Fordham’s explosive play proved too much to handle for Lafayette (3-7 overall, 2-3 Patriot League), as the Rams trounced the Leopards 45-10 on Saturday at Jack Coffey Field in the Bronx.
Senior Fordham All-Patriot League quarterback Tim DeMorat put on an impressive performance, throwing for four touchdowns and rushing for another two. He completed 32-of-45 passes for 482 yards, including two touchdowns to senior wide receivers Fotis Kokosioulis and Dequece Carter.
For the Maroon and White, sophomore quarterback Ah-Shaun Davis completed 15-of-27 passes for 124 yards and threw a touchdown to sophomore wide receiver Carasia, along with an interception.
“We went over film during the week and looked at [Fordham’s] past games, and what they did defensively,” Carasia said. “We thought going in we could exploit them defensively, as we thought they had a weak secondary, so we thought we had potential to exploit one-on-one matchups.”
On the ground, freshman running back Jamar Curtis recorded 40 rushing yards on eight total carries for the Leopards. On the other side of the ball, sophomore cornerback Gabe DuBois led the team with seven tackles, including one for a loss.
On the opening play of Fordham’s second drive, DeMorat launched a deep ball to junior wide receiver Mekai Felton for 59 yards to the Lafayette 13-yard line. Sophomore running back Julius Loughridge provided the Rams with another first down after a 10-yard carry to reach Lafayette’s three-yard line. Two drives later, DeMorat carried the pigskin into the endzone himself from one yard out to begin the game’s scoring and put the Rams up 7-0.
On the subsequent possession, Lafayette was forced to punt from their own 48-yard line, resulting in a touchback. DeMorat completed a screen pass to Kokosioulis for 35 yards which set the Rams up on the doorstep. However, on 3rd-and-goal, DeMorat was unable to locate his intended receiver and the Rams were forced to kick a field goal.
The Leopards were unable to take advantage of their next offensive possession. On a third-and-10, Davis was intercepted by senior defensive back Stephen Williams on a pass intended for Carasia. The Maroon and White defense persevered, however, forcing the Rams to punt after a three-and-out.
The Leopards’ offense again went three-and-out, forcing a fatigued defensive unit to try and keep the deficit at 10. The Fordham offense advanced down the field again quickly, ending the drive with a three-yard touchdown run from the quarterback to extend the Rams’ lead to 17-0.
On the next possession, Davis completed a 40-yard pass on third down to senior wide receiver Julius Young to the Fordham 20-yard line. They were unable to advance past that point, forcing Coach Troxell to send out the field goal unit. The 30-yard kick from junior Jakob Trestik went up and in, bringing the score to 17-3.
DeMorat responded with a 30-yard bomb to senior wide receiver Carter which gave the Rams a 24-3 lead at the half.
Lafayette opened the scoring in the second half when Davis found Carasia in the corner of the end zone on the Leopards’ second possession, cutting the Fordham lead to 14, and bringing the score to 24-10.
DeMorat threw touchdown passes on Fordham’s next two drives, the first a 35-yard bullet to Carter and the second a 33-yarder to Kokosioulis as the Rams extended their lead to 28. Fordham recorded its final score of the day when DeMorat found Kokosioulis from 14 yards out.
“We let the score play a big factor in our gameplay, and we should have taken it play-by-play instead of letting previous plays take over our mindset,” Carasia said.
The Maroon and White have many aspects of their game to work on as they head into their annual rivalry game at home against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks on Saturday.
“For the seniors, we did not want them to go out this way, as we had big expectations, such as winning the Patriot League championship,” Carasia said. “We definitely have some things to build on in years coming forward, and we should keep a positive mentality, and focus on getting bigger, faster and stronger.”
The Leopards aim to close out their season with what would be an important victory in the 158th edition of college football’s most-played rivalry, which Lafayette will host at 12:30 p.m. at Fisher Stadium.