Football Upends Lafayette, 42-18

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Bronx, N.Y. (October 3, 2014) – The Fordham offense has been humming along so far in 2014, scoring over 40 points in four of the first five games entering tonight's nationally televised Patriot League contest with Lafayette College and tonight was no exception. The Rams scored 42 points but it was the often overlooked defense that led the way, limiting the Leopards to just 68 net rushing yards as Fordham defeated Lafayette, 42-16, on Jack Coffey Field.
 
With the win, Fordham improves to 5-1 on the year, 2-0 in the Patriot League, while Lafayette falls to 2-3 overall, 0-1 in the league.
 
The Fordham defense, led by Brett Biestek who recorded a game-high nine tackles, including four sacks, held preseason All-Patriot League running back Ross Scheuerman to just 39 net rushing yards while also sacking Lafayette quarterback Blake Searfoss five times while also notching nine tackles for loss.
 

That's not to say the Fordham offense didn't show its usual prowess as freshman running back Chase Edmonds carried 25 times for 187 yards and two scores and senior quarterback Mike Nebrich completed 23 of 32 passes for 287 yards and three scores. He connected with Tebucky Jones, Jr., seven times for 85 yards and a touchdown and Brian Wetzel six times for 115 yards and a touchdown.
 
As a team, the Rams amassed 524 yards of total offense against a Lafayette team that entered the game allowing just 287.0 yards/game, eleventh best in the NCAA FCS. It was Fordham's third 500-yard total offense game of the season.
 
The Leopards struck first, taking over on their own 27 following a punt and moved to the Fordham 22 where Searfoss was chased out of the pocket on third-and-19 for a three-yard gain. That forced Ryan Graylish to come on and boot a 37-yard field goal for a 3-0 Lafayette lead with 2:28 left in the quarter.
 
The Rams responded quickly, moving from their own 22 to the Lafayette 44, thanks to a 21-yard pass completion from Nebrich to Sam Ajala on the third play of the drive. On the next play, Edmonds broke through the line and went untouched into the end zone for a 7-3 Fordham lead just before the end of the first.
 
The Fordham defense held the Leopards on the ensuing possession, forcing Lafayette to punt from deep in its own end and Wetzel returned the punt to the Lafayette 40. The Rams got the ball to the 27 but the drive stalled and Michael Marando kicked a 36-yard field goal to give the Rams a 10-3 lead 2:37 into the second quarter.
 
On its next possession, Fordham took its time, moving 71 yards on ten plays with Nebrich hitting Ajala with a nine-yard scoring strike to make it a 17-3 game with 5:37 left in the half. Nebrich completed all four of his passes on the drive while Edmonds gained 38 yards on the ground.
 
The Rams then pulled out a little trickery from its arsenal, executing a perfect onside kick as Marando put the ball in the air towards the Fordham sideline where Jordan Chapman was able to leap and tip the ball to a teammate as the Rams took possession at midfield. Two straight completions to Tebucky Jones, Jr., put the ball on the Lafayette 27 and, one play later, Nebrich and Jones hooked up for a third time on the drive with a short pass to the left. Jones took the pass and juked his defender to take the ball to the end zone for a 24-yard scoring pass as the Rams extended their lead to 24-3 with 4:07 on the clock.
 
After the Fordham defense forced another three-and-out, the offense took over on its own 23. It only took three plays for the Rams to find the end zone with Nebrich hitting Wetzel in stride for a 58-yard score and a 31-3 Fordham lead with just under two minutes left in the half.
 
The Rams left too much time on the clock for Lafayette as the Leopards marched down field, converting two fourth down plays, the last an 8-yard pass from Searfoss to Mike Duncan as Lafayette pulled to within 21, 31-10, with four seconds remaining.
 
The Fordham defense held Lafayette on the first possession of the second half and the offense took over on its own 25. Edmonds and Nebrich went to work, with the quarterback completing four of his six passes for 45 yards and the running back gaining 24 yards on four carries. But Nebrich couldn't complete a third down pass on the Lafayette six to Adam Malkiewicz in the end zone and Marando came on to connect on a 22-yard field goal and a 34-10 Fordham lead.
 

Later in the third, a 52-yard Jared Roberts punt return gave Lafayette the ball on the Fordham 29 and three plays later, Searfoss hit Brian Keller with a 14-yard touchdown pass and then completed the two-point conversion pass to make it a 31-18 game with 1:24 remaining in the third.
 
Early in the fourth, Lafayette faced a fourth-and-15 from the Fordham 32 and while Searfoss was able to complete a pass to Matt Mrazek the play only gained 12 yards, giving the Rams the ball back on their own 20.
 
Needing to get back on track, the offense turned to Edmonds, who carried the Rams down field, accounting for 45 of the 80 yards on the drive, with Wetzel also adding a 27-yard reception. Edmonds capped the drive with an eight-yard scoring run and then threw a lob pass to Dan Light for the two-point conversion as Fordham took a 42-18 lead midway through the fourth.
 
The Leopards had one last chance to score but failed on a third-and-one from their own 23 and punted the ball back to the Rams with 5:45 left and the Rams ran out the clock.
 
Ajala finished with five receptions for 48 yards and a score while Light added five for 39 yards.
 
Defensively, Jake Dixon finished with eight tackles, seven solo, while Ian Williams added six, four solo, and he had one pass deflection.
 
The Rams return to action next Saturday, October 11, as they host Penn in a nonconference game on Jack Coffey Field at 1:00 PM.
 
Notes
The game was the first Friday night contest for the Rams since Fordham played at Hofstra on October 16, 1992 and the first Friday night game on Jack Coffey Field since the Rams hosted USMMA on October 1, 1976… Edmonds had his fifth 100-yard rushing game of the year, already tying him for ninth on the Fordham career 100-yard game list… Wetzel recorded his second straight 100-yard receiving game of the year and the 13th of his career, one shy of Javarus Dudley's (2000-03) school record of 14… Nebrich has completed 109 of 160 passes for 1,368 yards and 12 touchdowns over the past four games… He has now compiled 15 200-yard career passing games, tied for second all-time at Fordham, and has 503 career completions, good third fourth all-time at the school… Fordham did not commit a turnover for the second straight game… The Rams won despite converting on just one of eight third down… The Fordham women's basketball team received their 2014 Atlantic 10 championship rings at halftime of the game.