Football Downs Monmouth, 54-31

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Bronx, N.Y. – On Friday, Fordham head coach Joe Moorhead told his charges that "the price of greatness is responsibility." And his Rams showed that they were responsible today in all facets of the game. The offense was responsible for seven touchdowns, the defense was responsible for forcing six turnovers, recovering five, and special teams was responsible for a pair of field goals as Fordham knocked off Monmouth University, 54-31, on Jack Coffey Field.
 
With the win, Fordham improves to 3-1 on the season while Monmouth falls to 1-3.
 
The Rams lost All-America quarterback Mike Nebrich to graduation but, to quote one of Fordham's motto's for 2015, "So What." Junior Kevin Anderson has taken the reins and guided the offense to its second straight 40-point performance, completing 19 of 27 passes for a season-high 340 yards and five touchdowns, his second straight five-touchdown game.
 

The Rams lost their top five receivers from 2014. "So What." Junior Robbie Cantelli, who had two career catches coming into the season, hauled in seven passes for 119 yards while freshmen Austin Longi and Cory Caddle combined for eight catches for 110 yards and two scores.
 
The Fordham defense lost ten starters. "So What." Graduate student Stephen Hodge, who ,missed all of last year with an injury, is back and matched his career-high with 15 tackles while also picking off a pass and breaking up another and sophomore Niko Thorpe, who leads the Rams in tackles after making just eight as a freshman, contributed 12, including one for loss. Oh, and JQ Bowers picked off a pair of passes.
 
All-Patriot League placekicker Michael graduated. "So What." Junior Makay Redd, who had not attempted a collegiate field goal prior to this year, booted a pair of three-pointers today, including a 54-yarder, just one yard shy of the school record.
 
The Rams got on the board quickly, taking the opening kickoff and moving 86 yards on ten plays with Anderson hitting Caddle with a five-yard scoring strike 4:09 into the game for a 7-0 Fordham lead.
 
Later in the period, Monmouth took over on the Fordham 26 following a Ram fumble, but Bowers got the ball back for Fordham on the next play, intercepting a Cody Williams pass on the Fordham 25. Anderson moved the Rams downfield and found a leaping Chase Edmonds in the end zone with a 26-yard pass to put the Rams up 14-0 midway through the first.
 
On the ensuing possession, the Hawks were able to get the ball to the Fordham 22 but a thrird-and-17 pass only picked up three yards and Monmouth settled for a 35-yard Matt White field goal to cut the Fordham lead to eleven, 14-3, with 2:12 left in the first.
 
Late in the first, Brandon Weir sacked Williams who fumbled, and the ball was recovered by Fordham's Kevin Coyne on the Monmouth 33. Three plays later, Anderson connected with Edmonds for another score, this one an 18-yard reception as the Rams took a 21-3 lead 34 seconds into the second quarter.
 
Monmouth responded with a 13-play, 80-yard drive, capped by a Lavon Chaney 13-yard scoring rush to make it a 21-10 game with 6:51 remaining in the first half.
 
But the Rams came right back as on the fourth play from scrimmage on the ensuing possession, Edmonds broke through the line on the Fordham 44 and outraced the defenders to the end zone for a 56-yard scoring run to give Fordham a 28-10 lead with 4:57 on the clock.
 
The Fordham defense held Monmouth on a fourth-and-six play from the Fordham 48 but on the next play Anderson was picked off by Joe Johnson at the Monmouth 35 and he returned the ball to the Fordham 20. Two plays later, Williams found Pat Gray with a 22-yard touchdown pass to pull the Hawks within eleven, 28-17, with 48 seconds left.
 
That didn't stop Fordham from mounting one last scoring drive in the half as three plays later, Anderson found a streaking Jordan Allen with a 60-yard scoring strike with 27 seconds remaining to give the Rams a 35-17 halftime lead.
 

The Hawks went three-and-out on their first possession of the second half and Anderson moved the Rams to the Monmouth 12 where Redd came on to boot a 22-yard field goal and increase the Fordham advantage to 38-17, 2:39 into the third quarter.
 
On their next possession, the Rams where moved back to the Monmouth 37 following a sack but Redd connected on a 54-yard field goal to boost the Rams' lead to 41-17, with 8:01 left in the third.
 
After Hodge picked off a Williams pass in the end zone, Fordham also scored on its next possession as Anderson found Longi with a ten-yard pass to make it a 48-17 game with 3:43 on the clock.
 
A seven-yard Chaney touchdown run late in the third quarter cut the Fordham lead to 48-24, but a Kendall Pearcey 21-yard scoring run put the Rams up 54-24 early in the fourth.
 
The Hawks closed out the scoring with a 23-yard pass from Ben Onett to Reggie White, Jr. midway through the fourth quarter.
 
Edmonds finished with 95 rushing yards on 18 carries with one score and he caught two touchdowns passes while Pearcey gained 43 yards on eight rushes.
 
The Rams return to action next Saturday, October 3, as they travel to Easton, Pennsylvania, to open defense of their Patriot League title by facing the Lafayette College Leopards in Fisher Stadium at 6:00 p.m.
 
Notes
Edmonds' 95 rushing yards brings his career total to 2,258, good for eighth on the Fordham career rushing list (just six yards behind Juan Pacheco for seventh) while his one touchdown run gives him 28 all-time, moving him into fourth on the career rushing touchdown list.
 
Anderson surpassed his previous season-high for passing yards which was 330, set last week against Columbia. He has completed 41 of 57 passes for 670 yards and ten touchdowns over the past two games.
 

Patrick Murray holds the Fordham record for longest field goal with a 55-yarder at Cincinnati in 2012.
 
Fordham gained over 500 yards of total offense (551) for the second straight week.
 
The Rams are now 19-2 at home since 2012. The 19 home wins over that stretch are the third most for any NCAA FCS team while the Fordham home winning percentage of .905 is second best.
 
Fordham is now 16-5 over the past four years in non-conference play.
 
The Rams have now won 32 games since 2012, the most wins for any New York City area football team.
 
Anderson's five touchdown passes was one shy of the school record set by Kevin Eakin at Rhode Island in 2003 and matched by Mike Nebrich against Penn last year.
 
Hodge set his career-high in tackles with 15 against Holy Cross in 2013.
 
Bowers now has three interceptions this year and four for his career.
 
For the second straight game, seven different receivers caught at least on ball with three of them being true freshmen.
 
The 54 points scored by Fordham are the most for a Patriot school this year.