Football Falls at Lafayette

Easton, Penn. – On this day 121 years ago, cheerleading began in the United States at a University of Minnesota football game. For the first half today, the Fordham cheerleaders had little to cheer for but that changed in the second half as Fordham rebounded from a 31-10 deficit to take a 34-31 lead with 3:36 left. But the joyfulness was short-lived as Lafayette scored on a ten-yard run with 1:48 remaining to defeat the Rams, 38-34, in a Patriot League game on Fisher Field.
 
With the loss, Fordham falls to 3-6 overall, 1-2 in the Patriot League, while Lafayette improves to 2-7 overall, 2-1 in the league.
 
The Fordham comeback started with a 17-yard scoring strike from sophomore quarterback Tim DeMorat to freshman received Dequece Carter late in the third quarter.
 
DeMorat then connected with junior Hamze El-Zayat on a six-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth and midway through the quarter, DeMorat found a wide open Jeff Ciccio with a 15-yard scoring pass to tie the game at 31.
 
Senior defensive back James Biggs-Frazier picked off the Lafayette quarterback on the ensuing possession and the Rams turned that into a 42-yard Andrew Mevis field goal to take a 34-13 lead with 3:36 on the clock.
 
But Lafayette drove down field and scored on a ten-yard run to take the lead for good.
 
Takeaways
 
• The Rams were missing Dervin Hylton, Jr. and Natani Drati in the defensive backfield.
 
• Four of the Fordham games this year have been decided by four points or less.
 
• The Rams recorded 251 of their 383 total yards on the day on the second half.
 
• Andrew Mevis kicked off seven times with six of those being touch backs.
 
• Mevis also averaged 42.2 yards/punt on four punts.
 
• Fordham picked off the Lafayette quarterback twice.
 
By the Numbers
 
3 – Catches this year by freshman tight end Jeff Ciccio, two of which were touchdowns.
 
9 – Total tackles by James Biggs-Frazier and Ryan Greenhagen, tying for the team-lead.
 
27 – Career touchdown passes for Tim DeMorat, ninth on the Fordham career list.
 
39.5 – Career tackles for loss for Glenn Cunningham.

170 - Receiving yards for fresham receiver Dequece Carter, one shy of the Fordham freshman single game record of 171 set by Kendall Creer in 1999)
 
315 – Passing yards for Tim DeMorat, a career-high.
 
316 – Career completions for Tim DeMorat, good for eighth on the Fordham all-time list.
 
7,575 – Career punting yards for Andrew Mevis, third all-time at Fordham.
 
What's Next?
• The Rams continue Patriot League play by traveling to Hamilton, N.Y., to face the Colgate University Raiders, the defending conference champions, in Andy Kerr Stadium on Saturday, November 9, at 1:00 p.m.
 
• It will be the 31st meeting between Fordham and Colgate on the gridiron.
 
• The Raiders lead the all-time series, which started in 1989, 23-7, and have taken the past two meetings, including a 41-0 win on Jack Coffey Field last November.