Football Closes Out Season with Loss to Merrimack

BRONX – The 21 Fordham football student-athletes can take a page from Danish theologian and philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard who once said "Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Throughout most of today's game with Merrimack it seemed that the Rams were going backwards as the Warriors recorded eleven sacks and blocked a Fordham punt in the endzone as Merrimack defeated Fordham, 19-3, in the season finale at Moglia Stadium.
 
With the loss, Fordham closes out the season with a 2-10 record while Merrimack finishes the year at 5-6.
 
The Fordham defense was led by grad student linebacker Jackson Barletta, who finished with a career-high 14 tackles, nine solo, including one for loss, while grad student linebacker mike Courtney added ten stops, six solo.
 
The Fordham offense couldn't get on track, netting only 31 yards of total offense.
 
The Warriors got on the board first, blocking a Will Haslett punt attempt from the Fordham endzone that went out of the back of the endzone for a safety midway through the first quarter.
 
A one-yard scoring run four minutes later gave Merrimack a 9-0 lead before the Rams got on the board with a 43-yard Bennett Henderson field goal with 4:54 left in the half.
 
The 9-3 score held up until late in the third when the Warriors made it a 16-3 game with a 12-yard scoring pass and Merrimack closed out the scoring with a field goal in the fourth.
 
Takeaways
• Freshman kicker Bennett Henderson has converted his last eight field goal attempts, four of those for more than 40 yards, and closes out the season making good on ten of his 12 three-point attempts this year.
 
• He is third in the Patriot League in field goals made and field goal percentage (83.3%).
 
• The Fordham freshman record for field goals in a season is eleven set by Micah CLU key in 2003.
 
• Senior punter Will Haslett has appeared in all 35 games the Rams have played since he arrived in 2022.
 
• Haslett averaged 37.8 yards/punt with three of his six kicks landing inside the Merrimack 20.
 
• On the year Haslett averaged 42.0 yards/punt with 12 punts of more than 50 yards.
 
• The game was the first game that Fordham was held without a touchdown since a shutout loss at Colgate in 2018.
 
• It was the first meeting between Fordham and Merrimack on the gridiron.
 
By the Numbers
15 – Pass breakups this year by Nahil Perkins, the seventh best single season in school history.
 
27 – Career rushing touchdowns for Julius Loughridge, tied for fifth all-time at Fordham.
 
40 – Career pass breakups for Nihal Perkins, tied for third all-time at Fordham.
 
42 – Career starts for grad student offensive lineman Ryan Joyce.

42.5 – Career tackles for loss for Matt Jaworski, third all-time at Fordham.
 
95 – Tackles this year by Mike Courtney, a team-best.
 
1,044 – Rushing yards this season by Julius Loughridge, the 15th best single season in school history.
 
3,096 – Career rushing yards for Julius Loughridge, fifth place on the Fordham career rushing list.
 
What's Next?
• The Rams are slated to open the 2025 season on August 30 at Boston College.