Joining Masella in garnering a major award was freshman running back Xavier Martin, who was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Year. Martin becomes the third Ram to earn Rookie of the Year honors, joining placekicker Micah Clukey (2003) and current teammate and backfield partner, Jonte Coven (2004).

Besides Martin, 11 other Rams earned All-Patriot League honors. Earning First Team accolades were senior running back Jonte Coven, senior linebacker Earl Hudnell and senior punter Ben Dato. Martin, sophomore quarterback John Skelton, senior center Mike Breznicky, senior offensive lineman Mike Nardone, sophomore wide receiver Asa Lucas, junior defensive lineman Ryan Mehra, sophomore linebacker James Crockett, senior linebacker Dominique Owens and senior defensive back Sam Orah all were named to the Second Team.

The Rams finished the regular season with an 8-3 overall record and a 5-1 Patriot League mark, winning the league title for the second time in the past five years. Fordham, who was picked to finish sixth of the seven Patriot League teams, fell to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst 49-35 in the first round of first round of NCAA Division I Championships on Saturday, Nov. 24.

Masella, who is also a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, which is given to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) national coach of the year, arrived at Rose Hill in 2006 after serving as head coach at Central Connecticut State University for two years. He lead the Blue Devils to back-to-back Northeast Conference (NEC) titles, the school’s first ever football championships, in 2004 and 2005. He led the squad to 15 wins over the two seasons, the most victories recorded over a two-year period by a Central Connecticut State football team in school history.

Last Saturday, Fordham upended the College of Holy Cross, 24-21 at Jack Coffey Field to clinch at least a share of the Patriot League title and earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs. It will be Fordham’s second appearance in the NCAA playoffs since the Rams moved to the NCAA I-AA in 1989, the first since 2002.

Coven, a senior running back, rushed 29 times for a career-high 167 yards against the Crusaders on Saturday. Crockett, a sophomore linebacker, had a career-day against Holy Cross, recovering a fumble in the end zone for a score and picking off a pass in the final seconds to secure the Fordham win. Dato, a senior punter, averaged 46.6 yards/punt on eight kicks, some into a stiff wind, against Holy Cross. He punted eight times for 373 yards with two of his kicks downed inside the Holy Cross 20.

Martin, a freshman running back, carried 14 times for 75 yards in the Holy Cross game while also returning two kickoffs for 60 yards to earn his third Rookie of the Week award. He was part of a Fordham rushing attack that gained 298 yards on the day.

After a bye this Saturday, Fordham will close out the 2007 regular season as the Rams play host to the Bucknell University Bison in a Patriot League game on Nov. 17 at 1 p.m. at Jack Coffey Field.