Football Completes Perfect Patriot League Season

Photo Gallery
 
Bronx, N.Y. (November 15, 2014) – When head coach Joe Moorhead took over at Fordham he laid out some ground rules for his Rams, including the pronouncement that hats are to be removed whenever a players enters a building. But Moorhead waived that rule on Saturday afternoon but only because the hats that he allowed read "Patriot League Champions" as Fordham knocked off Georgetown, 52-7, on Jack Coffey Field to complete an undefeated Patriot League season and clinch the outright league title.
 
With the win, Fordham's ninth straight, the #7/8 Rams improve to 10-1 overall, 6-0 in the Patriot League, while Georgetown falls to 2-8 overall, 0-5 in the conference.
 
The Patriot League title is Fordham's third, the first since 2007, and the Rams become the first team to go 6-0 in conference play since Lehigh was 7-0 in 2003.
 
The win also kept Fordham's home field winning streak intact, which now stands at 13, tied with Coastal Carolina for the second longest active home winning streak in the NCAA FCS (North Dakota has a 20-game active streak).
 
The Rams excelled in all the facets of the game, offense, gaining 496 total yards while scoring more than 50 points for the fifth time this season; defense, holding the Hoyas to 80 passing yards and seven points; and special teams, blocking two punts.
 

Peter Maetzold, who Moorhead claims is the NCAA Relief Pitcher of the Year, came on in place of the injured Mike Nebrich and completed 15 of 19 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns with nine passes going to Brian Wetzel for 103 yards and one touchdown and three to Sam Ajala for 124 yards and a score.
 
On the ground, sophomore Kendall Pearcey gave dinged-up freshman Chase Edmonds some help, carrying 14 times for 89 yards and three touchdowns while Edmonds gained 45 yards on eleven carries with one score. Edmonds' rushing touchdown brings his season total to 21, surpassing Kirwin Watson's 2003 school record of 20 rushing touchdowns in a season. The touchdown also bring Edmonds' season scoring total to 132 points as he surpasses Watson's 2003 record of 126 points in 2003 while his 45 rushing yards give him 1,470 for the year, the third best single season in school history.
 
Defensively, Brett Biestek had three tackles for loss and two sacks and he also blocked a punt while George Dawson, JQ Bowers and Austin Hancock each made six stops.
 
On special teams, senior placekicker Michael Marando connected on a 27-yard field goal in the second quarter to bring his career total to 41, tying Brian Colsant's school career record set from 1998-2001.  He also converted all seven of his PATs, bringing his season total to 54, nine shy of his own school record set last year. Marando also has the school career PAT made record with 133.
 
The win is the culmination of four years of hard work for the senior class, who went 1-10 as freshmen back in 2011. But Moorhead was hired following that season and brought with him a new mindset which the players bought into and the Rams are now reaping the rewards of their diligence, going 22-3 over the past two years with back-to-back NCAA FCS Championship appearances.
 
The Rams took control of the game early, taking the opening kickoff and driving 71 yards on ten plays, capped by a Pearcey one-yard scoring run two plays after a 33-yard Pearcey carry put the ball on the Georgetown two.
 
Later in the quarter, the Rams took over on their own 34 and got the ball to the Hoyas' one. But three plays lost nine yards and the Rams had to settle for a 27-yard Marando field goal to push the lead to 10-0 on the first play of the second quarter.
 
A short punt gave the Rams good field position on the next series but Nebrich was injured on the second play of the drive. Enter Maetzold, who finished the drive with a 34-yard scoring strike to Wetzel and a 17-0 Fordham lead with 10:34 left in the second.
 
Later in the second, Levon Williams intercepted a Kyle Nolan pass at midfield and the Rams quickly converted the turnover to points as Maetzold connected with Tebucky Jones, Jr., for 43 yards on the first play and Pearcey covered the final six yards on two carries, including a one-yard scoring plunge to give Fordham a 24-0 lead with 3:41 left before halftime.
 
The game remained 24-0 until the Rams' first possession of the second half when they moved 79 yards on eight plays with Edmonds finishing the drive with a one-yard scoring rush and a 31-0 lead with 10:22 remaining in the third.
 
A 24-yard punt return from Wetzel set Fordham up on its own 43 and Maetzold hooked up with Ajala five plays later with a 54-yard touchdown pass as the Rams increased the lead to 38-0 midway through the third and a five-yard Pearcey scoring run late in the period boosted the lead to 45-0.
 
A 33-yard touchdown pass got the Hoyas on the board early in the fourth but the Rams used a David Conroy blocked punt to score on a five-yard Kevin Anderson rush with 6:57 left to make the final 52-7.
 
The Rams close out the regular season next Saturday, November 22, as they travel to West Point, N.Y., to face the Army Black Knights in Michie Stadium at 12:00 p.m. in a game that will be televised live on the CBS Sports Network.
 
Notes
The Rams have now won three straight over Georgetown and lead the all-time series, 34-20-3… The Hoyas entered the game with the top scoring defense in the Patriot League, allowing just 20.0 points per game…The Rams did not commit a turnover for the fourth time in 2014… Fordham won for the first time when Edmonds was held under 100 yards rushing… The Rams were 6-7 on red zone chances, not scoring on their final attempt at the end of the game… It was the third time that the Rams held an opponent to under 100 passing yards in a game this year… The Fordham seniors were honored with a pregame ceremony.