... The Fordham defense held Lehigh to 270 yards of total offense, the lowest total for a Ram opponent this season.
