Football Upends Colgate on Senior Day

 










 












Bronx, N.Y. – If one were to look up the word perseverance in the dictionary (or in today's parlance, Google it), it's not likely they'll find a photo of Fordham senior wide receiver Robbie Cantelli. But he may well be the epitome of the word as the former walk-on, turned scholarship player caught a pair of touchdown passes today to lead the Rams to a 24-20 Patriot League win over Colgate University on Jack Coffey Field.
 
With the win, Fordham improves to 6-3 overall, 3-1 in the Patriot League, while Colgate falls to 3-5 overall, 2-2 in the conference.
 
After serving as a scout team player as a freshman, Cantelli saw some action as a sophomore before injuries moved him into a significant role as a junior last year. He was leading all Fordham receivers 32 catches for 472 yards when he suffered a season-ending injury, ironically enough, in last year's game at Colgate. After rehabbing, Cantelli moved back into his starting role this year and the two scoring catches give him eleven on the year, three shy of the school record.
 
The Fordham senior class, which was honored in a pregame ceremony on Senior Day, has transformed the Rams' football program with 38 wins over the past four years, including a Patriot League championship in 2014. That resurgence can best be seen at home where Fordham went a perfect 6-0 this year, the third time over the past four years that the Rams have gone undefeated at home. Over the past four years Fordham is 25-1 in the Bronx.
 
The Fordham defense stepped up its game today, especially in the second half. After allowing 261 yards of offense in the first half plus the first Colgate possession of the second half, the Rams dug in, allowing just 84 yards over the final 28:32, coming up with two big fourth down stops in the final quarter.
 

The Rams trailed 20-17 with 7:29 left in the contest when they took over on their own 39 following a punt. Senior quarterback Kevin Anderson moved Fordham down field, completing three straight passes, after a seven-yard Chase Edmonds rush, to put the ball on the Colgate 32. Three plays netted just eight yards and the Rams faced a fourth-and-two on the Colgate 24 when Edmonds burst through the line for a four yard gain and a Fordham first down. On the next play, Anderson lofted a pass into the end zone where Cantelli outjumped his defender and came down just inside the back line to give the Rams a 24-20 lead.
 
The Raiders moved to the Fordham 31 on its ensuing possession but a Jake Melville pass attempt to Alex Greenawalt fell incomplete and the Rams took over with 1:26 remaining and were able to run out the clock.
 
Fordham jumped out to a 3-0 lead as on the first possession of the game, Anderson moved the Rams to the Colgate 24 where the drive stalled and Makay Redd came on to boot a 41-yard field goal just over five minutes into the game.
 
Colgate responded with a nine-play, 73-yard drive, capped by a 16-yard scoring run, to take a 7-3 lead with 5:14 left in the first.
 
On the final play of the first quarter a Colgate punt was returned 37 yards by Corey Caddle, giving the Rams the ball on the Raiders' 29. Three plays later Fordham faced a four-and-eleven from the Colgate 30 when Anderson found senior tight end Phazahn Odom open over the middle with a scoring strike to give the Rams a 10-7 lead just over two minutes into the second quarter.
 
The Raiders took a 14-10 lead just before the half on a 42-yard scoring run from Keyon Washington with 56 seconds remaining in the first.
 
On the third play of the second half, Melville broke through the line and ran 63 yards for a score to put Colgate up 20-10, 1:18 into the third quarter.
 
The game remained 20-10 until the Rams took over on their own 23 following a punt. Anderson completed five of six passes, the big one a 35-yard completion to Austin Longi on third down that moved the ball to the Colgate 23, to get Fordham to the Colgate 13. Two plays later, Anderson connected with Cantelli in the end zone to cut the Fordham deficit to three, 20-17, with 3:38 left in the third.
 

Anderson completed 27 of 42 passes for 263 yards and three scores with Longi hauling in seven passes for 73 yards and Jorge Solano grabbing six passes for 49 yards. Cantelli finished with five receptions for 58 yards.
 
Jihaad Pretlow led the Fordham defense with six solo tackles, including one for loss, and he broke up two passes, while Antonio Jackson also notched six solo stops and Max Roberts added six tackles, five solo, including two for loss.
 
The Rams return to action on Saturday, November 12, as they take on Holy Cross in the annual battle for the Ram Crusader Cup at Yankee Stadium at 3:00 p.m.
 
Notes
 
Cantelli's eleven touchdown receptions is the fourth most in a season in school history. The school record is 14, set by Javarus Dudley in 2003 and matched by Sam Ajala in 2012 and Brian Wetzel in 2013.
 
Odom's touchdown catch is the ninth in his career, tying him with Dan Light for the second most career touchdown receptions by a Fordham tight end, one shy of Stephen Skelton's school record.
 
Anderson's 263 passing yards brings his career total to 5,154, good for sixth on the Fordham career list, while his three touchdown passes brings his career total to 54, third on the Fordham career list.
 
Junior running back Chase Edmonds rushed for 73 yards to bring his school-record career total to 4,985.
 
Senior punter Joe Pavlik punted six times for 274 yards (45.7 average), with a long of 55.
 
The Rams' defense allowed just 106 passing yards in the game, just five yards shy of the season-low for a Fordham opponent this year. It was the fifth time Fordham has held an opponent to fewer than 131 passing yards this year.
 
Fordham is now 19-3 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).
 
The Rams have now won three of the past four meetings with Colgate.