By Sam Belden
Like last year, Fordham Football split its first two games of 2015 season, but since then, the team has gone undefeated and has kept on pace to qualify for a third consecutive playoff berth. In their most recent game, a 35-7 road win against Patriot League opponent Lafayette, the Rams got the job done by continuing to do what they have done all year: mixing it up on offense and refusing to let the other team charge down the field.
It was the first win for the Rams while visiting the Leopards since 2007. In the three matchups between the two teams at Lafayette’s Fisher Stadium between then and now, the host has emerged victorious every time.
While the end result was a positive one for Fordham, the Rams started the game off on the wrong foot. After junior Jihaad Pretlow, returning the opening kickoff, failed to successfully lateral to junior Kendall Pearcey, Lafayette took over on the Fordham ten. A quick run from running back DeSean Brown allowed the Leopards to take the first lead of the contest.
Later on in the first quarter, the home team prepared for a field goal attempt, but graduate student Stephen Hodge swooped in to block the kick, holding Lafayette to a one-score lead. Then, junior George Dawson recovered the ball for Fordham and ran it to the Lafayette five, giving his team an opportunity to score the equalizing touchdown. On the next play, junior quarterback Kevin Anderson did just that, finding senior tight end Phazahn Odom in the end zone to tie the score at seven apiece.
Just as the first quarter was winding down, sophomore running back Chase Edmonds broke through the Lafayette defense to go on a 67 yard touchdown run, doubling the Rams’ score. They got another within the first few minutes of the second when Pearcey ran it 16 yards into the end zone. By the end of the first half, Fordham’s lead was 14.
Early on in the second half, Anderson continued the Rams’ scoring demonstration, finding freshman wide receiver Corey Caddle for a 71-yard gain and a touchdown. Edmonds scored the game’s final seven points towards the end of the third, running the ball a single yard into the end zone. The fourth quarter was scoreless, and by the time the clock ran out, Fordham had it by a margin of 28 points.
Statistically, Edmonds was the main difference-maker for Fordham, putting up a career-high 234 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Anderson was also valuable, hitting just half of his targets but also throwing two touchdown passes and zero interceptions. Both Caddle and Odom made a pair of catches, one for a touchdown.
Despite all of that, however, Fordham’s biggest stars of the game were probably its defenders. While Fordham was three-for-three in scoring touchdowns once it reached the red zone, Lafayette crossed the goal line in just one of five attempts. The defenders dished out 10 tackles for loss and five sacks, making things difficult for the Leopards. By the end of the game, they had successfully worn down the opposition; the Rams controlled the ball for almost 11 minutes of the final quarter.
Next, Fordham will head to Philadelphia for a road matchup against the University of Pennsylvania, its second Ivy League opponent of the year (the Rams previously defeated Columbia, 44-24). The game will be held this Saturday at 1 p.m. at Penn’s Franklin Field.
