Football Takes Down Lehigh, 40-28

Bethlehem, Pa. – There are many adjectives that can describe the 2022 Fordham University Football squad. Boring is not one of them. For the second straight week, the Rams found themselves down 14 in the first quarter and for the second straight week they came back, defeating Lehigh University, 40-28, in a Patriot League game in Goodman Stadium.
 
With the win, Fordham improves to 5-1 overall, 2-0 in the Patriot League, while Lehigh falls to 1-5 overall, 1-1 in the Patriot League.
 
Senior quarterback Tim DeMorat had another stat-filled game, completing 26 of 37 passes for 499 yards and four touchdowns. His favorite receiver on the day was senior MJ Wright, who caught four passes for a career-high 226 yards and two scores while senior Dequece Carter hauled in three passes for 129 yards and a touchdown.
 
For the second consecutive week, the Rams had a 100-yard rusher as sophomore Julius Loughridge gained 104 yards on ten carries with a touchdown.
 
Defensively, Fordham surrendered just 14 points. The defense was led by sophomore linebacker James Conway, who finished with nine tackles, eight solo, including two for loss, while grad student linebacker Ryan Greenhagen added seven solo stops, including two for loss.
 
Lehigh returned the opening kickoff for a score and then collected a fumble and returned it for a touchdown to take a 14-0 lead just four minutes into the game.
 
The Rams managed to tie the game later in the quarter on two long plays, a 42-yard run from Loughridge and a 48-yard connection from DeMorat to Wright.
 
Fordham trailed 21-17 at the half but scored just two plays into the second half to take the lead for good, 24-21, 51 seconds into the period.
 
 
Takeaways
• The Rams have scored 40 or more points in every game this year.
 
• Fordham held its second straight opponent to under 100 rushing yards.
 
• The Rams are now 3-1 this year when trailing at the half.
 
• Fordham punter Will Haslett had one punt on the day, that coming in the second quarter, his first punt since the fourth quarter of the Ohio game.
 
• Junior placekicker Brandon Peskin booted a pair of field goals and connected on all four of his PATs.
 
• DeMorat would have had more than 500 yards passing in the game but his first pass attempt was tipped by Lehigh and caught by offensive lineman Ryan Joyce for a loss of seven yards.
 
• It was Fordham's third win at Lehigh in the last four meetings in Goodman Stadium.
 
• Rams have taken seven of the past nine meetings with Lehigh.
 
• The game was the first of two games this year the Rams will play on natural grass (at Holy Cross).
 
• It is only the seventh game over the past six years that the Rams have played on the natural
grass.
 
 
By the Numbers
6 - Career 400-yard passing games for Tim DeMorat, four of them coming this year.
 
16 – Career 300-yard passing games for Tim DeMorat, breaking Mike Nebrich's (2012-2014) school record.
 
22 – Career receiving touchdowns for Dequece Carter, fifth all-time at Rose Hill.
 
30 – Passing touchdowns in 2022 for Tim DeMorat, already the tied for the fourth most in a season for a Ram quarterback (school record is 35 by Mike Nebrich in 2013).
 
28 – Career 200-yard passing games for Tim DeMorat, a new school record (former mark was 26 by John Skelton (2006-2009).
 
97 – Career touchdown passes for Tim DeMorat, a school record.

178 – Career receptions for Fotis Kokosioulis, moving him into a tie for fifth with Sam Ajala (2011-2014) on the Fordham all-time list.

299 – Points scored by Fordham over the first six games.
 
220 – Career solo tackles for Ryan Greenhagen, second on the all-time list at Fordham (record is 232 by Ian Williams (2011-2014).

371 – Career tackles for Ryan Greenhagen, third on the Fordham career tackles list.
 
632 – Total offense for the Rams, their fifth straight 600+-yard game.
 
865 – Career completions for Tim DeMorat, a new school record (old record was 802 by John Skelton (2006-2009).
 
2,360 – Career receiving yards for Dequece Carter, sixth place all-time at Fordham.
 
2,452 – Career receiving yards for Fotis Kokosioulis, moving him into fifth on the all-time list for the Rams.

2,652– Passing yards for Tim DeMorat this season.
  
11,215 – Career passing yards for Tim DeMorat, a Fordham career record.
 
What's Next?
• The Rams close out their nonconference schedule by hosting the Stony Brook university Seawolves on Jack Coffey Field next Saturday, October 15, at 6:00 p.m.
 
• It will be the sixth meeting between Fordham and Stony Brook on the gridiron.
 
• The Seawolves lead the all-time series, 3-2, but the Rams took last year's meeting, 34-14, at Stony Brook on September 25 as Tim DeMorat completed 21 of 33 passes for 280 yards and four touchdowns.
 
• It will be the fourth meeting on the NCAA FCS level as the first two meetings occurred on the NCAA Division III level.