May 1, 2010

Photo Gallery

Bronx, N.Y. - It all came down to the last play of the Spring Game. Facing a third-and-goal from the 12, quarterback Doug Papy rolled out of the pocket and hit Dan Parker in the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown to lead the Fordham offense to a 78-72 win over defense on Murphy Field. Senior running back Xavier Martin aided with offense with 15 carries for 155 yards and two scores, including a 97-yard touchdown romp.

"This was a great day all-around," said head coach Tom Masella. "The guys came out and played hard and made big plays on both sides of the ball. And the kicking game was great today too. This was a great way to end the spring and get ready for the 2010 season."

On the final possession, the offense took over with a first-and-goal from the nine needing a touchdown to win. On the first play, Papy was flushed out of the pocket by the defense and threw the ball away. The next play saw Darryl Whiting tackle Martin in the backfield for a loss of three yards, setting up the third and goal.

On the play, Papy rolled to his right and found an open Parker in the back of the end zone for Parker's second catch, and second score, of the day.

The offense started off slowly as Papy was unable to guide the unit to a first down on the first two possessions as the defense held tight, led by Jordan Bledsoe who picked up a sack.

Blake Wayne then took over the signal caller's duties on the next possession and he and Martin led the offense from their own 40 to the defense's 25 where Patrick Murray came on to boot a 41-yard field goal, the first of four three-pointers on the day for Murray.

On the next possession, Ryan Higgins took over at quarterback and found Patrick Miller over the middle on the first play from scrimmage for a 50-yard gain, placing the ball on the 25. On the next play Higgins hit Parker in the back of the end zone for the day's first touchdown.

The defense kept the offense off the board on the next two possession, stopping Martin on a fourth-and-two call from the defense's 30 on the second of the two possessions.

Higgins came back on with the offense on the next possession, completing all four pass attempts for 23 yards while Quasand Lewis picked up 26 yards on the ground to place the ball on the 21 where Murray converted a 38-yard field goal.

The defense dug in on the next two possessions, allowing three first downs while forcing a punt on the first possession and ending the second with a sack.

The situation was then changed so the offense was trapped on its own one and the defense was charged with preventing a first down. On the first possession, the offense went three-and-out but on the second, Martin took a handoff on third down from the three and broke through the line, racing 97 yards for a touchdown.

The defense came up with one more three-and-out to end the half trailing, 47-42.

The offense went scoreless over the first two possessions of the second half before Wayne and Martin led the charge, with Wayne completing three passes for 21 yards and Martin gaining five yards on the ground to put the ball on the seven where Murray booted a 24-yard field goal.

The next three possessions where fruitless for the offense. The defense ended the first one with a Dozie Onyeabor sack and the third one with an interception.

On the next possession, the offense lined up on the defense's 13 and two Martin runs put the ball on the seven where he took it in on the next play for his second score of the day.

The next two possessions ended in points for the offense on a pair of Kevin Heinowitz field goals, the first from 30 yards and the second from 24. That set up the final series and the winning Papy to Parker touchdown.

"This was one of the best spring practices we've had since I've been here" said Martin after the game. "Everyone seems to be clicking, both the offense and the defense. I was lucky that the coaches put me in the right spots today to come up with some big plays and lead the offense."

Papy finished the game completing seven of 12 passes for 67 yards while Wayne completed four of eight for 29 and Higgins four-of-nine for 78 yards and the touchdown.

Patrick Miller, Brandon Anderson and Chris Harvey each caught three passes while Carlton Koonce gained 67 rushing yards and Quasand Lewis 61.

Defensively, Nick Magiera made five tackles, four solo, while Andy Okonkwo added five more, including two sacks, and Zac Crosby added four stop and he broke up two passes.

Fordham Spring Game
May 1, 2010 - Murphy Field

Offense

Rushing (Attempts-Yards):
Xavier Martin 15-155, Carlton Koonce 16-67, Quasand Lewis 15-61.

Passing (Completion-Attempts-Interceptions-Yards):
Doug Papy 7-12-0-67, Blake Wayne 4-8-0-29, Ryan Higgins 4-9-0-78; Benjamin Heiser 2-3-1-29, James Avedesian 1-3-0-5, David Moore 1-1-0-32.

Receiving (Receptions-Yards):
Patrick Miller 3-71, Mark Harvey 3-43, Brandon Anderson 3-12, Dan Parker 2-37, Darryl Whiting 2-11, Blake Wayne 1-32, Darryl Robinson 2-6, David Moore 1-5.

Field Goals
Patrick Murray: Made: 41, 38, 44, 24; Missed: 37. Kevin Heinowitz: Made: 30, 24.

Defense

Tackles (Solo-AT-For Loss-Sack-PBU):
Nick Magiera 4-1-0-0-0, Andy Okonkwo 4-1-0-2-0, Patrick McGee 4-1-1-0-0, Zac Crosby 3-1-0-0-2, Thomas Lloyd 3-1-0-0-0, Jason Weston 3-1-2-0-0, Jordan Bledsoe 2-1-0-1-0, Michael Martin 2-2-0-0-0, Paul Barchitta 2-0-0-0-0, Clifton Stuckey 3-0-1-0, Alex Locker 2-0-0-0-0, Chris Coratti 2-1-0-0-0, Dozie Onyeabor 1-1-0-1-0, Jamal Haruna 1-0-0-0-1, Brendan Melanophy 1-1-0-0-0, Bryson Wilson 2-1-0-0-0, Isa Abdul El-Quddus 2-1-0-0-0, Khary Powell 3-1-2-0-0, Jock Payten 1-1-0-0-0.

Punting (No.-Yards-Avg.)
Patrick Murray 3-120-40.0.