Box Score Nov. 6, 2010
Final Stats
Lewisburg, Pa. -
Fordham wide receiver Jason Caldwell had a small contingent of fans in the stands at Bucknell's Christy Mathewson Memorial Stadium for the final road game of his career. And he gave them plenty to cheer about, compiling almost 300 yards of total offense, including a 52-yard touchdown reception, to lead the Rams to a 33-21 win over the Bison in a match up of Patriot League schools.
With the win, Fordham's third straight and second road win of the year, the Rams even their record at 5-5 on the year while Bucknell falls to 1-8.
Caldwell caught eight passes for 146 yards and the one touchdown while also returning three kickoffs for a season-high 146 yards and he rushed once for eight yards to bring his all-purpose yardage to a career-high 299. The 100-yard receiving game was the fourth of the year for Caldwell and the eleventh of his career.
Darryl Whiting also had a hand in the win, gaining 171 yards on 38 carries with two scores and quarterbacks Ryan Higgins and Blake Wayne, who returned to action after missing two games with an injury, combined to throw three touchdown passes, two from Higgins and one from Wayne.
The Fordham defense, which entered the game leading the Patriot League in rushing defense, held the Bison to just 57 net rushing yards, the lowest output for an opponent this year. It was the fourth straight game that the Rams have held an opponent to under 100 yards rushing.
"The offensive line did a great job for us today," said head coach Tom Masella. "When they block like that and Darryl Whiting runs like he does it really opens up our offense."
After the Rams held the Bison on the first possession of the game, Fordham took over on its own 28 and immediately picked up a big chunk of yards when Higgins connected with Caldwell on a short pass which Caldwell turned into a 30 yard gain, placing the ball on the Bucknell 42. Four plays later, Whiting came up with a big play of his own, taking the handoff and bringing the ball down to the Bucknell one, a 31-yard carry. Whiting took it into the end zone on the next play for a 7-0 Fordham lead with 10:06 left in the first.
Bucknell responded with a six-play, 79-yard drive, scoring on a 48-yard pass from Brandon Wesley to Robert Owoyele with 6:50 remaining.
The Rams wasted no time in retaking the lead, with Caldwell setting up the score with a 44-yard kickoff return as Fordham started the drive on the Bucknell 40. Five plays later, Higgins connected with David Moore in the end zone with a 16-yard scoring strike as the Rams took a 14-7 lead with 5:08 left in the quarter.
The Bison took advantage of a Fordham miscue midway through the second quarter as Ram punter Patrick Murray couldn't handle a high snap and Bucknell took over on the Fordham 48. On the first play from scrimmage, Tyler Smith took a handoff from Wesley and ran right before stopping and throwing back to the left to Wesley who took it down to the Fordham 17. Four plays later Smith scored from the two to knot the game at 14.
The game wouldn't be tied for long as Blake Wayne came on at quarterback for Fordham and on the fourth play of the drive Wayne found Caldwell with a flanker screen which Caldwell turned into a 47-yard touchdown pass with 4:29 left in the half.
Fordham extended its lead to 27-14 on the first possession of the second half, a drive set up by another long kickoff return from Caldwell, this one a 55-yarder that gave the Rams the ball on the Bucknell 41. The Rams kept it on the ground, gaining eleven yards on two carries before Whiting took a handoff around the left side and, 31 yards later, crossed the goal line to put the Rams up 27-14 as Murray's extra appoint kick was blocked.
Bucknell responded to the Fordham score with one of its own as Wesley completed five of six passes on a 70-yard drive and he capped the drive with a four-yard scoring run to pull the Bison to within six, 27-21, with 9:04 left in the third.
Whiting carried the Rams from their own 43 to the Bucknell 23 with five straight carries but the Rams couldn't get any closer than the Bison 15 where a 32-yard Murray field goal attempt went wide.
Wesley then drove Bucknell to the Fordham 28 as the Bison looked to take the lead but on second and ten from the 28 Brendon Melanophy intercepted a Wesley pass on the Fordham 18 to thwart the Bucknell scoring opportunity.
At first it appeared as if Fordham wouldn't take advantage of the turnover, as the Rams faced a third and eleven from their own 17 when Higgins connected with Nick Talbert on the right sideline for a 14-yard gain. Later in the drive the Rams faced a third and goal from the eleven when Higgins found a wide open Stephen Skelton in the front right corner of the end zone as Fordham took a 33-21 lead with 24 seconds remaining in the third after a failed two-point conversion.
The Bison moved into Fordham territory on their next possession but the drive stalled on the Fordham 39 when Wesley was flushed out of the pocket and held to no gain on third and 12.
Neither team managed much offense the rest of the way. The Rams faced a fourth and two at the Bucknell 45 when Murray took a fake punt eight yards for the Fordham first down and the Rams were able to get the clock down to 55 seconds before punting the ball back to Bucknell.
Out of time outs, the Bison completed three passes to get the ball to the Fordham 45 but on the final play of the game Isa Abdul-Quddus knocked down a Hail Mary pass as the Rams came away with the win.
Higgins completed 12 of 20 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns while Wayne completed one of two for 52 yards and one score. Skelton hauled in two passes for 38 yards, including the one touchdown reception, while Talbert finished with two for 21 yards.
Defensively, Bryson Wilson made six solo tackles while Ahmed Haruna added six more, four solo, and he deflected a pass.
After a week off, the Rams will close out their 2010 season by hosting the Colgate University Raiders in a matchup of Patriot League schools on Jack Coffey Field on Saturday, November 20th, at 1:00 p.m. for Senior Day.
Notes
The win is Fordham's second straight over Bucknell but the Bison still lead the all-time series, 16-10... Caldwell's eight receptions for 146 yards brings his career numbers to 184 catches for 2,626 yards, both second best in school history... He is also now ninth on the Patriot League all-time receiving yards list... Caldwell's touchdown catch is the 18th of his career, placing him in fourth place on the Fordham career list... Whiting has now rushed for 530 yards and five touchdowns in the past three games... Whiting became the first Ram to rush for more than 100 yards in three straight games since Kirwin Watson did it four times in 2003.
