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Though much of the attention focused on the football field at Homecoming, the University was a hive of activity all weekend—some of it on campus, some way off campus, like the Young Alumni’s Annual Yacht Cruise, which took Rams out into New York Harbor on Friday night.

Closer to home, students donned semi-formal duds for the President’s Ball at the Lombardi Field House. The following morning, those who didn’t party too much at the ball were running the periphery of the campus for the 3rd Annual 5K Ram Run, where Jason Gong and Samantha Andrens were the first to cross the finish line.

Across road at Hughes Hall, Gabelli School of Business Dean Donna Rapacciolli greeted alumni, while, Lerzan Aksoy, professor of marketing, gave a quick snapshot of her course on brand loyalty. She said that the thousands attending homecoming are an example of connection that fosters loyalty.

At the University Museum, curator Jennifer Udell set for the tone for the rest of the day by introducing alumni to the 4th Century BC Ram’s head libation cup. Convinced, alumni headed for the tents on Eddies Parade.

The final 2013 NCAA FCS polls have been released and the Fordham University Rams finished the season ranked ninth in the NCAA FCS Sports Network poll and tenth in the NCAA FCS Coaches Poll. This is the highest ranking ever for the Rams at the end of the year (the previous best was 12th following the 2002 season).

The Rams enjoyed one of the most successful seasons in Fordham history, going 12-2 this fall, winning the first ten games of the year for the first time in school history and being ranked as high as fifth in the NCAA FCS polls, Fordham’s highest ever ranking on the FCS level. Along the way, the team compiled a long list of firsts, including the first win over an NCAA FBS team (Temple), the first win over a top-ten ranked NCAA FCS team on Jack Coffey Field (Villanova), the school’s first ever home NCAA FCS championship win on Jack Coffey Field (Sacred Heart) and the most nonconference wins in a season (six).

Along with the team success came a plethora of individual accolades as junior wide receiver Sam Ajala, junior linebacker Stephen Hodge, junior tight end Dan Light and junior quarterback Mike Nebrich all received All-America honors. The four also earned First Team All-Patriot League accolades, along with senior defensive lineman Brett Biestek, senior offensive lineman Thomas Fisher, senior running back Carlton Koonce, senior defensive lineman DeAndre Slate, senior defensive back Ian Williams, junior offensive lineman Mason Halter and junior placekicker Michael Marando. Nebrich and Hodge were also named Patriot League Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively.

Head coach Joe Moorhead was also honored, being named the AFCA Regional Co-Coach of the Year and Patriot League Coach of the Year as well as one of five finalists for the NCAA FCS Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year award.

– Joe DiBari

The Rams will travel to Unitas Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 7,  to face the seventh-seeded Tigers (10-2) in the second round of the NCAA FCS playoffs. Buses will be leaving from the Rose Hill campus.

Michael Marando kicked a pair of field goals in the fourth quarter for the Rams as they held off Sacred Heart. The Pioneers had rallied from a 31-17 halftime deficit to cut their deficit to 31-27 at the end of the third quarter.

Fordham forced four turnovers in the victory.

Fordham and Towson were rivals in the Patriot League from 1997 to 2003. The schools played seven times and the Rams own a 4-3 series lead. The teams played four times at Unitas Stadium and each team won twice.

For ticket information visit the Fordham Athletics website.

The NCAA FCS championship appearance is the third for Fordham, the first since 2007 (the other occurred in 2002). In 2002, Fordham won its first ever NCAA FCS playoff game with a 29-24 win at Northeastern before being eliminated by Villanova in the second round, 24-10. In 2007, Fordham dropped a first round decision at Massachusetts, 49-35.

“It’s been a tremendous ride and a testament to these young men,” said Moorhead. “They bought into the things we identified we needed to do in order to win, which includes preparation, effort and execution along with all the little things and making no excuses. My hat’s off to them as they are doing a phenomenal job.”

Not only did the Rams advance to 8-0 on the season, they also closed out their non-conference season with a perfect 6-0 record, the most non-conference wins ever for Fordham and the first undefeated non-conference season since the 1988 squad went 5-0. Fordham is now one of four undefeated NCAA FCS teams, the only one with eight wins.

Sam Ajala

The game featured an explosive Fordham offense and a bend-but-don’t break defense. Junior wide receiver Sam Ajala led the offense, hauling in ten passes for a school-record 282 yards and four touchdowns (which tied a school record). Junior quarterback Mike Nebrich was the one getting the ball to Ajala, finishing the game completing 19 of 26 passes for 421 yards and the four scores while also rushing for another touchdown. Nebrich, who had his second straight 400-yard passing game, finished just six yards shy of the Fordham single-game passing yards record.

The game was Fordham’s fourth 50-point game of the year, the most 50-points games in one year for the Rams, who had never had more than two in a season entering 2013.

Carlton Koonce rushed 20 times for 102 yards for the Rams, his fifth 100-yard rushing game of the year, while Tebucky Jones, Jr. and Wetzel each caught three passes.

After a bye week the Rams will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 2, as they host the Holy Cross Crusaders on Jack Coffey Field at 1:00 p.m. in the annual Ram-Crusader Cup game between the two Patriot League Jesuits schools.

Notes
The win is Fordham’s first ever at the Yale Bowl… The other undefeated NCAA FCS schools are North Dakota State (7-0), Coastal Carolina (7-0) and Harvard (5-0)… The previous school record for receiving yards in a game was 246, set by Javarus Dudley in 2003, while Ajala tied the school mark for receiving touchdowns in game set by Dudley in 2003 and matched by Jason Caldwell in 2009… John Skelton has the Fordham single-game passing yardage record with 427 set against Holy Cross in 2009… Nebrich has 2,587 passing yards so far in 2013, the ninth best single season in school history while his 21 touchdowns passes is fifth best…  Nebrich saw a streak of 222 pass attempts without an interception broken with a first quarter interception… Koonce’s 102 rushing yards brings his career total to 2,700, moving him into fourth place on the Fordham career list… The Rams entered the game ranked third in the NCAA FCS in fumbles recovered and sixth in turnovers gained… Fordham gained 614 yards of total offense, the Rams’ third 600-yard total offense game of the year.

To read more about the Rams-Yale game or to see video highlights, visit www.fordhamsports.com.

Despite the Fordham football team’s amazing 3-0 start this season, the Rams are always looking for new players. They’ve found one such player in 12-year-old Jonah Shainberg, who was officially adopted by the Rams on Sept. 12 through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, an organization supporting children with pediatric brain tumors.

Shainberg and his father, Joshua, attended that day’s practice, where they watched the Rams prepare for their Sept. 14 game with Temple University in Philadelphia. At the end of practice, head coach Joe Moorhead called Jonah out to midfield to meet the team. The squad ran a play in which Jonah took the ball from quarterback Mike Nebrich and raced 60 yards for the touchdown. The team met Jonah in the end zone and carried him to the locker room on their shoulders.

Accompanied by the foundation’s executive director, Michelle DeIeso, and adoption coordinator Katie Johnson, Jonah shared the history of his illness with the team and spoke of how excited he was to be involved with the Rams.

The team’s four captains presented Jonah with his own locker, which was filled with Fordham football gear, T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and a football signed by Coach Moorhead and the team.

Coach Moorhead gave Jonah a personal session on how the Rams “break down” film from games, to help coaches instruct on future plays.

Following an interview with News 12 Bronx, Jonah was escorted by the team captains to The Marketplace for dinner in the McGinley Center.

Jonah, a student at The Child School on Randall’s Island, was diagnosed with a brain tumor six years ago and underwent numerous treatments for two years. Although Jonah is cancer-free, he recently suffered a stroke, which left the right side of his body in a weakened state. He is undergoing therapy to regain control of his right side.

“This was a tremendous honor for our team,” said Moorhead. “We are thrilled to be able to add a person like Jonah to our roster. He has been through so much in life and maintains such a positive attitude. We are looking forward to having him with us in meetings and on the sidelines, and will look to him for inspiration as the year goes on.”

The nonprofit Friends of Jaclyn Foundation matches its children with a college or high school sports teams based on geographic location. Jonah is a native New Yorker.

Click here for detailed game coverage of Rams beating Columbia, 52 to 7 to retain Liberty Cup.

It may not have a catchy motto like “Subway Series,” but for the past 11 years, the Fordham vs. Columbia Liberty Cup game has been an anomaly in a city where college sports takes a back seat to the majors.

Like the Giants vs. Jets or Yankees vs. Mets, when it comes to Rams vs. Lions, you can only root for one team—even if you graduated from both schools.

“To be honest, I’ve got to stay true to my undergrad,” said Derrick Mayo, Columbia College ‘02, GBA ‘10.

Mayo played point guard for the Lions basketball, but he made it to Fordham football games often. He noted that even though both teams hail from New York, Fordham holds an extra home team advantage when it comes to attendance, because the teams’ football stadium is actually on the Rose Hill campus. Columbia’s Lions have to trek a hundred blocks to get to their athletic fields in Inwood. Though he admitted that when he was an undergraduate, he preferred Fordham’s tailgating.

Fordham Trustee John Zizzo at practice. Photo by Joe DiBari

Recently appointed Fordham Trustee John Zizzo, FCRH ’69, also a graduate of Columbia Law, said he too suffers little conflict of allegiance; he’s solidly in the Fordham camp. Zizzo was the captain of the storied 1968 Rams that went on and bested 100 club teams to capture the National Football Club Championship title—a title that was largely responsible for Fordham going varsity in 1970.

Zizzo said that by 1968, fans yearned for the old time glory of the Lombardi years. Having gone from just playing one game in 1964 to winning national champs in 1968, the team came as something of a shock. With this month’s historic wins against Villanova and Temple, the old time magic seems to be back.

In the 1960s, Fordham had a reputation of being a scrappy commuter school with mostly working class Italian and Irish students from the city. The fan-base came as much from the neighborhood as it did from the school, Zizzo said. He recalled only one African-American player, the late Granville Leo Stevens, Jr., PHA ’70, who would later go on to study at Columbia Law as well.

“Leo would’ve really been proud to see what the school looks like now,” he said.

Zizzo added that as a club team, the Rams weren’t able to play against Ivy League Columbia. The real rivalry was between Fordham and the now-defunct Manhattan College football team.

“We wanted desperately to play Columbia, but they would’ve been embarrassed to get beaten by a club team,” he said with a laugh.

Off the field, Zizzo said that Columbia’s Ivy League mystique made for a nerve-wracking transition to Columbia Law. He later discovered that his years of Jesuit study (he also attended Brooklyn Prep) more than prepared him for Columbia’s intellectual rigor.

“I thought that Columbia would be out of my league,” he said. “But just like the football was not out of our league, Columbia’s law school was not out of our league.”

Michelle Kennedy, FCRH ’03, a 2008 graduate of the Columbia School of Continuing Education, agreed that sports are a great leveler. She recalled competing against Columbia’s swim team while at Fordham, being awestruck by the campus, and spotting Columbia’s Cristina Teuscher, who had already won Olympic gold. Kennedy won Fordham’s Claire & Jack Hobbs Award for top student athlete and recently she was named to Fordham’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

“When you hit the water you’re both the same,” said Kennedy. “There really isn’t a difference between Ivy or non-Ivy; we’re all expected to work hard and study hard.”

Kennedy, who was at the first “unofficial” Liberty Cup game back in 2001, said that any notions of Fordham-Columbia rivalry are misplaced—given the origins of the Liberty Cup. The original cup commemorated a game between Fordham and Columbia that was delayed due to the 9/11 attacks. The teams later played on Thanksgiving Day before a crowd of 7,000 fans.

“There was no us against you,” said Kennedy.

Having worked in development for Columbia Athletics, Kennedy says she is not taking sides.

“I know both sides of these programs very intimately, so I have a lot of maroon and a lot of blue and white colors,” she said. “These kids work so hard its tough to choose!”

Still, Kennedy speaks of a shared tradition that extends well beyond the playing field, something repeated by Mayo, who said he and his colleagues place bets on the Fordham/Columbia game at his office. The losers buy lunch or drinks.

Even though Zizzo is a solid Ram, he said that, among his family, loyalties remain divided. His daughter went to Columbia Graduate School of Nursing, and the two plan to enjoy a friendly rivalry at the big game.

“My daughter is a Columbia football fan,” he said. “And we’ve had a little dichotomy—with her always coming home depressed and me coming home happy,” he said.

SEPT. 21 UPDATE: Zizzo went home happy again: Rams beat Columbia 52 to 7 to retain Liberty Cup.

Click here to share your tweets, posts, and Instagrams of #Fordham #Homecoming.

“Darryl Brown was sweating. It ran down his face, blurring his eyes momentarily, getting caught in his nostrils, making his expensive uniform stick uncomfortably to his body.

“His palms were covered with a persistent film of moisture, making it hard to handle the basketball. But he didn’t have time to slow down.

“The crowd was roaring. The lights were glaring. The action was fast on the floor of Madison Square Garden, and the Fordham Rams were ahead against all odds. Things were going his way.”

So wrote the editors of the Maroon after one of the biggest basketball wins in Fordham history: on Dec. 30, 1974, the Rams demolished the fifth-ranked University of Southern California Trojans by a score of 83-66.

No one could have predicted the stunning upset, which came in the final game of the Eastern College Athletic Conference’s annual Holiday Festival tournament. Fordham went 8-17 the previous season under coach Hal Wissel, and entered the game against USC unranked and supposedly outgunned.

It seemed that no one believed in the Rams except the players themselves.

“A lot of people said this was to be the Monday night massacre, but we were ready for this game,” said Kevin Fallon, who was selected to the all-tournament team.

Fordham relied on a tenacious zone defense, superior speed and some remarkable shots to defeat the Trojans in front of 11,117 elated fans at Madison Square Garden.

“This team has lots of heart. They’re winners,” Wissel told The New York Times after the game. “We beat a team that deserves to rank in the top 10 and now I think we merit some recognition.”

This season, the Rams will once again face top talent on some of basketball’s grandest stages.

The men’s team will venture outside the comfy confines of the Rose Hill Gym on Dec. 19 to clash with the powerhouse Villanova Wildcats—a Final Four team last year—under the bright lights of the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J.

That game will ready the Rams for yet another contest on the pro hardwood. On Jan. 13, Fordham will take on Atlantic 10 rival Dayton at Madison Square Garden. The game will mark the first Fordham appearance at the Garden since 2002, and the 114th overall.

Is another upset on the horizon?

As a 2009-2010 basketball season ticket holder, you can be there to find out. Here’s what you’ll receive:

• the full season of men’s and women’s basketball tickets;
• a 50 percent discount off the walk-up ticket prices for all 12 home games;
• a ticket to the game against Villanova at the Izod Center;
• a guaranteed seat for popular home games against Xavier, St. Joseph’s and Dayton;
• a free media guide for loge season ticket holders ($10 value);
• first priority in tickets for the Atlantic 10 Championship Tournament;
• reduced-fee parking passes;
• first priority in tickets for the following basketball season.

With a season of Fordham hoops action available for only $110 (general admission; reserved seats are $135 for the season and loge seats are $165 for the season), there’s no need to wait for March to begin the madness!

Plus, the women’s squad is ready to show that the men don’t have a lock on hardwood heroics. A bumper crop of fresh talent is transforming the team, which is built on the solid shooting and steady shoulders of veterans Randall Hurst and Becky Peters.

Just take it from Athletic Director Frank McLaughlin:

“Both coaching staffs worked hard to recruit the outstanding young talent on these teams,” he said. “When alumni show their strong support, it sends a message to the basketball community and to potential student athletes that Fordham is setting its sights on becoming a first-class program.”

Be there when guard Brenton Butler nails a three-pointer against Villanova at the Izod Center.

Cheer the men’s and women’s teams as they take on squads from other Jesuit schools as part of the 2009-2010 Jesuit Basketball Spotlight.

Scream yourself hoarse as Jio Fontan, a 2009 Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team selection, helps the Rams climb the standings in the competitive Atlantic 10.

Do it because it’s not a game.

It’s basketball.

Be a Fordham Fanatic.

Click here to order tickets.

Senior quarterback John Skelton (El Paso, Tex./Burges) has been named College Sporting News’National Offensive Player of the Week. Junior defensive back Isa Abdul El-Quddus (Union, N.J./Union) has been named The Sports Network’s National Defensive Player of the Week.

Both players also received the same accolades from the Patriot League. It is the first national weekly honor for a Ram since James Crockett received the award in November, 2007. The Patriot League  award is the second this year for Skelton and the fourth honor of his Fordham career. This is Abdul El-Quddus’ first award of the year; he was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week once in 2007.

Both players were responsible for school records in a 39-27 win over Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y., last Saturday. Skelton threw for a school-record 420 yards while Abdul El-Quddus intercepted three passes, tying a school mark. In the game, Skelton completed 20 of 27 passes for the 420 yards and five touchdowns, four of which covered at least 50 yards, while also rushing for another score. The 420 yards surpasses the former school record of 413 set by Joe Moorhead in 1995. The five touchdown passes fell one shy of Kevin Eakin’s school record of six, set in 2003.

Skelton also set a school record and tied a Patriot League mark with a 98-yard scoring strike to Asa Lucas in the second quarter. The quarterback hooked up nine times for 245 yards and four touchdowns with Jason Caldwell as Caldwell tied the school record for receiving touchdowns in a game, and fell one yard shy of tying the school mark for receiving yards in a game.

It was the second 400-yard game of the year for Skelton, who threw for 402 yards in a win over Old Dominion on Oct. 3. He is second in both the Patriot League and NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) in passing yards/game (323.33) and total offense (347.67 yards/game). Skelton is also ranked third nationally in passing yards/game (334.2), fourth in points responsible for (19.00) and 14th in passing efficiency (152.26). He directs the top-rated offense in the NCAA FCS as the Rams are averaging 484.5 yards/game.

Skelton’s career stats are now 651 completions for 8,160 yards and 58 touchdowns, all school records and among the top seven all-time in the Patriot League.

Abdul El-Quddus intercepted three Cornell passes last Saturday, tying the school record of Tad Kornegay, who picked off three passes in a game twice in 2004. He totaled 81 return yards on the three interceptions, including a 37-yard run back on his final pick that set up Fordham’s last touchdown. Abdul El-Quddus also recorded six total tackles, five solo, broke up a pass and forced a fumble in the game.

Philadelphia, Pa. – Fordham has been selected to claim its first-ever Atlantic 10 women’s swimming & diving title in voting conducted by the league’s head coaches.  This is the first time since Fordham joined the Atlantic 10 that a Rams team has been selected as the preseason favorite.

The Rams finished second at last year’s Championship – their highest finish in program history – with 549.5 points, while Richmond seized its eighth consecutive A-10 crown with 742.0 points.

“It was a pleasant surprise,” said head coach Steve Potsklan. “ We have our work cut out for us this season, as the Atlantic 10 is an extremely competitive league.”

Overall at last year’s Atlantic 10 Championship, the Rams broke 16 school records as well as the Atlantic 10 records in the 800 freestyle relay and the 200 butterfly.  The Fordham women finished the championship with a total of seven swimmers earning either First or Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors, while head coach Steve Potsklan was named the Atlantic 10’s Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year.

This season, Fordham will be led by senior Caitlin Napoli (Hauppague, who won both the 200-yard freestyle (1:49.55) and 500-yard freestyle (4:52.07) events at the 2009 Championship, and sophomore Courtney Collyer (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by the Sea), who was tabbed the league’s Most Outstanding Rookie a year ago after claiming gold in the 200-yard butterfly (1:59.96) and 400-yard individual medley (4:22.16).

The Rams also return senior Tressa Dunn (Weston, Mass./Mercersburg), who earned All-Conference accolades in two individual events and four relays, including the Atlantic 10 record in the 800 freestyle relay, senior Nicole Marshall (Cornwall, N.Y./Cornwall) and junior Christina Cosentino (Staten Island, N.Y./Notre Dame Academy), who were both a part of two All-Conference relays, sophomore Kelly Bunster (Bohemia, N.Y./Connetquot), who was All-Conference in the 100 butterfly and four relays, and junior Alexandra Alessi (Concord, Calif./Carondelet), who was All-Conference as a member of the 400 freestyle relay team.

Behind the Rams, Richmond is picked second in the preseason poll, followed by Duquesne, Massachusetts, La Salle, Xavier, St. Bonaventure, Saint Louis, George Washington and Rhode Island.

The 2010 Atlantic 10 Swimming & Diving Championships will be held Feb. 17-20 at the Flickinger Aquatics Center in Buffalo, N.Y.

2010 Women’s Swimming & Diving Predicted Order Of Finish (2009 Championship results in parentheses)
1. Fordham (2nd)
2. Richmond (1st)
3. Duquesne (3rd)
4. Massachusetts (4th)
5. La Salle (5th)
6. Xavier (7th)
7. St. Bonaventure (6th)
8. Saint Louis (8th)
9. George Washington (9th)
10. Rhode Island (10th)

With the 34-29 win, the Rams snap a four-game losing streak dating back to last year and go to 1-3 on the year while the Monarchs fall to 3-2.

“We certainly know how to make it interesting,” said Fordham head coachTom Masella. “That was a great college football game that came down to the end. It looked like we were going to let it slip away but the guys worked hard and persevered and made the big plays at the end.”

The story of the game was the potent Fordham offense, led by record-setting senior quarterback John Skelton. Skelton completed 28 of 42 yards for a career-high 402 yards and two touchdowns as Fordham compiled a school-record of 687 yards of total offense. The 402 passing yards ties Skelton with Gary Brennan for the second best single game in Fordham history. The school record is a 413-yard game by Joe Moorhead in 1995.

“It’s nice to get the monkey off our backs,” said John Skelton. “It was a good team win and good to see the running game get going which makes the passing game easier.”

But Skelton wasn’t alone in leading the offense as junior Xavier Martin and sophomore Darryl Whitingboth rushed for more than 100 yards. Martin finished with a career-high 187 yards on 25 carries while Whiting gained 101 yards, surpassing the 100-yard mark for the first time in his career.

“Number 19 can’t do it all by himself,” said Martin. “He’s the best quarterback I’ve played with but we knew that we would have to get the running game going to be successful. The offensive line did a great job for us today.”

The final scoring drive displayed both the running and passing game as Skelton completed all three of his pass attempts and Martin gained 23 yards on the ground as the Rams erased a 29-28 deficit to take a 34-29 lead with 1:59 remaining. Skelton started the drive from the Fordham 19 with a completion to Jason Caldwell for an 11-yard gain and then found Brad Pierre over the middle for a big 47-yard gain. Martin took over at that point rushing for 20 yards on consecutive carries and he capped the drive with a three-yard scoring run to give the Rams the lead.

But the game was far from over as Old Dominion took the ensuing kickoff and drove from its own 21 to the Fordham, 45. On second down and ten, Michael Hickman sacked Monarch quarterback Thomas DeMarco causing DeMarco to fumble and the ball was recovered by Fordham’s Bryson Wilson with 51 seconds left. The Rams then kneeled on the ball to ice the game.

The game started out with the Old Dominion offense showing its stuff, taking the opening kickoff and driving 77 yards on just four plays to take a quick 7-0 lead on a 25-yard touchdown pass from DeMarco to Nick Mayers.

The Rams responded with a scoring drive of their own, taking over on their own 28 after the kickoff. Skelton connected on the first of ten passes on the day to his brother, Stephen Skelton, with Stephen turning it into 52-yard gain, placing the ball on the Old Dominion 20. Fordham would get the ball down to the nine but John Skelton was sacked on third down and Kevin Heinowitz came on to boot a 35-yard field goal to cut the Fordham deficit to four, 7-3, with 9:29 left in the half.

Neither offense managed to put together much of a drive the rest of the quarter and the teams exchanged punts early in the second before Fordham took possession on its own nine following a punt. After Martin picked up 12 yards on first down, Skelton and Skelton struck again for a 13-yard gain and John Skeltonfollowed that with an 18-yard completion to David Moore. A third straight Skelton completion, this one toMichael Shorter, picked up nine yards but an offensive pass interference penalty backed the Rams up to their own 37. On second down, John Skelton rushed for ten yards and he then found Moore with a 24-yard pass play to give Fordham a first down on the Monarchs’ 29. On the next play, John Skelton foundStephen Skelton in the end zone with a scoring strike to give Fordham a 9-7 lead after the extra point sailed wide.

Fordham again started its next drive deep in its own territory following a punt but Martin and Skelton moved the Rams down field. The big play was a fourth-and-inches call from the Fordham 46 as the John Skelton drew Old Dominion offside with a hard count, giving Fordham a first down across midfield. Four plays later, the Rams faced another fourth and one call and this time Skelton faked a handoff to Martin, running around the left side to pick up the first down on the Old Dominion 39. Two plays later, Skelton hooked up with Moore with a 36-yard touchdown pass to give Fordham a 15-7 lead with 1:50 remaining in the half.

Fordham wasn’t done scoring in the half. After the defense held the Monarchs to three pays, the Rams took over on their own 20. Skelton directed the two-minute offense to perfection, moving the Rams down to the two where Heinowitz kicked a 19-yard field goal on the final play of the half to give Fordham a 18-7 lead at the break.

The Rams came out to start the second half and seemed to take control of the game with a quick scoring drive, taking the kickoff and moving out to their own 43 where Whiting broke through the line and rambled 57 yards for a score and a 25-7 Fordham lead 1:38 into the half.

But the Monarchs capitalized on a Fordham turnover later in the quarter as Whiting fumbled on the Fordham 21 with Mychael McJunkins recovering the ball for Old Dominion on the Fordham 24. Two plays later, DeMarco connected with Mayers on a 29-yard touchdown pass to cut the Fordham lead to 25-14 with 5:47 left in the third.

The game would stay 25-14 until the Monarchs punted the ball early in the fourth and Asa Lucas fumbled the return which Marquis Johnson recovered in the end zone for Old Dominion touchdown. A two-point conversion pass from DeMarco to Mayers was good making it a 25-22 game with 10:51 remaining.

Fordham responded with a 57-yard drive, moving down to the Old Dominion five where a third down pass fell incomplete and Heinowitz came on to kick a 23-yard field goal to put the Rams up six, 28-23, with 6:56 left in the contest.

DeMarco took over on the next Old Dominion possession, throwing eight passes, completing five, and running twice, to get the ball to the Fordham 17 where he hit Carlos Davis in the end zone for a 29-28 Old Dominion lead with 3:06 left.

Stephen Skelton caught a career-high ten passes for a career-best 138 yards for the Rams while Moore finished with six receptions for 132 yards and Caldwell added five for 54 yards.

Defensively, Jordan Bledsoe led the Rams with seven tackles, including two for loss and one sack, whileJames Crockett also finished with seven stops.

The Rams will next be in action next Saturday, October 10th, as they host the Bryant University Bulldogs on Jack Coffey Field at 6:00 p.m.

Notes: The previous school record for total yards in a game was 667 against New Haven in 1977… John Skelton’s previous career-high was 383 yards against Columbia earlier this year… His career numbers are now 613 completions for 7,557 yards and 51 touchdowns, all school records…Martin’s previous career-high was 186 yards which he accomplished against Georgetown last year…The last time Fordham had two running backs rush for more than 100 yards was 2007 when Martin and Jonte Coven each turned the trick…The last time the Rams had two receivers with more than 100 receiving yards in a game was 1999 with Kendel Creer (171) and Gerry McDermott (142) doing it against Harvard…The last time a Rams kicked three field goal in a game was 2004 when Micah Clukey booted three against Georgetown…Fordham raised its Homecoming record to 20-17-1 since 1970…All football alumni in attendance were honored at halftime, including the family of Frank “The Bull” McCaffrey, on the 100th anniversary of McCaffrey being named one of Fordham’s first All-Americans.