John Skelton (fordhamsports.com)

It is only natural to predict that a big-time quarterback would end his collegiate career with a big-time performance. When you talk about John Skelton, Fordham’s all-time leader in just about every quarterback statistic that matters, why would you think any differently?

Saturday afternoon at Georgetown, Skelton threw for 405 yards and five touchdowns in Fordham’s 41-14 win over the Hoyas. With the win, the Rams close out their season 5-6, 2-4 in Patriot League play. Meanwhile, Georgetown ended an 0-11 campaign, 0-6 in conference play.

“I’m happy for the players, especially the seniors,” Fordham head coach Tom Masella said, as reported by fordhamsports.com. “The way the season went I didn’t know how they would respond today, but they came out and played hard and gave me a great game. It’s nice to go into the offseason with a win.”

For the Rams, senior Jason Caldwell caught eight passes for 186 yards and one touchdown, while David Moore have five catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns. Darryl Whiting rushed for 172 yards on 25 carries and one touchdown.

Overall, the offense gained 686 yards. Fordham’s season total of 5,377 yards breaks the former single-season record of 4,995 yards set in 2003. The defense allowed just 299 yards against the Hoyas.

As for Skelton, it was the end to a great Fordham career. He completed his record-setting time at Rose Hill with 802 completions for 9,923 yards and 69 touchdowns, all school records. This season, he completed 284 passes for 3,708 yards, both Fordham single-season records, and 26 touchdowns, one shy of Mark Carney’s school mark of 27 set in 2001.

Charles Costello

Xavier Martin (File photo courtesy of Joe DiBari, Fordham University's SID)

Xavier Martin, a junior who has 666 rushing yards this season, spent most of Saturday’s loss to Lehigh standing on the sideline. It was impossible to miss. Fordham’s No. 1 running back not getting the call. No carries. A limited number of plays. And for most of the game, Martin was inactive, hands on his hips, a surprise site to say the least.

Then, after Fordham’s 35-28 loss to the Black Hawks, Rams’ head coach Tom Masella was asked about Martin’s lack of playing time.

“We’ve had some conversations about his role on the team,” Masella said. “He really wasn’t excited about playing, and if you’re not excited about playing I’m not going to play you. It’s that simple.

“It’s a team game and we all have to be in this together. He decided this week that he didn’t like the direction we were going in offensively at times.”

Charles Costello

Stephen Skelton had just two receptions in Fordham's loss to Lehigh. (Photo courtesy of Joe DiBari, Fordham University's Sports Information Director)

BY CHARLES COSTELLO

Fordham and Lehigh. Always a battle.

On Senior Day at Jack Coffey Field, where 19 Fordham players were recognized for their contributions to the program, Fordham (4-6, 1-4) came up just short, falling to Lehigh 35-28, in a game that played out in similar fashion to other tough losses suffered by the Rams this year.

“In the games that we’ve lost we’ve kind of shot ourselves in the foot, and today was no different,” Fordham head coach Tom Masella said. “You can’t have penalties, you can’t turn the ball over, and you have to make plays. We just didn’t make plays.”

Lehigh (3-7, 3-2) got going right from the start with an 11-play, 66-yard drive that culminated in an eight-yard touchdown pass from JB Clark to Jake Drwal. On that drive, the Mountain Hawks converted once on third down, on a Clark quarterback-keeper, and also on a short fourth-down pass.

But then, the momentum shifted to the Rams.

Off a Fordham punt, Isaiah Leake recovered a fumble in the back of the endzone to tie the game at 7-7. Then, a forced fumble by Thomas Lloyd and a recovery by James Crockett set the Rams up at the Lehigh 35. On second down from the 19, Skelton found David Moore in the back corner of the end zone for a touchdown. Just four minutes after it looked like it might be a long afternoon, the Rams were ahead 14-7.

But then Fordham allowed Lehigh to get right back in the game when Asa Lucas fumbled giving the Mountain Hawks the ball at the Rams’ 35. That set up a seven-yard touchdown pass from Clark to De’Vaughn Gordon. With 1:15 left in the first quarter, it was a game again.

But with Lehigh driving in the second quarter, Fordham’s Michael Martin intercepted a pass that Clark essentially handed to him. On the next play, Skelton found Moore for a 30-yard touchdown reception to put the Rams ahead 21-14.

The Mountain Hawks would tie the score at 21-21 on a 39-yard touchdown pass from Clark to Gordon, made possible by a 36-yard punt return by Jarard Cribbs that gave Lehigh the ball at the Fordham 33.

It become apparent that Fordham’s special teams play was anything but special. Later, a 60-yard punt return by Cribbs once again gave the Mountain Hawks excellent field position. A 15-yard touchdown run by Clark would give Lehigh its lead back at 28-21. Then, Skelton was intercepted. But Kelvin Colbert would intercept Clark to give Fordham the ball back with 1:54 to play in the half. A 46-yard completion to Jason Caldwell, then a 12-yard pass to Caldwell, an eight-yard pass to Moore, and then an 18-yard touchdown pass to Moore tied the score at 28-28 with 50 seconds left in the half. Still, even with the game tied at the half, special teams was a concern for the Rams.

“We didn’t play well on special teams,” Masella said. “That’s why you lose football games. I wish I had an answer as to why all those things happened. Our special teams has been pretty solid for the most part all year, but today they weren’t.”

There was more bad news to come.

Lehigh’s second drive of the third quarter would start at the Fordham 32. Again, good field position as a result of Cribbs’ 20-yard punt return. That short drive would end with a missed field goal. But on its next possession, which would start at the Fordham 40, Clark would find Gordon once again for a  22-yard touchdown pass to give Lehigh a 35-28 lead.

Then, the ball was in Skelton’s hands for two final drives.

With 3:08 left in the game, Fordham began a possession at its own 28. On first down, an incomplete pass down the right sideline intended for Asa Lucas. On second down, an interception by Cribbs. Now, just 2:58 left. Then, without any timeouts left, the Rams would get the ball back at their own five-yard line, with 1:50 to play. On first down, a 42-yard completion to Lucas. On the next play, a 13-yard completion to Stephen Skelton. Then, an 11-yard completion to Lucas. Next, a 12-yard pass to Moore. With 1:00 remaining, Skelton was sacked. Then, with the clock running, Skelton threw an incomplete pass intended for Lucas. On third down, with plenty of time to throw, an incomplete pass to the back of the end zone, again intended for Lucas. On fourth-and-14 from the 21, Skelton’s pass to the back corner of the end zone, intended for Caldwell, was incomplete. Lehigh took a knee, and that was it.

“Any time John has a chance late in the game you like your chances,” Masella said. “But you have to execute, and we’re banged up up front and it limits some of the things we can do.”

That was also it for the seniors at Jack Coffey Field, who were joined by family and friends on the field in a pregame ceremony. Masella praised the contributions they made to the program.

“I feel bad that we couldn’t ring that victory bell today,” Masella said. “They’ve been great leaders. Our football program is better today than when I took over because of them. I always tell our upperclassmen and our seniors, ‘It’s what you leave behind.’ The one thing they’ve left behind is character and work ethic.”

Final Stats

BY CHARLES COSTELLO

It was just a matter of time, but the wait was a little longer than expected.

And though the Rams beat a Patriot League opponent for the first time this season, their 21-7 victory over Bucknell this afternoon at Jack Coffey Field was in doubt through the game’s first three quarters. Given the way the season has gone for Fordham, what else would you expect?

It took Fordham 28 minutes and 21 seconds to get on the board in its  battle with the Bison. By then, they trailed 7-0. It was the first time this year that Bucknell led in the first half. But Xavier Martin’s 12-yard run on the Rams’ fifth possession tied the score at 7-7, and the Rams wouldn’t trail again. Finally, after frustrating possessions, two fumbles, and missed opportunities, the Fordham offense looked like it was ready to take off. It was a 12- play, 77-yard yard drive that saw the Rams convert through the air on two third-down conversions. The first was a third-and-eight from the Fordham 35. John Skelton found Jason Caldwell for 24 yards setting up a first down in Bucknell territory. Then, an 11-yard pass by Skelton to Stephen Skelton brought the Rams even closer to their first score.

“It just didn’t seem like we were in any rhythm on offense all game,” Fordham head coach Tom Masella said. “Finally we put that drive together, then got the turnover and put another drive together.”

David Mendez's fumble recovery led to Fordham's final touchdown of the afternoon. (Photo courtesy of Fordham SID Joe DiBari)

It took the Rams’ offense some time to find the endzone again, however. But when they did, they took control for good. A one-yard run by Darryl Whiting, capping a 10-play, 67-yard drive in the fourth quarter put Fordham ahead 14-7. Then, ironically, after fumbling twice in the first half, the Rams capitalized on a Bucknell turnover later in the quarter. David Mendez recovered a fumble at the Bison 39-yard line, setting up a John Skelton to Stephen Skelton nine-yard touchdown pass to give Fordham a 21-7 lead.

“When it was 14-7 and we got that third touchdown after a turnover we felt pretty good,” Masella said. ”I thought we started to spread them out a little in the throwing game. We started to get the ball in space to some playmakers and John made some great throws in the last quarter. I thought we were a little sluggish for three quarters, but eventually we started to click and got into some type of rhythm in the fourth quarter.”

John Skelton was 28-of-33 for 305 yards, Whiting led the Rams with 72 rushing yards, and Jason Caldwell led all receivers with 12 catches for 135 yards.

Fordham improves to 4-5 with the win, 1-3 in Patriot League play. With the loss, Bucknell falls to 3-6, 1-3 in league play.

“For some reason, these games against Bucknell are always good football games,” Masella said. “I thought our defense was outstanding today. It wasn’t the prettiest win, but it’s a win.”

John Skelton set three school records Saturday, but Fordham fell to Holy Cross 41-27. (Photo courtesy of Joe DiBari, Fordham University's Sports Information Director)

BY CHARLES COSTELLO

Fordham quarterback John Skelton set three school records Saturday, and just missed tying an NCAA record. But on this unseasonably mild Halloween afternoon, what mattered was the end result, a 41-27 victory by Holy Cross before a crowd of 3,449 at Jack Coffey Field.

The Rams entered today’s game against the first-place Crusaders winless in Patriot League play. After sixty minutes of football featuring two powerful offenses, each with its own star at quarterback, according to Fordham head coach Tom Masella, the better team emerged victorious.

“We knew we were playing a very good football team,” he said. “We had to play better and make more plays than we did. [Holy Cross] is a very good football team. We weren’t good enough to beat this team. I didn’t feel that [way] in all the other games. We lost to a better football team today.”

On its first possession of the game, Holy Cross jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a 39-yard touchdown pass from Dominic Randolph to Bill Edger. After a Fordham field goal by Kevin Heinowitz, the Crusaders added to their lead thanks in large part to a 45-yard kickoff return by Alex Johnson. On that drive, Holy Cross would score on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Randolph to Freddie Santana giving the Crusaders a 14-3 lead nearly 10 minutes into the game. The ball was actually tipped by a Fordham defender at the one-yard line, but landed in the hands of Santana. It was one of several plays where the defense, specifically the secondary, came up short.

Right before halftime, Randolph found Santana again in the end zone, this time for a three-yard touchdown pass to put the Crusaders ahead 24-10 with 25 seconds left. On that play, free safety Isiejah Allen ran right past the ball, and Santana, without realizing he was in perfect position to break up, or intercept, the pass. After getting the ball back in excellent field position, Heinowitz would kick a field goal to cut the halftime deficit to 24-13.

Fordham’s only touchdown of the half would come on a two-yard run by Xavier Martin, capping a 13-play, 91-yard drive. That cut the Holy Cross lead to 14-10, but that’s as close as the Rams would get. They would reach the endzone twice in the fourth quarter after finding themselves down 34-13. After a 17-yard touchdown run by Martin cut the Crusaders’ lead to 34-20, Fordham recovered an on-side kick at its own 41-yard line, but was unable to score on that drive. Later, down 41-20, Skelton ran one in from three yards out to cut the lead to 41-27. Though the Rams got the ball back with two minutes and 32 seconds left in the game, they were unable to punch one in on what would be their final drive of the game. On fourth down, Asa Lucas dropped a ball in the end zone to end the drive. It was one of many dropped balls by Fordham receivers today.

“We’ve probably been four or five plays short every game,” Masella said. “It’s not because of the effort of our players. I’m very proud of the effort our team has given. We just haven’t made plays in big games. Right now, we haven’t made enough plays to win tight games.”

Skelton set school records for completions (43), pass attempts (67), and passing yards (427), and came one pass attempt short of an NCAA record for most pass attempts in a game without an interception. As a result, it was another big day for the Fordham offense. Stephen Skelton caught 13 passes for 102 yards, David Moore had 10 receptions for 67 yards, Jason Caldwell had nine catches for 154 yards, and Lucas finished with seven catches for 75 yards. Martin led the rushing attack with 87 yards on the ground. Fordham (3-5, 0-3) finished with 627 yards of total offense. Meanwhile, Holy Cross (7-1, 3-0) had 516 yards of total offense. Randolph finished 23-of-35 for 314 yards and four touchdown passes. He also rushed for 76 yards. Matt Bellomo had 83 rushing yards to lead the Crusaders.

“It’s unfortunate where we are, but I’m very proud of our kids because they keep battling,” Masella said. “I like this team. This team has given us everything we want. We haven’t been good enough to beat the better teams. We’ve played them all tough, we just haven’t beaten them. For the first time this week, I thought we lost to a team that was better than us. There’s no shame in that. Our kids gave great effort.”