Football Falls at Holy Cross in Overtime

Worcester, Mass. – It was billed as one of the top games of the week in NCAA FCS football. And it lived up to the hype. Holy Cross scored a two-point conversion in the first overtime to defeat Fordham, 53-52, on Fitton Field in the annual Ram-Crusader Cup game.
 
With the loss, Fordham, who entered the game ranked 15th in the NCAA FCS Coaches poll, falls to 6-2 overall, 2-1 in the Patriot League, while Holy Cross, ranked eighth in the poll, stays unbeaten at 8-0 overall, 4-0 in the league.
 
Fordham senior quarterback Tim DeMorat completed 19 of 38 passes for 256 yards and five touchdowns. The five touchdowns brings his season total to 38, breaking the Fordham and Patriot League single game mark set by Fordham's Mike Nebrich in 2013.
 
DeMorat's favorite receiver on the day was senior Dequece Carter, who caught four passes for 107 yards and three touchdowns, while junior Mekai Felton grabbed four passes for 92 yards and two scores.
 
The Fordham offense also two 100-yard rushers with sophomore Julius Loughridge carrying 15 times for 126 yards and one score and grad student Trey Sneed gaining 104 yards on 18 carries.
 
Defensively, junior linebacker James Conway led the Rams with eleven tackles, eight solo, while senior Alfonzo Dixon added seven tackles, including 2.0 for loss.
 
Fordham scored on the first play of overtime, on a 25-yard pass from DeMorat to Carter, but Holy Cross managed to tie it with a 9-yard scoring strike. The Crusaders then decided to go for the two-point conversion which they made for the 53-52 win.
 
Takeaways
• It was the second time this season that Fordham had two 100-yard rushers in a game (Georgetown).
 
• The Rams fell for the first time in four games when they were leading at the half.
 
• Fordham scored more than 50 pints in each of its two losses this year.
 
• The game featured two of the 15 finalists (Fordham's Ryan Greenhagen and Holy Cross' Peter Oliver) for the 2022 William V. Campbell Trophy®, college football's premier scholar-athlete award that annually recognizes an individual as the absolute best in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.
 
• The game featured the two first team preseason All-Patriot League quarterbacks and running backs.
 
• The game featured the Patriot League preseason favorite (Holy Cross) vs. the team predicted to finish second (Fordham).
 
• The contest was the Rams' second of the season on natural grass (the Rams defeated Lehigh on the real stuff on October 8).
 
• It was only eighth game over the past six years that the Rams have played on the natural grass.
 
• Fordham is 34-14 against Patriot League opponents over the past nine years.
 
By the Numbers
26 – Career receiving touchdowns for Dequece Carter, fifth all-time at Rose Hill.
 
38 – Passing touchdowns in 2022 for Tim DeMorat, a school and Patriot League record (old record as 35 by Fordham's Mike Nebrich in 2013).
 
30 – Career 200-yard passing games for Tim DeMorat, a new school record (former mark was 26 by John Skelton (2006-2009).
 
105 – Career touchdown passes for Tim DeMorat, a school record.

191 – Career receptions for Fotis Kokosioulis, moving him into fourth on the Fordham all-time list.

396 – Points scored by Fordham in 2022 (school record is 569 set by the 2014 team).
 
229 – Career solo tackles for Ryan Greenhagen, second on the all-time list at Fordham (record is 232 by Ian Williams (2011-2014).

386 – Career tackles for Ryan Greenhagen, moving him into second on the Fordham career tackles list (school record is 409 by Mark Blazejewski (1988-92).
 
911 – Career completions for Tim DeMorat, a new school record (old record was 802 by John Skelton (2006-2009).
  
2,543 – Career receiving yards for Fotis Kokosioulis, sixth on the all-time list for the Rams.

2,607 – Career receiving yards for Dequece Carter, fifth place all-time at Fordham.

3,279– Passing yards for Tim DeMorat this season, fourth most in a season for a Ram.
  
11,842 – Career passing yards for Tim DeMorat, a Fordham career record.
 
What's Next?
• The Rams continue Patriot League play by traveling to Lewisburg, Pa., to face the Bucknell University Bison in Christy Mathewson Stadium on Saturday, November 5, at 1:00 p.m.
 
• It will be the 38th meeting between Fordham and Bucknell on the gridiron.
 
• Fordham leads the all-time series, which started in 1929, 19-18, and has taken the past nine meetings, including a 66-21 victory on Jack Coffey Field last October 16 as Tim DeMorat completed 26 of 36 passes for 318 yards and tied a school record with six touchdowns with Fotis Kokosioulis catching three of the scoring strikes.