Football retains Ram-Crusader Cup with Win over Holy Cross at Yankee Stadium

 











Bronx, N.Y. – At the 2016 Fordham University Gridiron Club Dinner on Thursday night, Joseph M. McShane, SJ, president of Fordham, noted that the last time the Rams won a game at Yankee Stadium was 1941, Fordham's Centennial year. He then asked the captains in attendance to lead this year's squad to another win at the famous venue on this, the university's Dodransbicentennial, i.e. 175th Anniversary. And the squad complied, defeating Holy Cross, 54-14, in the annual Ram Crusader Cup game.
 
With the victory, Fordham improves to 7-3 overall on the year, 4-1 in the Patriot League, while Holy Cross falls to 4-7 overall, 2-4 in the league.
 
The Rams were led by the powerful one-two offensive punch of senior quarterback Kevin Anderson and junior running back Chase Edmonds. Anderson completed 28 of 34 passes for 426 yards and three touchdowns while Edmonds, who had gone four games without scoring, proved you can't keep a good man down, rushed 23 times for 119 yards and four scores and, showing off his versatility, caught seven passes for 77 yards, both career-highs.
 
The four rushing scores bring Edmond's career total to a Patriot League-record 59 as he surpasses Colgate's Jordan Scott, who ran for 57 touchdowns from 2005-08.
 

Anderson's 426 passing yards is a career-high and the fifth best single game in Fordham history. He completed the first ten pass attempts of the game.
 
The defense also played a big role in the win, holding Holy Cross to minus-five rushing yards, the second time this season that a Fordham opponent did not gain positive net rushing yardage. The Fordham defense held the Crusaders to ten points under their season average.
 
The Rams got things started early, taking the opening kickoff and moving to the Holy Cross 41 where Edmonds went around the end and into the end zone to give Fordham a 7-0 lead 2:42 into the game.
 
After the defense forced Holy Cross to a three-and-out, the Rams took over on their own 33 and Anderson moved them down field, completing four straight passes to put the ball on the Holy Cross seven. Three plays later, Edmonds went up and over the pile from the one to put Fordham up 14-0 midway through the first quarter.
 
The defense then stopped the Crusaders on fourth-and-three from the Rams' 24 and Corey Caddle came up big on the ensuing offensive possession, catching a 29-yard pass from Anderson on third down that put the ball on the Holy Cross 27 and, on the next play, threw a touchdown pass to Jorge Solano for a 20-0 Fordham lead with 2:06 left in the quarter.
 
In the second quarter, the Rams faced a fourth-and-two from their own 32 but Edmonds powered through for an eight yard gain to keep the drive alive. The drive would end six plays later when Edmonds notched his third touchdown of the game, scoring from four yards out to make it a 27-0 game midway through the second.
 
On the ensuing possession Holy Cross took advantage of a 55-yard pass play to score on an eight-yard rush to cut the Fordham lead to 20, 27-7, with 6:04 remaining in the half.
 
But Fordham responded with a six-play, 75-yard drive, capped by a 17-yard touchdown toss from Anderson to Isaiah Searight, to take a 33-7 lead.
 
Holy Cross again went for it on fourth down on the ensuing possession and the Fordham defense stopped the Crusaders again, this time at the Fordham 17, and Anderson moved the Rams down to the Holy Cross two where he found Robbie Cantelli in the back of the end zone with 12 seconds on the clock to give the Rams a 40-7 halftime lead.
 
Holy Cross scored on the first possession of the second half to make it a 40-14 game but the Rams came back with a ten-play, 81-yard drive and took a 47-14 lead when Anderson hit Austin Longi from seven yards out midway through the third.
 
The Rams closed out the day's scoring when Edmonds scampered in from the 18 with 7:54 left for the 54-14 final.
 

Longi led all receivers in the game with seven catches, tying his career-high, for a career-high 123 yards and the one score while Caddle grabbed five passes for 89 yards and Cantelli five for 70 yards and a touchdown.
 
George Dawson led the defense with six tackles, including one sack and he broke up three passes, while Justin Vaughn made five stops, four solo, including 1.5 for loss and Manny Adeyeye finished with four tackles, including two sacks and a forced fumble.
 
The Rams return to action next Saturday, November 19, as they close out the regular season with a trip to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, to face the Bucknell University Bison in a Patriot League contest at 12:00 p.m.
 
Notes
 
Fordham alum and New York Yankee announcer Michael Kay presented the Rams with the Ram-Crusader Cup.

The Rams were represented by three honorary captains for the coin toss, General Jack Keane, FCRH '66, a retired four-star general and former Vice Chief of Staff in the United States Army, Andy Lukac, FCRH '51, a member of the Fordham Hall of Fame Class of 2012, and John Skelton, GABELLI '10, who will be inducted into the Fordham Hall of Fame at the Athletics Gala on April 22.
 
Anderson's 426 passing yards brings his career total to 5,580, moving him ahead of Ryan Higgins (2009-12), who was in attendance today, and into fifth place on the Fordham career list, while his three touchdown passes brings his career total to 57, third on the Fordham career list.
 
Edmonds' 119 rushing yards brings his school-record career total to 5,104, 517 yards shy of Scott's Patriot League career mark of 5,621 yards.
 
The 100-yard game was Edmonds' eighth of the season and the 25th of his career, a Fordham record.
 
Cantelli's second quarter touchdown gives him 12 this year the third best single season total in school history (Cantelli had just two receiving touchdowns entering the season).
 
The Rams now lead the all-time Ram-Crusader Cup series, 16-15, and have won the past five meetings with Holy Cross.
 
Fordham is now 13-8-1 all-time at Yankee Stadium.
 
The Rams scored more than 40 points for the fourth time this year.
 
The Rams recorded 602 yards of total offense, the second 600-yard game of the year.
 
Fordham is now 20-3 against Patriot League opponents over the past four years (the Rams were 5-1 last year, a perfect 6-0 in 2015 and 5-1 in 2013, though the games in 2013 did not count in the league standings).