Following a heartbreaking loss against the College of the Holy Cross, Fordham Football was in need of a boost on Saturday against Bucknell University.
The Rams came just about as close as you can get to an iconic victory against the Crusaders, eventually falling by a score of 49-47 after junior running back Julius Loughridge was stopped on the goal line in the final moments of the game on a two-point attempt.
It was a heartbreaker in every sense of the word, but Fordham had little time to dwell on the loss.
Fordham needed a bounce back, and a matchup with Bucknell on Saturday from Moglia Stadium proved to be the perfect medicine.
The Rams defeated Bucknell 27-21 on the back of 328 passing yards and three touchdowns from sophomore quarterback CJ Montes. Fordham’s defensive line also had a massive day, contributing five sacks including one on the last play of the game from junior Matt Jaworski to seal the win. It was also senior day as Fordham honored their graduating players before the game.
Although both teams eventually totalled over 450 yards of offense each, Fordham and Bucknell started slowly in the first quarter. After an exchange of punts to begin the day, Montes fumbled the ball in his own territory. It was recovered by Brad Gerken of Bucknell, giving the Bison excellent field position.
The Fordham defense stood tall in a goal-to-go situation, forcing Bucknell to kick a short field goal for the early 3-0 lead. The Rams came right back down on their ensuing possession with an answer courtesy of a 23-yard field goal from senior Brandon Peskin.
After a stop from the defense, Fordham’s offense showed their big-play ability on the first snap of the second quarter. Montes hit graduate student MJ Wright on a 64-yard touchdown bomb over the top of the Bucknell defense to give Fordham a 10-3 advantage. Wright was Fordham’s leading receiver on the day, totalling 145 yards on seven catches in addition to that score.
The scoring picked up from here, as Bucknell answered Wright’s touchdown with a tally of their own. Bison quarterback Ralph Rucker found Derrick Anderson Jr. for a 20-yard touchdown that tied the game up at 10.
Fordham’s rushing attack took center stage on their next drive. Loughridge and freshman Jacob Rodriguez combined to push Fordham down the field, culminating in a 10-yard touchdown from Montes to senior Mekai Felton. As a team, Fordham rushed for 159 yards on the day with Loughridge carrying the bulk of the load and Montes, Rodriguez and sophomore Jack Kaiser providing some secondary yardage.
That was the score heading into halftime. A long Bucknell drive opened up the second half, but the Bison were eventually forced to punt and pinned the Rams deep in their own territory.
The poor field position was no problem for the Fordham offense. From their own nine-yard line, Montes connected with graduate student Garrett Cody on a deep ball down the left sideline. Cody secured the catch at his own 34 and took advantage of a stumbling Bucknell defender to take the ball 91 yards to the house. The long touchdown gave Fordham a 24-10 lead and energized the crowd at Moglia Stadium.
Bucknell slowly inched their way back into the game as the second half wore on. Fordham’s offense didn’t operate with the same success as they had earlier in the game, allowing the Bison to score 11 straight points and make it a 24-21 game in favor of the Rams.
With seven minutes to go in the fourth quarter, the Rams utilized a long drive to kill most of the remaining clock. A fourth down conversion from Loughridge kept the drive moving, and Fordham eventually moved towards the edge of Peskin’s field goal range with under two minutes to play.
Peskin then drilled a 44-yard field goal, giving the Rams extra insurance at 27-21.
But, Bucknell still had time to win it with a touchdown. The Bison moved the ball down to the Fordham 42-yard line with just five seconds left. Needing a miracle, Rucker dropped back for the hail mary attempt. Fordham’s three-man rush was able to break through, and Jaworski came up with the sack to seal the win.
With the close victory against Bucknell, Fordham improves to 6-3 on the season and 2-2 in the Patriot League. The Rams have two games left in the regular season, both on the road. They’ll square off with Lafayette College next Saturday, followed by a meeting with Colgate University the following weekend to close the regular season. Both of those games can be streamed on ESPN+ or listened to on WFUV 90.7 FM.
