The door was open for Georgetown, but Fordham’s defense slammed it shut.
The Rams topped the Hoyas 38-31 yesterday at Jack Coffey Field thanks to a pair of goal-line stands, including one that gave Fordham the ball back with just 1:43 left in the game to preserve its one-score lead.
“We knew what we needed to do,” Fordham linebacker and defensive captain Mike Martin said. “We came together as a defense and we made the plays that we needed to make.
“You can’t ask for a better end defensively.”
Fordham (4-2) stopped Hoyas quarterback Stephen Skon on fourth-and-goal after stuffing running back Nick Campanella on three straight tries.
“[The goal-line stand] had a tremendous impact on this game,” Ramscoach Joe Moorhead said. “Our defense, when they needed to make a stop, made a stop.”
Fordham led by as many as 13 in the second half after senior running back Carlton Koonce (99 yards, two TDs) scored on a 44-yard touchdown run. It was Koonce’s longest run of the day and the first time he was able to gain significant yards against Georgetown (3-3).
“Coach always tells us to stay patient,” Koonce said. “We have faith in the O-line. We’re committed to the run game, so that’s what we are going to do. We weren’t expecting a [44-yard run] but it worked out for the better.”
Koonce, who also added the eventual game-winning touchdown run in the fourth quarter, had his streak of consecutive 100-yard games snapped at three.
While Koonce was not his usual self, the Hoyas enjoyed a good day on the ground, gaining 196 yards on 54 total carries, the majority of which came from Dalen Claytor, who had 76 yards.
The Rams did win the passing battle however, with senior quarterback Ryan Higgins picking apart the Hoyas secondary for 305 yards on 29-of-38 passing and two TDs. Fordham scored 22 points in the second half and three of its four touchdowns.
“We’re a good second- half team, we put points on the board,” Higgins said. “We kind of got the run game going, which opened up the pass game. 38 [points], that’s a pretty good game for us.”
The Rams (4-2) squandered several opportunities, managing to come away with just three points despite starting in Georgetown (3-3) territory three times in the first half. For a team that brings out an ax before each game, Fordham was not very sharp, committing 10 penalties for 84 yards on the day.
“The [penalties] that bug me are the ones we refer to as ‘stupid’ penalties,” Moorhead said. “It’s still way too many. We address it every day and it’s something that we have to rectify moving forward, but at the end of the day we found a way to win.”
Fordham’s kicker and punter, Patrick Murray, a preseason All-American, added three first-half field goals and booted a booming 59-yard punt before Georgetown’s Skon threw an interception to Brandon Melanophy which sealed the win for the Rams.
“Between his punts, kickoffs, field goal kicking, he does it all,” Moorhead said. “He helps us win the field position battle, we’re fortunate to have him on our team.”