Football Falls to Holy Cross On Homecoming

 
Bronx, N.Y. – After playing a nearly flawless first half, the Fordham football squad couldn't carry the momentum into the second as Holy Cross came from behind to defeat the Rams, 49-27, in a Patriot League game on Jack Coffey Field.
 
With the loss, Fordham falls to 3-8 overall, 1-4 in the Patriot League, while Holy Cross improves to 6-5 overall, 4-1 in the league.
 
The loss overshadowed a career day for sophomore quarterback Tim DeMorat, who completed 23 of 41 passes for a career-high 346 yards and three touchdowns. Seven of his passes went to freshman wide out Dequece Carter for 120 yards and two touchdowns while junior Hamze El-Zayat caught nine passes for 122 yards and one score.
 
On the ground, junior Trey Sneed gained 92 yards on 14 carries while Zach Davis had 60 yards on 17 with a touchdown.
 
The Rams took a 7-0 lead on an eight-yard Davis touchdown run early in the second and then boosted the lead to 14-0 when DeMorat found Carter in the end zone with six seconds left in the half.
 
Fordham appeared to be on the verge of scoring early in the third quarter as Holy Cross fumbled the opening kickoff and it was recovered by the Rams on the Holy Cross eleven. But the officials ruled that there was an inadvertent whistle and ordered a re-kick.
 
The Crusaders scored twice in the third to knot the game at 14 but Fordham managed to retake the lead on a 32-yard scoring strike from DeMorat to El-Zayat with 12:32 remaining in the fourth. However, the floodgates opened on the Rams as Holy Cross scored 35 unanswered points before DeMorat connected with Carter from 13 yards out on the final play of the game.
 
Takeaways
• Sophomore linebacker Ryan Greenhagen, who entered the game leading the Patriot League in tackles/game, had seven stops today, including two for loss and one sack.
 
• The game was the second 100-yard receiving game of the year for Carter and the first for El-Zayat.
 
• It was the second straight year in which the Rams had two 100-yard receivers in one game (Austin Longi and Corey Caddle did it last year at Lehigh).
 
• Junior Andrew Mevis kicked off four times with all four kicks resulting in touchbacks.
 
• It was the first time Fordham held an opponent scoreless in the first half since the final game of the 2017 season vs. Bucknell.
 
• The Rams lost despite winning the time of possession battle, 33:50 to 26:10.
 
• The Crusaders have taken the past three matchups and now lead the all-time Ram Crusader Cup series, 18-16.
 
By the Numbers
7 – Tackles by freshman Jackson Barletta, a team-high.
 
30 – Career touchdown passes for Tim DeMorat, tying him with Joe Moorhead (1992-95) and Derric Daniels (2004-6) for seventh on the Fordham career list.
 
31.5 – Career tackles for loss for Ryan Greenhagen, who had two today, tying him for sixth on the Fordham career list.
 
122 – Receiving yards for Hamze El-Zayat, a career-high (previous high was 95 at Colgate last week).
 
346 – Passing yards for Tim DeMorat, a career-high (previous high was 315 at Lafayette earlier this year).
 
357 – Career completions by Tim DeMorat, good for seventh on the Fordham all-time list.
 
8,345 – Career punting yards for junior Andrew Mevis, second all-time at Fordham.
 
What's Next?
• The Rams close out the season by hosting the Bucknell University Bison in a Patriot League game next Saturday, November 23, at 1:00 p.m. on Jack Coffey Field.
 
• This will be 35th meeting between Fordham and Bucknell on the gridiron.
 
• The Bison lead the all-time series, which started in 1929, 18-16, but Fordham has taken the past six meetings, including a 17-14 win in Christy Mathewson Stadium last November 17 as Antonio Jackson returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown.