Although it happened a week later than they would have liked, Fordham Football is in the win column in 2023.
Boosted by a five-touchdown performance from sophomore quarterback CJ Montes, the Rams took down Wagner College 46-16 in the home opener at Moglia Stadium on Jack Coffey Field this past Saturday.
Montes and Fordham’s offense were much-improved from last week’s season-opening loss to the University at Albany, where the Rams struggled to get any kind of momentum going. Montes was sacked eight times against the Great Danes and threw for just 198 yards as Fordham slumped to a 34-13 defeat.
In week two, the offensive line did a much better job protecting the University of New Mexico transfer. Montes was sacked only twice as he totalled 319 yards on 24/31 passing and five touchdowns against Wagner.
Fordham’s head coach Joe Conlin was pleased with the improvement of Montes from last week, saying after the game, “I thought he was a little hesitant in game one, and tonight he was pretty well on. I didn’t realize he had the night he had until I looked at it after… He was pretty sharp.”
The Rams struck early and often on Saturday.
On Fordham’s opening offensive possession of the game, Montes hit senior wide receiver Mekai Felton over the middle of the field for a 44-yard touchdown to get the Rams started on the right note.
Wagner responded with a field goal late in the first, but junior running back Julius Loughridge gave Fordham a 14-3 lead by scoring his first touchdown of the season early in the second quarter.
Montes then connected with senior wide receiver MJ Wright on a 23-yard score to put the Rams on top 20-3 heading into halftime.
The second half saw more of the same, with junior linebacker James Conway forcing a fumble early in the third to set Fordham up deep in Wagner territory. From there, it took just one play for Montes to connect with Wright for a 21-yard touchdown, making it a 27-3 Fordham lead.
After a Wagner touchdown made it 27-10, Montes hit senior wide receiver Garrett Cody on a floated pass down the seam for a 22-yard touchdown strike. Cody was the Rams leading receiver on the day with 102 yards and a score.
Wagner once again struck early in the fourth quarter to get a little closer, but late touchdowns from junior tight end Jaden Allen and freshman running back Jacob Rodriguez (the first of his career) sealed the deal for the Rams and secured the 46-16 victory.
Behind Cody, Wright and Felton had big days in the receiving game, totaling 96 yards and 95 yards, respectively. In the rushing game, Loughridge led the way with 85 yards and a score. But the Rams also got excellent rushing contributions from Montes, who showed off his legs to the tune of 58 rushing yards on the day. Montes looked much more comfortable in all facets of the game in his second start as a Ram.
Just as the offense was much-improved in week two, so was the defense. Led by Conway, the Rams forced three turnovers and could have had more if not for several dropped interceptions. Conway himself had 13 tackles and a forced fumble as Fordham’s defense sacked Wagner quarterback Steven Krajewski three times and allowed just 16 points. Sophomore defensive lineman Sam Buerkle recovered two fumbles, while fellow sophomore linebacker Mark Pretto registered nine tackles and a sack.
Fordham’s defense allowed the most points in team history last season, so an improvement this year was a necessity. The Albany game left a lot to be desired, but the Fordham defense bounced back in a big way against Wagner and showed what they can do when things are clicking on all cylinders.
After the game, Conlin was pleased with his team’s performance overall but insisted that there are still plenty of things for the team to improve on.
“Too many dumb penalties, have to do better there,” Conlin said. “Some early special teams things that we cleaned up later on. Saw a lot of growth during the game, but still if we want to be the team we want to be there’s a lot we’ve gotta clean up.”
Through two weeks, we’ve seen two distinctly different versions of Fordham Football. If the week two version is the one we’re going to see the rest of the year, Fordham fans have a lot to be excited about. Montes and the offense were clicking in a big way in week two, as was the defense. Fans will hope this past week was a sign of things to come for the Rams as they continue their non-conference schedule.
Fordham’s next test will be their toughest of the season thus far as the Rams travel to upstate New York this Saturday to take on the University of Buffalo, a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) school.
Buffalo faced the nationally ranked University of Wisconsin Badgers last week and showed fight, despite eventually falling to the Badgers by a score of 38-17.
Last season, Fordham fell just short of beating an FBS school when they lost 59-52 to Ohio University. They’ll look for a statement win against Buffalo this Saturday in what will be the Bulls home opener. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start and can be watched live on ESPN+ or listened to on WFUV 90.7 FM.
