Fordham Gets an Ugly Win, Edmonds Breaks Rushing Record
By Rich Mancuso/Sports Editor
There was another record almost set by Fordham running back Chase Edmonds up at Rose Hill Saturday afternoon and despite turnovers the Rams came away with a 17-14 win over the Georgetown Hoyas in a Patriot League game. And like the weather, it was an ugly game as the Rams were without Kevin Anderson, their league leading quarterback.
Anderson was suspended one game for violating team rules forcing backup junior quarterback Luke Medlock to step in. Medlock threw for 95 yards, plus two touchdowns and one interception. The Rams committed four turnovers and the Hoyas six, which contributed to the ugly win. The 17-points scored were a season low, and much of which was attributed to the loss of Anderson due to the undisclosed conduct violation.
Chase Edmonds fights for yardage as the Rams battle against Georgetown on Saturday. (Andrea Garcia/The Fordham Ram)
But it was another good day for Edmonds, the junior tailback, who set Fordham and league rushing marks in a 58-34 win over Lafayette two weeks ago. He rushed for 179 yards on 37 carries and was three carries shy of breaking a school record — a record shared by three players — for carries in a game. Edmonds passed Kirwin Watson (4617 yards) as Fordham’s all-time leading rusher in just the seventh game of his junior year. Showing he wasn’t immune to the sloppy conditions, Edmonds coughed up a fumble.
Kicker Makay Redd’s 24-yard field goal with three minutes to play was the difference.
And it is obvious, the void caused by Anderson’s suspension hurt the Rams offense. The Rams defense forced six Hoya turnovers as they once again came up big in the next to last home game for Fordham. In three weeks, Fordham will host Holy Cross at Yankee Stadium which by then the Patriot League title may be up for grabs or close to being decided.
“The defense performance was outstanding,” said head coach Andrew Breiner. Fordham held the Hoyas to minus two in rushing yards and intercepted passes five different times.
As to the developments that had Anderson sit down, Breiner was not at liberty to comment. However, he told his team before the game that without Anderson there would be the challenge to step up. In response to that challenge, the Rams took a quick 14-0 lead when Medlock threw touchdown passes of 3- and 37-yards to Robbie Cantelli.
“I told the guys in the locker room, I can’t put into words how proud I am of this football team, the adversity we had to face,” commented Breiner about not having Anderson, the turnovers, and errors by special teams.
“No one panicked, no one flinched,” he said. “The coaches had faith in the players. We put them in the position to execute. That is the picture and definition of a team win.”
Said Edmonds, “Right now I am just trying to keep this team focused to get to the Patriot League playoffs.”
It was their second straight conference win that has them opposing four in a row Next week, Fordham travels to Lehigh, then returns to Rose Hill in two weeks to face Colgate. After that — the next to last game on the schedule — is the Ram-Crusader Cup showdown with Holy Cross at Yankee Stadium on Saturday afternoon, November 12th.
Comment Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com Twitter@Ring786 Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso
Follow Us