Box Score Sept. 18, 2010
Final Stats |
Photo Gallery 
Manhattan, N.Y. -
For the first two days of training camp, Fordham head coach Tom Masella brought in a team from The Program Athletics, a program that instills courage, commitment, integrity, perseverance and selflessness to the team and inspire it to superior performance on the athletic field. For the second straight week it appears that what the Rams learned from the group has paid off, as Fordham showed perseverance, scoring late and then coming up with a big turnover to regain possession of the Liberty Cup with a 16-9 win over Columbia on Kraft Field at Wein Stadium.
With the win, the Rams improve to 2-1 and take home the Liberty Cup for the third time over the past four years, while the Lions drop their season opener.
After Darryl Whiting scored with 4:58 remaining to put the Rams up, 16-9, Columbia moved downfield, getting the ball inside the Fordham ten. On first and goal from the four, Columbia quarterback Sean Brackett lined up in the shotgun but had the ball go through his hands, off his helmet and straight up in the air. Fordham's Anthony Lubischer got into the Columbia backfield and grabbed the ball to give the possession back to the Rams with 47 seconds left and Fordham ran out the clock for the win.
"The guys came up big today for us," said head coach Tom Masella. "We hung in there and came up with the big plays when we needed it. Winning a rivalry game like this is great for the program. Hopefully we can carry that momentum over to next week."
Senior running back Xavier Martin led the Fordham offense, gaining 105 yards on 16 carries, his eleventh career 100-yard rushing game with three of those now coming against Columbia. In four games against the Lions Martin has averaged 120.0 rushing yards per game while scoring seven rushing touchdowns.
Sophomore kicker Patrick Murray also played a big role in the victory, kicking three field goals (21, 22 and 24 yards) and placing all six of his punts inside the Columbia 20, five of those inside the ten, pinning the Lions back deep in the their own end. He averaged 38.7 yards/punt, with a long of 55 yards.
With the score tied at nine, the Rams took over on their own 31 following a punt.
Blake Wayne connected with
Xavier Martin for an eleven-yard pickup on the first play of the drive and, three plays later, rushed for six yards on a third down call to move the chains down to the Columbia 45. Two Martin carries and one from Whiting got the ball to the Lions' 34 where Wayne found
David Moore for a ten-yard completion. After Whiting gained six yards on a rush, Wayne found
Jason Caldwell down on the goal line but Caldwell was unable to break the plane for the score. On the next play Whiting burst through the middle for Fordham's first touchdown of the game, putting the Rams up 16-9, with 4:58 left.
The Rams scored first, taking over on their first possession on their own 22 following a Columbia punt. On the second play from scrimmage, Martin broke through the line and took the ball from the Fordham 29 to the Columbia 37. A Wayne to Stephen Skelton pass gained another 14 yards but the Fordham offense stalled on the Columbia six where Murray came on to boot a 24-yard field goal and give Fordham a 3-0 lead just under five minutes into the game.
The Rams had good field position on their next two possessions, taking over in Columbia territory following two short punts. But the Rams couldn't take advantage of the field position and punted the ball back to the Lions both times.
Late in the first quarter Columbia took over on its own 14 after a Murray punt. Fordham appeared to have held the Lions but a third-and-eleven pass from the Lions' 24 gained 39 yards as the Columbia offense moved into Fordham territory. The Lions would get down to the Fordham 17 but a defensive stand on third and one from the 17 by the Rams forced the Lions to settle for a 34-yard field to knot the game at three with 8:17 left in the half.
The score remained 3-3 into the third quarter when Wayne fumbled a snap on the third play of the period and the ball was recovered by Columbia's Neil Schuster. Four plays later, Sean Brackett found Zack Kourouma in the end zone with a 14-yard scoring strike to give the Lions a 9-6 lead as the PAT was blocked by the Rams.
Fordham responded with an eleven play, 63-yard drive that ended with a 22-yard Patrick Murray field goal, his third of the day.
Isa Abdul-Quddus forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and Brendan Melanophy recovered it for the Rams but Fordham couldn't take advantage of the turnover, giving the ball back to the Lions five plays later on a fumble.
Columbia tried to take advantage of the miscue, moving the ball down to the Fordham 23 but on fourth-and-one, running back Leon Ivery was stopped for a loss of one by
Bryson Wilson, giving the ball back to the Rams.
Wayne completed 17 of 28 passes for 130 yards while also rushing for 40 net yards. Caldwell led all receivers with seven catches for 61 yards while Moore finished with five receptions for 33 yards.
Defensively, Michael Martin led the Rams with eleven total tackles, four solo, including 1.5 tackles for loss, while Jordan Bledsoe added seven stops, three solo, including a sack.
The Rams will next be in action next Saturday, September 25th, as they host the Assumption College Greyhounds on Jack Coffey Field at 1:00 PM as part of Homecoming 2010.
Notes: The Rams have won three of the past four meetings with Columba but the Lions still lead the all-time series, 12-7... Fordham leads the all-time Liberty Cup series, 5-4... With his seven catches for 61 yards, Caldwell brings his career totals to 142 receptions for 2,024 yards, placing him fourth on the Fordham career list for both... The three field goals were a career-high for Murray... The last time a Fordham kicker connected on three field goals in a game was Kevin Heinowitz last year against Old Dominion... Murray's six punts trapped Columbia on the nine, eight, three, 14, eight, eight and one... The Rams entered the game leading the Patriot League in rushing yards/game at 222.5 and picked up 202 yards in the game... The Fordham defense finished with seven tackles for loss and two sacks.
