Oct. 22, 2011
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Easton, Pa. -
The Fordham Football Rams gained a season-high 565 yards today at Lafayette but it was the two yards they didn't get that proved to be the difference as the Rams were twice held on fourth-and-one in the second quarter and those missed opportunities would cost the Rams as they fell to the Leopards, 45-24, on Fisher Field.
With the loss, Fordham falls to 1-6 while Lafayette improves to 3-4.
The Fordham offense was led by senior running back Darryl Whiting, who gained a season-high 128 yards on 20 carries while junior quarterback Ryan Higgins completed 32 of 52 passes for 413 yards and two scores, setting career-highs for completions and passing yards in a game. His 413 passing yards ties Higgins with Joe Moorhead for the third most passing yards in a game in Fordham history (the record is 427 set by John Skelton against Holy Cross in 2009). Junior Blake Wayne also had a career-day, catching eleven passes for 106 yards.
The score was tied at 14 early in the second quarter when a 62-yard rush from Whiting put the ball on the Lafayette eleven. Three plays later, the Rams faced a fourth-and-one from the two but Higgins was stopped at the line and the ball went back to the Leopards.
Lafayette made quick work of the 98 yards, covering it on just six plays with Vaughn Hebron scoring on a five-yard run to put the Leopards up, 20-14, with 9:57 left in the half as the extra point attempt failed.
After the ensuring kickoff, the Rams moved from their own 35 to the Lafayette 30 but on fourth and one, Whiting was stuffed at the line, giving the ball back to Lafayette. The big play of the drive was a 25-yard completion from Higgins to Brian Wetzel on third down that placed the ball on the Leopards' 39.
Lafayette didn't take advantage of the defensive stop and punted the ball back to Fordham who then went on a ten-play, 54-yard drive that culminated in a 32-yard Michael Marando field goal with 3:32 remaining to pull the Rams to within three, 20-17.
The Leopards responded with a nine-play, 83-yard drive that ended with a Greg Kessel one-yard run with 23 seconds left in the half as Lafayette took a 27-17 lead into the break. On the drive, the Leopards converted a fourth-and-one play on the Fordham three that gave the Leopards a first and goal from the one.
Lafayette increased its lead on the first possession of the second half, taking the kickoff and driving 61 yards to the Fordham 14 where Austin O'Brien connected on a 31-yard field goal for a 30-17 lead midway through the half.
Later in the quarter, Lafayette took over on its own 14 following a 51-yard Patrick Murray punt. Facing a third-and-six at the 18, Andrew Shoop found Kyle Hayes with a 26-yard pass to give the Leopards a first down on the 44.
Later in the drive, Lafayette faced a fourth-and-four early in the fourth quarter at the Fordham 13 when O'Brien pushed a 35-yard field goal attempt wide right.
The Rams appeared as if they might capitalize on the miss, moving from their own 20 to the Lafayette eight but on fourth-and-goal a Higgins pass was just over the head of Carlton Koonce in the end zone.
Later in the fourth, Fordham took over on its own four and Higgins drove the squad to the Lafayette six where he found Blake Wayne just over the goal line for the touchdown, making it a 30-24 game with 3:31 remaining. Higgins completed eight of ten passes on the drive.
The Rams attempted an onside kick but the ball was recovered by the Leopards and on the first play from scrimmage Mputu broke though the line and raced into the end zone to put Lafayette up 38-24 following the two-point conversion.
On the ensuing kickoff, Lourenzo Smith fumbled the ball on the Fordham 23 and the ball was scooped up by Lafayette's Ben Aloi who returned it to the Fordham ten. Three plays later, Hebron took it in from the three for the final score of the game.
The Fordham offense got off to a fast start, taking the opening kickoff and driving from its own 29 to the Lafayette 29 but on fourth-and-five, a pass from Higgins to Wayne gained just three yards and the Rams turned the ball over on downs.
The Fordham defense also got off to a quick start, holding the Leopards three plays on their first possession, giving the offense the ball back on the Lafayette 47 following a short punt and 14-yard return from Greg Wilson. Three plays later, Higgins found Wilson deep over the middle and Wilson outraced his defender to the end zone to give Fordham a 7-0 lead 6:43 into the game.
After the Fordham defense again forced Lafayette to punt, the Rams started a drive on their own 12. After picking up a first down, Griffin Murphy ran the ball out of the wildcat but he fumbled as he was flipped up in the air and the ball was recovered by Lafayette's Kyvory Henderson on the Fordham 26.
The Lafayette drive started with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Rams and on third-and-nine from the 12 Andrew Shoop found Nathan Padia in the end zone to knot the game at seven with 3:11 left in the first.
Fordham moved to out to its 38 on the next possession where Patrick Murray got off a 55-yard punt that was fielded by Darius Safford. On the return, Dan Light forced Safford to fumble the ball and it was recovered by Jake Dixon on the Lafayette 22.
The Rams made quick work of the 22 yards as Higgins hooked up with Koonce with a19-yard pass on the first play and Whiting covered the final three yards on the next play to give Fordham a 14-7 lead with 1:18 remaining in the first.
Lafayette quickly retied the game, covering 70 yards on five plays, capped by an eight-yard scoring run from Shoop 47 seconds into the second.
Brian Wetzel finished with six catches for 94 yards while Wilson and Koonce each had four receptions.
Defensively, Ian Williams led the Rams with a career-high 17 tackles, 11 solo, while Michael Martin added 13 stops, seven solo, and Victor DiFusco finished with nine tackles.
The Rams will next be in action next Saturday, October 29th, as they travel up to West Point to face Army at 3:30 p.m. in a game that will be televised live on the CBS Sports Network.
Notes
Lafayette now leads the all-time series, 21-8-1... The two schools have split the past 12 meetings... Higgins' previous career high for completions was 21, set at Penn two weeks ago, while his previous career-best for passing yards was 253, set last week against Lehigh... Wayne's previous career-highs were four catches (against Penn) and 32 yards (versus Lehigh)... Williams surpassed his career-high of six, set at UConn and matched at Penn... Murray, who entered the game leading the Patriot League and ranking third nationally in punting average, punted twice for 106 yards with a long of 55... Smith returned eight kickoffs for 134 yards... Vaughn Scott recorded his first collegiate interception in the game... Isaiah Leake, Wayne and Murray served as the game captains... The game marked the first time this year that the Rams had more yards of offense than their opponent (565-523)... Fordham was successful on eight of 16 third down conversions.
