Football Rallies for Homecoming Win over UAlbany

Bronx, N.Y – Fordham head football coach Joe Conlin entered the 2022 season 43 years old. If the Rams have any more games like the ones they had over the past two weeks, Conlin may be ready to apply for Social Security when the season ends. Trailing by eleven after three quarters, Fordham rallied for 21 fourth quarter points to get by the University at Albany Great Danes, 48-45, before a Homecoming crowd on Jack Coffey Field.
 
With the win, Fordham goes to 3-0 on the season while UAlbany falls to 0-3. It is the first 3-0 start to the season since 2013 when the Rams opened with ten straight wins.
 
Senior quarterback Tim DeMorat was the story of the game for Fordham, completing 33 of 53 passes for 464 yards and five touchdowns. It was the second straight 400-yard passing game for DeMorat who brought his Fordham career record for touchdown tosses to 83.
 
DeMorat completed passes to nine different receivers, led by seniors Fotis Kokosioulis, who caught nine passes for 81 yards and MJ Wright, who hauled in seven balls for 99 yards and one score. Senior Garrett Cody made the most of his four catches, amassing 123 yards and two scores.
 
Defensively, sophomore linebacker James Conway recorded 15 total tackles, seven solo, including one sack, while grad student linebacker Ryan Greenhagen added eight stops, including 1.5 for loss.
 
The Rams trailed 38-27 entering the fourth quarter when DeMorat hit Cody with a 50-yard scoring strike to pull the Rams within five, 38-33, early in the quarter.
 
After the Fordham defense forced the Great Danes to punt on their next possession, DeMorat drove the Rams to the UAlbany 19 where he hit sophomore tight end Jaden Allen over the middle to give the Rams a 41-38 lead with 9:24 remaining.
 
UAlbany quickly retook the lead with a score at the 6:18 mark before grad student running back Trey Sneed led the Rams downfield, eventually scoring on a seven-yard run to put the Rams up for good, 48-45, with 4:50 left.
 
The Great Danes drove to the Fordham 35 but on fourth down, Stephen Williams II blitzed and forced an incomplete pass giving the ball back to the Rams who ran out the clock.
 
Takeaways
• Sophomore tight end Jaden Allen and freshman tight end Matt Buron both caught their first collegiate touchdowns in the game.
 
• The Rams now lead the all-time series with UAlbany, 5-4.
 
• The 2013 Rams opened the season with ten straight wins.
 
• Fordham has won eight of their past 12 home openers.
 
• Conway notched his ninth career double-figure tackles game.
 
• It was be the second of three CAA opponents for the Rams this year (Monmouth and Stony Brook).
 
• Member of the 2002 Patriot League championship team where among the 5,000 fans in attendance for Homecoming.
 
By the Numbers
0 – Sacks allowed by the Fordham offensive line over the past two games (on 104 pass attempts).
 
4 – Career 400-yard passing games for Tim DeMorat.
 
13 – Career 300-yard passing games for Tim DeMorat.
 
25 – Career 200-yard passing games for Tim DeMorat, one shy of the school record.
 
49.2 – Punting average for Will Haslett, including two 50+-yard punts.
 
83 – Career touchdown passes for Tim DeMorat, a school record.

148 – Points scored by Fordham over the first three games.
 
157 – Career receptions for Fotis Kokosioulis, moving him into tenth on the Fordham all-time list.

197 – Career solo tackles for Ryan Greenhagen, fourth all-time at the school.

335 – Career tackles for Ryan Greenhagen, moving him into third on the Fordham career tackles list.

603 – Total offense for the Rams, their second straight 600+-yard game.
 
791 – Career completions for Tim DeMorat, second on the all-time list, and eleven behind John Skelton for the Fordham career record.
 
2,045 – Career receiving yards for Fotis Kokosioulis, tenth all-time for the Rams.
 
2,064 – Career receiving yards for Dequece Carter, moving him into ninth place all-time at Fordham.
 
9,865 – Career passing yards for Tim DeMorat, second all-time at Fordham, 58 yards behind John Skelton's career record.
 
What's Next?
• The Rams return to the road, traveling to Athens, Ohio, to face the Ohio University Bobcats in Peden Stadium.
 
• It will be the first meeting between Fordham and Ohio on the gridiron.
 
• The game will be Fordham's fourth in the Buckeye State, the first since a 2012 game at Cincinnati.
 
• The Rams are 2-3 all-time against teams currently in the MAC (Buffalo (1-2) , Akron (1-0), Ball State (0-1)).
 
• The most recent matchup with a MAC school was at Ball State in 2019.