Bronx, N.Y. – On Dolly Parton Day, Fordham fans were reminded of one of the singer-songwriters biggest hits, Jolene, considered by critics as one of the greatest heartbreak songs ever recorded. The Stony Brook football team played the role of Jolene today, breaking the hearts of the Fordham football Homecoming crowd by downing the Rams, 31-16, at Moglia Stadium.
With the loss, Fordham fall to 1-4 on the year while Stony Brook improves to 3-2.
Senior running back
Jamell James paced the Fordham offense, rushing 14 times for 114 yards, including a 54-yard touchdown run, while senior quarterback
Gunnar Smith completed 15 of 23 passes for 145 yards and ran for a score.
Defensively, junior linebacker
Jaylen Dawson led all tacklers in the game with 14 stops, eight solo, while senior defensive back
Justin Johnson added ten tackles.
How it Happened
Stony Brook scored on the first possession of the game to take an early 7-0 lead before the Rams came back to tie the game on a fourth-and-one play from their own 46 that James took to the endzone.
The Seawolves then took advantage of a Fordham turnover to take a 14-7 lead with 10:11 left in the second before Rams drove to the Seawolves' 34 where Smit escaped the pocket and ran 34 yards for the score to make it a 14-13 game.
Just before the half, Stony Brook capped a 12-play, 80-yard drive with a seven-yard touchdown run to take a 21-13 lead into the half.
On their second possession of the second half, the Rams dove to the Stony Brook 20 where
Bennett Henderson connected on a 37-yard field goal to cut the Fordham deficit to five, 21-16.
A Stony Brook field goal early in the fourth bumped the Seawolves' lead back to eight, 24-26, before Stony Brook capped the day's scoring with a touchdown midway through the fourth.
Notes
• It was the second straight 100-yard rushing game for
Jamell James, who rushed for a career-high 163 yards last week at William & Mary.
• It was the second straight game the Rams had a touchdown run for more than 50 yards.
• Fordham was 2-for-2 in fourth down conversions.
• The Seawolves now lead the all-time series, 6-4, and have taken the past three meetings.
By the Numbers
4 – Pass breakups for the Rams.
8.1 – Average yards/rush for
Jamell James.
14 – Tackles by
Jaylen Dawson, a career-high.
42.0 – Punting average for
Dominic Sansone, who had a long of 52 today.
What's Next?
• The Rams return to the road, albeit a shorter road trip than the first three, traveling to Bethlehem, Pa., to take on Lehigh University, the defending Patriot League champions, in Goodman Stadium on Saturday, October 3, at 12:00 p.m.
• It will be the 38th meeting between Fordham and Lehigh on the gridiron.
• The Mountain Hawks lead the all-time series, which started in 1923, 27-10.
• Lehigh has taken the past two meetings, including a 27-6 win last year at Moglia Stadium as Hayden Johnson completed 17 of 26 passes for 267 yards and three different Mountain Hawks ran for a score.
