Football Outruns Colgate, 20-14

BRONX – Today is day two of Día de (los) Muertos, otherwise known as The Day of the Dead. Day two focuses on honoring the lives of the departed adults. The day is filled with music as village bands play in their towns. Today, Moglia Stadium at Jack Coffey Field was filled with music from the Fordham band and that music carried over to the Victory Bell, where the Rams huddled to sing the Fordham Fight Song and celebrate a 20-14 Patriot League win over Colgate University.
 
With the win, Fordham improves to 1-8 on the season, 1-3 in the Patriot League, while Colgate falls to 2-7 overall, 1-2 in the League.
 
As part of The Day of the Dead the Rams honored the memory of Hall of Famer Vince Lombardi with a stingy defensive effort, led by senior linebacker James Conway. Conway recorded eight tackles in the game to being his career total to 425, tying him with Ryan Greenhagen (2018-22) for the Fordham career record. He is now just seven tackles shy of the Patriot League record of 432, held by Holy Cross' Jacob Dobbs (2019-23).
 
Conway wasn't alone in pacing the Fordham defense as grad student linebacker Jackson Barletta led the Rams with eleven tackles, including one for loss, and grad student defensive back Nahil Perkins added six stops while picking off two passes.
 
Offensively, senior running back Julius Loughridge carried 25 times for 153 yards and one touchdown while junior quarterback Jack Capaldi completed 12 of 17 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown and he ran for another score.
 
With the score tied at 14 Fordham took over on its own ten following a Colgate punt. The Ram offense went to work, both on the ground and in the air, moving down to the Colgate ten where Capaldi connected with grad student wide receiver Mekai Felton in the endzone for a score with 5:23 remaining. Fordham did not face a third down call on the drive.
 
Colgate moved to midfield on the ensuing drive but Matt Jaworski sacked Colgate quarterback Jake Stearney back to the Colgate 39 on fourth down.
 
Fordham took over on its own 13 following the punt with 1:56 left. Three plays netted seven yards and the Rams lined up to punt on fourth down. But on the punt the Raiders were called for running into the kicker, giving Fordham a first down and the Rams kneeled three times to end the game.
 
The first half was a defensive battle with Colgate taking advantage of a Fordham turnover to score the only points of the half and take a 7-0 lead at the break.
 
The Rams tied the game on their first possession of the second half on a 13-yard Loughridge scoring run but the Raiders responded with a 27-yard Stearney scoring rush to take a 14-7 lead midway through the third.
 
Fordham knotted the game at 14 late in the third when Capaldi faked a handoff to Loughridge and took it around the right side from 41 yards for the score.
 
Takeaways
• Julius Loughridge recorded his third 100-yard rushing game of the year and the 14th of his career.
 
• Nahil Perkins entered the game leading the Patriot League and tied for fourth in the nation in passes defended with 1.5/game.
 
• The two interceptions today for Perkins brings his season total to five.
 
• Senior defensive lineman Matt Jaworski entered the game leading the Patriot league in tackles for loss/game (1.63) and notched two today.
 
• Capaldi's 41-yard scoring rush was the longest run and longest scoring run for a Fordham quarterback since Sean Holland recorded a 45-yard scoring run in 2021.
 
• Colgate running back Marco Maldonado had not been tackled for a loss all season entering the game but on his first carry of the game Fordham's Matt Jaworski tackled him in the backfield.
 
• The Raiders entered the game averaging 151.5 rushing yards/game, fourth in the Patriot League, but were limited to a season-low 76 today.
 
• The game was Fordham's annual Salute to Service game.
 
• Colgate wide receivers coach Ian Pace is a Fordham alum, playing for the Rams from 2005-2008 and serving as an assistant coach at Rose Hill from 2013-2019.
 
By the Numbers
7 – Pass breakups by the Rams.
 
9 – Career interceptions for Nahil Perkins.
 
14 – Career 100-yard rushing games for Julius Loughridge, the fourth most in school history.
 
25 – Career rushing touchdowns for Julius Loughridge, moving him into a tie for seventh on the Fordham all-time list.
 
26 – First downs for the Rams, a season-high.
 
35 – Career pass breakups for Nahil Perkins, tied for fourth on the Fordham career list.
 
49 – Rushing attempts for Fordham, a season-high.
 
76 – Net rushing yards by Colgate, a season-low for the Raiders.
 
182 – Net rushing yards for the Rams, tying their season-high.
 
425 – Career tackles for James Conway, tying him with Ryan Greenhagen for the Fordham career record.
 
2,848 – Career rushing yards for Julius Loughridge, sixth on the Fordham career list.
 
What's Next?
• The Rams continue the 2024 season and go back on the road, traveling to Lewisburg, Penn., to face the Bucknell University Bison for a Patriot League matchup at Christy Mathewson Stadium on Saturday, November 9, at 1:00 p.m.
 
• It will be the 40th meeting between Fordham and Bucknell on the gridiron.
 
• Fordham leads the all-time series, which started in 1929, 21-18, and has tak­en the past eleven meetings, including a 27-21 victory last November 4 at Moglia Stadium as CJ Montes completed 18 of 33 passes for 328 yards and four touchdowns with MJ Wright catching seven passes for 145 yards and one score.