By Drew Casey
Fordham Football concluded its regular season schedule with a 38-31 win over Georgetown in Washington, D.C. on Saturday afternoon, improving to 9-2.
Despite the victory, by virtue of Colgate’s 49-42 win against Lehigh later in the day, Fordham cannot win the Patriot League. Colgate will receive the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA FCS Championship, regardless of results next weekend, and Fordham will await word on a possible at-large bid. Its fate will be handed down when the FCS postseason bracket is released Sunday, Nov. 22, at 11 a.m.
“We’re 9-2. We’ve lost to Villanova when they were the number two ranked team in the country by seven and two to Colgate,” Moorhead said. “If we’re not selected as an at-large team at a minimum, it’s a complete travesty. We absolutely deserve to be one of the teams in the FCS Playoffs.”
It was by no means an easy win on Saturday as the contest came down to Georgetown’s final possession. With 27 seconds left, Hoyas quarterback Kyle Nolan was intercepted in the end zone by Rams linebacker David Barletta.
“He [Barletta] did a good job of getting depth,” Moorhead said. “He did a good job of reading the quarterback’s eyes, and made a play to seal the game. That was a great job by our defense in the second half.”
As for the first half, Georgetown got on the board first with a quick Alex Valles 19-yd touchdown run, but then Fordham took over.
The Rams rattled off 28 consecutive points to take a commanding 28-7 lead at Cooper Field. Junior quarterback Kevin Anderson found freshman wide receiver Jonathan Lumley from seven yards out for the first score before sophomore running back Chase Edmonds scampered into the end zone from five yards out later in the first quarter.
Anderson and Lumley connected in the end zone for the second time early in the second quarter before graduate linebacker Stephen Hodge intercepted Nolan and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown. Fordham held the 28-7 advantage with 6:37 remaining in the first half.
But Georgetown did not go away. After an explosive kick return on the ensuing kickoff, Nolan scored on a 12-yd run just 26 seconds after Fordham’s defensive touchdown. Georgetown added another touchdown with just seven seconds left in the half to head into the break down just 28-21.
Fordham opened the second half scoring in the middle of the third quarter with Alejandro Cardenas’ 40-yd field goal to go up by two possessions. Georgetown got on the board late in the frame when Nolan tossed another touchdown to cut their deficit to 31-28.
In the fourth quarter, the Hoyas tied it with 5:17 left in regulation on a 34-yd field goal, but the Rams were unfazed. Fordham defensive back Jihaad Pretlow returned the ensuing kickoff 76 yards to the Georgetown 21-yd line to set up the offense.
“We have the number two kickoff return team in the league,” Moorhead said. “[Pretlow has] done a good job returning kicks the entire year. We needed a play there.”
On just the third play of the drive, sophomore running back Jarred Brevard scored his first career touchdown from the 10-yd line. The score put the Rams up 38-31 with 3:53 left in the fourth quarter.
“Jarred Brevard going in for Chase and making a play for the game-winning touchdown, I can’t say enough about this team’s resiliency and tenacity and ability to stick together and find a way to win football games,” Moorhead said. “The bigger the situation, the better we perform. That’s been happening the entire season. When we need to make a play, we find a way to make it.”
The game did not end quietly, though. The Hoyas had a chance to tie it late, but then Barletta intercepted Nolan in the end zone with 27 seconds left in regulation.
Anderson totaled 217 passingyards for Fordham, while Nolan recorded 328 for Georgetown. Both Anderson and Nolan recorded two touchdowns and two interceptions each. Edmonds led Ram rushers with 141 yards and a touchdown on the ground, while freshman Jordan Allen led Ram receivers with 57 yards.
Fordham forced four turnovers in the win, bringing their season total to 28 in 11 games played.
In the midst of their bye week, the Rams will look to get healthy and will begin preparation for the playoffs.
