By DREW CASEY
Chase Edmonds is an exceptional college football player.
Honored with the Jerry Rice Award as the top freshman football player in the FCS last year, many are familiar with the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, native’s athletic talent. However, no one could have expected or predicted what the five-foot-nine-inch sophomore running back did on Saturday afternoon at Jack Coffey Field in the Bronx.
Helping the Fordham Rams to a 59-42 Patriot League win over the Lehigh Mountain Hawks, Edmonds rushed for a career-high 347 yards and totaled 402 all-purpose yards, including four total touchdowns.
“If he’s not the best football player in the country at this level, then I’d like to know who is,” Fordham head coach Joe Moorhead said. “It not only shows in his performance and his production, but it shows in his preparation, his work ethic and his character. The things that he does on the field fail to surprise me, because I’ve come to expect it from him, because he expects it of himself.”
The remarkable numbers set both Fordham and Patriot League single-game records. Edmonds even neared FCS records on a postcard-like fall day at Rose Hill. Maurice Hicks rushed for 437 yards for North Carolina A&T in 2001, while Joey Stockton amassed 467 all-purpose yards for Western Kentucky in 1995.
Despite the ultimate overall success that Edmonds and the Rams achieved on Saturday, the afternoon did not start out in promising fashion for the defending Patriot League champions.
After winning the opening coin toss and deferring possession until the second half, Fordham sent its defense, which allowed 570 total yards last week, to the field first. Despite starting deep in its own territory, Lehigh took an early 7-0 lead when junior quarterback Nick Shafnisky rushed three yards for his seventh touchdown of the season.
Attempting to answer and tie it up early, Fordham went three-and-out, giving possession quickly back to Lehigh. Shafnisky was not equally up to the task this time, though, as sophomore free safety Caleb Ham intercepted his first of two Lehigh passes. The Rams converted the turnover into points eight plays later when junior quarterback Kevin Anderson found freshman wide receiver Austin Longi in the end zone for a three-yard score. Longi’s fourth touchdown of the season tied it at seven.
Fordham’s defense kept the momentum on the home team’s side, when the unit forced a turnover on Lehigh’s next drive as well. Junior linebacker George Dawson recovered a Dom Bragalone fumble, and Fordham took over at their own 34-yd line.
Defense again turned into offense as senior tight end Phazahn Odom found the end zone on a 15-yd Anderson pass, putting the Rams on top for the first time.
With three losses entering play against tenth ranked Fordham, Lehigh did not begin to fold. In fact, they did just the opposite to close out the first half. The Mountain Hawks rattled off two straight touchdowns to take a 21-14 lead, and Fordham appeared to be in a bit of trouble. Junior place kicker Makay Redd helped to curb some of the visitor’s momentum, connecting on a 37-yd field goal with under two minutes remaining in the second quarter. Lehigh led 21-17 at halftime.
It was a tale of two halves.
Fordham emerged in the second half with new energy, in large part due to Edmonds, whose four scores all came in the final 30 minutes. The first second half highlight, though, was a recycled first half connection as Anderson hit Odom from 30 yards out to put the Rams up 24-21.
Enter Edmonds.
On Fordham’s next two drives, Edmonds scampered into the end zone from nine yards out before breaking off a 60-yd sprint to propel the Rams to a 38-21 lead.
“I don’t look at the things that I do great,” Edmonds said, referencing his second career collegiate game when he rushed for negative five yards on nine carries against Villanova last year. “I look at the things that I didn’t do or the chinks in the armor. I really want to [become] a complete football player.”
Lehigh answered with a score early in the fourth quarter after Edmonds and Anderson coughed up a handoff to make it a two possession game. Sophomore Nana Amankwah-Ayeh scored his first collegiate touchdown to cut the Mountain Hawks deficit to 10.
Edmonds and Anderson quickly made up for their turnover as the two teamed up on a 50-yd catch-and-run to keep the Rams in front, 45-28, early in the fourth quarter.
It was then time for the defense to step up yet again with a big play. Junior defensive back Jihaad Pretlow, who returned a kickoff for a touchdown last week, intercepted a Lehigh pass and took it back 23 yards to the end zone to put Fordham up 52-28.
The game was still not quite over yet as Lehigh rattled off two quick scores to make it 52-42 with over seven minutes left in regulation. Fordham quickly gave it back to Lehigh, but a late missed 34-yd field goal doomed the Mountain Hawks in the final minutes.
Edmonds added the final record-setting exclamation point just two plays after the missed field goal, rushing 75 yards for his fourth score of the afternoon.
“It was a great team win,” Moorhead said. “All three phases of the game, chipping in at the appropriate time. Offense putting points on the board. Defense creating turnovers. Special teams handling their business. And the credit goes to the kids and the coaches. I couldn’t be more proud of these guys.”
Fordham outscored Lehigh 42-21 in the second half after falling behind 21-17 in the first two quarters.
Edmonds has now amassed 1,734 total yards and 23 touchdowns in just eight games this season.
The 7-1 squad is next in action on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 1 p.m. at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. Colgate is 2-0 in the Patriot League and 3-4 overall.
“Part of the reason why we’ve been able to maintain and improve upon our level of success is we’re not looking too far off in the future,” Moorhead said. “Starting Sunday, [we have to] concentrate on our preparation, effort and execution and the things that it takes to defeat Colgate.”
