Football Knocks Off Bucknell

Photo Gallery (Senior Day) | Photo Gallery (Game Action)

Bronx, N.Y. – If someone left the Fordham-Bucknell football game at halftime they would be surprised to hear that head coach Joe Moorhead presented the Fordham defense with the game ball following the contest. The Rams allowed over 200 yards of total offense in the first 30 minutes and couldn't seem to control Bucknell running back Matt DelMauro. But the second half was another story as the Fordham defense held the Bison to 139 yards and six points as the Rams upended Bucknell, 24-16, in a Patriot League game on Jack Coffey Field.
 
With the win, Fordham improves to 8-2 overall, 4-1 in the Patriot League, while Bucknell falls to 4-5 overall, 1-3 in the conference. The win also keeps a streak alive for the Rams who have never lost back-to-back games over the past four years under Moorhead.
 
The Fordham defense actually starting to buckle down in the second quarter. After allowing the Bison to gain 82 yards on a drive early in the quarter that ended with a missed field goal, Bucknell would net just ten yards on its final three drives of the first half. The defense opened the second half just as strong, allowing only 40 yards on the first five Bucknell possessions of the half.
 

Fordham sophomore running back Chase Edmonds, who entered the game leading all of the NCAA Division I in rushing touchdowns, only had one rushing score today but it was a big one. Leading 17-16 with 13 seconds left, Fordham faced a fourth down and two at the Bucknell 22. Edmonds broke through the line and into the end zone to give the Rams a 24-16 lead with six ticks left.
 
Bucknell fair caught the ensuing kickoff and had one chance to tie the game but two laterals following a short completion only got the ball to the Fordham 47 as time expired.
 
The Rams led by seven, 17-10, with 1:44 left when the Bison scored on a five-yard pass from R.J. Nitti to Bobby Kaslander. The big play on the drive was 48-yard pass from Nitti to Will Carter on the first play from scrimmage. The pass actually wasn't intended for Carter but was tipped right to the open receiver. Four plays later, Bucknell faced a fourth and ten from the Fordham 19 and the Rams seemed to have thwarted the Bison scoring chance when Antonio Jackson intercepted a Nitti pass in the end zone but the play was nullified by a defensive holding call on the Rams.
 
Three plays later, Nitti connected with Kaslander for the six points. But the Bison opted to go for two and George Dawson intercepted the extra point pass attempt.
 
After the Rams went three and out to open the game, Bucknell drove 91 yards on nine plays, taking a 7-0 lead on a one-yard DelMauro touchdown run with 9:53 left in the first.
 
Later in the first, the Fordham defense backed Bucknell up deep in its own end, thanks to a Dawson sack of Nitti which put the ball on the Bison nine. The Rams took over at midfield following a punt and on the second play from scrimmage Kevin Anderson connected with Jonathan Lumley on a 43-yard pass play to place the ball on the Bucknell two. Two plays later, the two hooked up again for a touchdown from the six to knot the game at seven with 2:46 remaining in the period.
 
Late in the second quarter, an Anderson pass was tipped and intercepted by Bucknell's Ben Schumaker, who returned it to the Fordham 23. The Ram defense held strong and the Bison had to settle for a 37-yard Alex Pechin field goal to take a 10-7 lead with 2:24 left before the half.
 
It seemed as if the Bison would take the 10-7 lead into the break but the Rams took over on their own 20 following a Bucknell punt with 21 seconds remaining and Anderson immediately found Jordan Allen with a 48-yard pass over the middle to put the ball on the Bucknell 32. After Anderson stopped the clock with a spike, he tossed the ball to Edmonds who took it eleven yards to the Bucknell 21 with three seconds on the clock. Alejandro Cardenas came on to attempt a 38-yard field goal and, despite a Bucknell time out just before the snap of his first attempt (which was true), he calmly nailed it again the second time to tie the game at ten going into the break.
 

The Rams then took advantage of a Bucknell turnover as Dawson sacked Nitti on the fifth play of the second half causing Nitti to fumble and the ball was recovered by Fordham's Marlon Crook, Jr. on the Bucknell 43.
 
After a false start penalty, Anderson again connected on a long pass, this one a 39-yard pickup to Allen. Three plays later, Anderson found Phazahn Odom in the end zone for a 17-10 Fordham lead 3:40 into the third quarter.
 
Anderson completed 20 of 27 passes for 296 yards and two touchdowns, with seven different receivers catching at least one pass, led by Ben Johnson, who caught four for 68 yards and Lumley, who hauled in four balls for 54 yards and one score.
 
Defensively, Dawson led the Rams with ten tackles, eight solo, including two sacks while also forcing a fumble and breaking up a pass. JQ Bowers made nine stops for Fordham, seven solo, while Stephen Hodge added seven, five solo.
 
The Rams close out the 2015 regular season next Saturday, November 14, as they travel to Washington, D.C., to face the Georgetown University Hoyas in a Patriot League game at 12:00 p.m.
 
Notes
Edmonds wore uniform number 26 today as opposed to his normal 22 to honor teammate Robbie Cantelli, the team's leading receiver, who suffered a season-ending injury at Colgate last week.

Anderson's 296 passing yards brings his season total to 2,637, the tenth best single season total in school history, while his two touchdown passes give him 27 on the year, tied for third most in a single season at Rose Hill.
 
Edmonds now has 3,345 career rushing yards in just 24 career contests, third on the Fordham all-time rushing list, while his 42 career rushing touchdowns are second best.
 
Odom's touchdown catch was his sixth of the year, tying him with Austin Longi for the team lead and tying Stephen Skelton (2009) and Dan Light (2013) for most touchdown catches in a season by a Fordham tight end.
 
Joe Pavlik punted seven times for 328 yards, an average of 46.9 yards/punt, with three of his punts landing inside the 20 and a long of 67 yards.
 
The Rams entered the game leading the NCAA FCS in turnovers gained with 23 and forced the one fumble today.
 
Fordham freshmen receivers accounted for ten of the 20 Fordham receptions for 194 yards and a touchdown.
 
The Rams have now won 37 games since 2012, the most wins for any New York City area football team.
 
Fordham is now 23-2 at home since 2012. The 23 home wins over that stretch are the third most for any NCAA FCS team while the Fordham home winning percentage of .920 is second best.
 
The Rams are now 15-2 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).