Rams Honored at Annual Fordham Football Awards Dinner

Bronx, N.Y. – Members of the 2016 Fordham University football squad were honored at the annual Fordham Football Awards Dinner held in the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown on Sunday, February 12, 2017. Special team awards presented to members of the team included the Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year (Luke Arlotto), the Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year (Jonah Isaac), the Special Teams Player of the Year (Antonio Jackson), the Academic Achievement Awards (Luke Arlotto), the Macken Award (Joe Pavlik), the Bill Tierney Award (Robbie Cantelli), the Danowski Award (David Barletta), the Lansing Trophy (Anthony Coyle), the 2016 Defensive Player of the Year Award (Justin Vaughn), the 2016 Offensive Player of the Year Award (Kevin Anderson) and the Rich Marrin, FCRH '65, LAW '68, Most Valuable Player Award (Chase Edmonds).
 
The Rams celebrated the 2016 season, a season in which Fordham finished with an 8-3 overall record, 5-1 in the Patriot League, to record its fifth straight winning season, the first under head coach Andrew Breiner. The eight wins are the most for a Fordham first-year head coach in the modern era.
 
Arlotto and Isaac received the defensive and offensive scout team players of the year honor, respectively, for the hard work and dedication they put in during the week to get the Rams ready for their next opponent. This work often goes unnoticed by the fans on Saturday but is highly valued by the coaching staff.
 
The Academic Award honors the football student-athletes with the highest GPA. This year the academic advisors recognized Arlotto, an Applied Accounting and Finance major with a 3.75 GPA who is a four-year member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll.
 
The Macken Award was established in memory of Rams' special assistant coach Bob Macken, who passed away suddenly in June of 1992. Coach Macken was a key part of the Fordham staff for seven seasons, always handling the "little things" that are so vital to keeping a program going.  He took special pride in working with the special teams, and his "Macken Pizza Party" for the top special teams plays of the year were a source of great pride for the team.
 
Pavlik, a senior who was a four-year starter at punter, kicked 36 times for 1,437 yards (39.9 yards/punt) with a long of 63 yards. He landed 14 of his punts inside the opponents 20 and had four kicks of 50 or more yards. Pavlik also served as holder for the placekickers in 2016.
 

Cantelli, a senior wide receiver who worked his way from walk-on to scholarship player over his career, was named the recipient of the Bill Tierney Spirit Award, presented annually to the Fordham varsity player who in the estimate of his teammates represents the spirit that Bill so unselfishly exemplified.  A special Ram award was commissioned by Ernest H. Hammer, FCO '55, and created by David Hacker (a New York artist and a former formidable football player at California).  The award is presented annually to the winner of the Bill Tierney Award.  Tierney suffered a cardiac arrest brought on by viral myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, on October 12, 1996 while warming up for the Homecoming football game.
 
In 2016 Cantelli led all Fordham receivers with 13 touchdown catches, one shy of the school single season record. He hauled in 37 passes for 634 yards (17.1 yards/catch), both second best on the team. Cantelli finished fourth in the Patriot League in scoring touchdowns and tenth in receiving yards/game.
 
Barletta, a senior linebacker who saw his season cut short due to injury, was the recipient of the 2016 Danowski Award, given annually to the football player who through his leadership, sacrifice, and commitment to excellence upon the field of play and within the University community exemplifies the character of Danowski, a former Fordham player and head coach.
 
Barletta recorded 46 total tackles on the season, tied for fourth best on the squad, 32 solo, including 5.5 for loss and 2.0 sacks. He also registered three quarterback hurries, two pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble.
 

Coyle, who earned third team All-America honors in 2016, was named recipient of the Lansing Trophy, named for Jim Lansing, a former player and coach who was a consensus All-American, in 1941.  That was the same season that Fordham downed Missouri 2-0 to capture the 1942 Sugar Bowl.  As a coach, Lansing won national club championships in 1965 and 1968, and became the school's first varsity coach since 1954 when the program was elevated to Division III in 1970.  In five club seasons and two varsity campaigns, Lansing posted a 29-20-3 record.
 
Coyle, a first team All-Patriot League and ECAC All-Star selection this fall, started all eleven games at left tackle for the Rams in 2016. He helped Fordham lead the Patriot League and rank fourth in the NCAA FCS in total offense, averaging 498.2 yards/game, and lead the league and rank 12th in the NCAA FCS in rushing offense, averaging 229.7 yards/game. The Rams also led the Patriot League and were fourth in the nation in scoring, averaging 40.1 points per game, and second in the League and 29th in the nation in first downs (257).
 
Vaughn, a first team All-Patriot League selection last fall, received the 2016 Fordham Football Defensive Player of the Year award. He finished with the year with 40 total tackles, 29 solo, including a team-high 11.0 for loss, and 4.0 sacks. He also notched six quarterback hurries and one pass break up as well as blocking one kick. Vaughn was sixth in the Patriot League in tackles for loss per game and 12th in sacks per game.
 
Anderson, who earned the Fordham Offensive Player of the Year award for the second straight season, completed 201 of 325 passes for 2,724 yards and 27 touchdowns as well as running for 255 net yards and two scores. The second team All-Patriot League selection led the Patriot League and was tenth in the NCAA FCS in passing touchdowns and led the League and was 12th in the nation in passing yards/game (272.4). Anderson also led the conference and was 21st in the NCAA FCS in total passing yards and led the league and was seventh in the country in points responsible/game (17.6).
 
Over his Fordham career, Anderson, a two-year starter, has completed 430 of 667 passes for 5,907 yards and 59 touchdowns. He ranks fifth on the Fordham career passing yards list and third on the career passing touchdown list while his career completion percentage of 64.5 percent is fourth best. 
 

A consensus All-American, Edmonds, who finished fourth in the STATS FCS Offensive Player of the Year voting, was named the Rich Marrin MVP for the second consecutive year. He rushed 257 times for 1,799 yards and 19 touchdowns. A first team All-Patriot League pick, he led the NCAA FCS in rushing yards/game (163.5) and was second in total rushing yards and all-purpose yards per game (194.6) as well as ranking third in rushing touchdowns. The 1,799 yards gained in 2016 was just 39 shy of Edmonds' school single season record set in 2014.
 
Against Lafayette on October Edmonds rushed for a school and Patriot League record 359 yards and scored four touchdowns. What made that day ever more remarkable was that he gained the 359 yards (the most by an NCAA Division I player last year) on just 17 carries, averaging 21.1 yards per carry, setting an NCAA FCS record for most yards gained per rush in a game. The former mark was 19.07 set by VMI's Gene Brown in 1988.
 
Over his three-year career, Edmonds has rushed for a school record 5,285 yards, just 336 yards shy of Jordan Scott's Patriot League career record of 5,621 yards. He has 62 career rushing touchdowns and 69 overall career touchdowns, both school and Patriot League records.
 
Pavlik spoke on behalf of the players, first thanking the coaching staff and the parents for their support. He then spoke of how far the team has come over the past four years.
 
"When we arrived on campus as freshmen in 2013, we bought into a system that is the main reason we got to where we are today," said Pavlik. "Our coaches inspired us to be more than we thought we could be and for that we are grateful."
 
Senior defensive lineman Manny Adeyeye followed by reciting a poem, penned by Sister Anne Walsh, RSHM, one of the team's academic advisors.
  Breiner then took to the dais and called up each senior member, with each receiving a framed jersey and then offered a final recap to the 2016 season.
 
"We had lots of special moments in 2016," started Breiner. "Chase setting the Patriot League rushing record against Lafayette, the defense shutting down Georgetown, the true team win over Colgate on Senior Day and the win over Holy Cross in Yankee Stadium. But we also suffered some disappointments and I was really pleased at how the team responded to moments when they were challenged. For the players not only responded, they excelled. It's lessons like those that make us better players and better people."
 
The Rams are scheduled to open their 118th season of varsity football on Friday, September 1, as they travel to West Point, N.Y., to face the Army West Point Black Knights. Fordham is entering its 28th season as a member of the NCAA FCS Patriot League.