Football Outlasts Georgetown, 38-31

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Washington, D.C. – After graduating over 30 seniors last year, the 2015 Fordham football roster featured only 13 seniors and graduate students on the roster. But the Rams proved today that it's quality, not quantity, as senior linebacker David Barletta picked off a pass in the end zone with 27 seconds left to help Fordham secure a 38-31 Patriot League win over Georgetown on Cooper Field.
 
With the win, Fordham closes out its regular season with a 9-2 overall record, 5-1 in the Patriot League, while Georgetown falls to 4-6 overall, 2-3 in the conference.
 
Unfortunately for the Rams, Colgate knocked off Lehigh today which clinches the Patriot League title for the Raiders. Fordham must now wait for the NCAA selection show at 11:00 a.m. on November 22 to see if they will receive an at-large bid to the 2015 NCAA FCS Championship.
 
The underclassmen also played a valuable role in the win as sophomore running back Jarred Brevard scored what proved to be the game-winning touchdown with a ten-yard rush, his first collegiate score, while quarterback Kevin Anderson completed 21 of 29 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns. Three of the top four receivers on the day, Jordan Allen, Jonathan Lumley and Austin Longi, all freshmen, combined to make ten catches for 146 yards and two scores, both coming from Lumley.
 
After being held under 100 yards in each of the past two games, sophomore running back Chase Edmonds gained 137 yards on 20 carries with one touchdown today. It was his seventh 100-yard rushing game of the year.

 
Barletta wasn't the only upperclassman to have a hand in the win as linebacker Stephen Hodge returned an interception 55 yards for a score in the second quarter to give the Rams a 28-7 lead before the Hoyas mounted a comeback, eventually tying the game at 31 with 5:17 left in the game.
 
Jihaad Pretlow made sure that Rams were in good position to take the lead as he returned the ensuing kickoff 76 yards to the Georgetown 21. Anderson found Phazahn Odom with a seven-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage before picking up the first down with a four-yard gain, putting the ball on the ten. Brevard then took the handoff from Anderson and found the end zone to give Fordham a 38-31 lead with 3:52 left in the game.
 
Georgetown took over on its own 17 following the ensuing kickoff and converted a third and ten with a 21-yard pass. Four plays later, the Hoyas faced a fourth and one at their own 47 when Troye Bullock picked up ten yards and a first down. Later in the drive, Kyle Nolan found Jake DeCicco with a five-yard pass to put the ball on the Fordham 20. Two plays later, Barletta stepped in front of a Nolan pass for his first career interception.
 
A 19-yard scoring run by Alex Valles gave Georgetown a 7-0 lead just over four minutes into the game but the Rams responded with a seven-play, 72-yard drive to tie the game at seven on a seven-yard pass from Anderson to Lumley with 6:51 on the clock.
 
Later in the first, George Dawson hit Valles in the backfield causing him to fumble and the ball was recovered by Marlon Crook, Jr., for the Rams on the Georgetown 17. Two plays later, Edmonds brought it in from the five to give Fordham a 14-7 lead with 2:44 remaining in the first.
 
Early in the second quarter Anderson connected again with Lumley for a score, this one from three yards, to increase the Fordham lead to 14, 21-7, 2:32 into the quarter.
 
Later in the second, Hodge picked off Nolan on the Fordham 45 and he went 55 yards for a score to make it a 28-7 game with 6:37 left in the half.
 
But the Hoyas returned the ensuing kickoff 83 yards to the Fordham 12 and Nolan covered the 12 yards two plays later to cut the Rams' advantage to 14, 28-14, with 6:11 on the clock.
 
On the ensuing possession, Fordham faced a fourth and five from the Georgetown 37 but Anderson could only pick up a yard on a rush, giving the ball back to Georgetown. The Hoyas moved to the Fordham 17 where Nolan found Harry Glor in the back of the end zone with seven ticks left in the half to make it a 28-21 game at the break.

 
Five minutes into the third quarter, Barletta hit Valles on the Georgetown 31 causing him to fumble and the ball was recovered by Dawson for the Rams.
 
The Rams couldn't move the ball and Alejandro Cardenas came on to boot a 40-yard field goal to put Fordham up, 31-21, with 8:44 left in the third.
 
Late in the third, Anderson was picked off, giving the Hoyas the ball on the Fordham 40 and, five plays later, Nolan threw a scoring strike to Brandan Williams to pull Georgetown within three, 31-28, with 47 seconds left in the third.
 
Midway through the fourth, the Hoyas took over deep in its own end and moved to the Fordham 25 where Harry Darmstadter booted a 34-yard field goal with 5:17 left to knot the game at 31.
 
Hodge led the Fordham defense with 14 total tackles, five solo, while JQ Bowers added eleven stops, eight solo, including a sack and he broke up a pass. Barletta finished with seven tackles, one for loss, and he had the interception and a forced fumble.
 
Notes
Edmonds now has 3,482 career rushing yards in just 25 career contests, moving him ahead of Carlton Koonce and into second place on the Fordham all-time rushing list, while his 43 career rushing touchdowns are second best.


Anderson's 217 passing yards brings his season total to 2,854, the seventh best single season total in school history, while his two touchdown passes give him 29 on the year, the third most in a single season at Rose Hill.
 
The Rams entered the game second in the NCAA FCS in turnovers gained with 24 and forced two fumble and intercepted two passes today.
 
The two interceptions brings Fordham's total to a league-leading 16 on the year.
 
The Rams have now won 38 games since 2012, the most wins for any New York City area football team.
 
The Rams are now 16-2 against Patriot League opponents over the past three years (the Rams were a perfect 6-0 last fall and 5-1 in 2013, though the games in 2013 did not count in the league standings).