BRONX- Turnovers combined with an explosive offensive display by the Rams led to Monmouth’s (1-3) 54-31 loss to 16th ranked Fordham (3-1) on Saturday in the Bronx.

AUDIO OF GAME BROADCAST AT THE END OF THIS REPORT

The Rams scored on five plays of 18 yards or more while rolling up 551 yards of total offense in the win.

 

 

Reggie White Jr.
Reggie White Jr. (Monmouth Athletics)
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Fordham quarterback Kevin Anderson completed 19-of-27 passes for 340 yards and five touchdowns, which tied a team record in the win. All-American running back Chase Edmonds finished with 18 carries for 95 yards, 56 of which came on one scoring run, but also had two receiving touchdowns on the day. The Ram defense forced five turnovers, while Monmouth’s defense was able come away with four of its own.

“It wasn’t a good day right from the start,” said Monmouth Head Coach Kevin Callahan. “We made far too many mistakes and critical errors to give ourselves an opportunity to win the game. Between turnovers and poor execution, we never gave ourselves a chance. When you do those things against a good football team, it makes for a long afternoon.”

Monmouth freshmen wideouts Reggie White Jr. (Randallstown, MD/Milford Mill) and Devin Phelps (Baltimore, MD/St. Francis) each had career days for the Blue & White. White Jr. had five catches for 63 yards and a TD while Phelps had five receptions for 53 yards. Quarterback Cody Williams (Springfield, MA/Central) had 71 yards on the ground to add to his 154 yard passing day that came on his 15-of-29 day.

Fordham added to its 18 point halftime lead with a pair of Makay Redd field goals, including a 54 yarder early in the third quarter. Anderson threw his fifth touchdown of the afternoon with 3:43 left in the frame, pushing the Ram lead to 48-17.

Lavon Chaney (Edgewater, MD/South River) picked up his second touchdown of the game with 37 seconds left in the third quarter but the Rams answered not long after on a 31 yard scoring jaunt by reserve running back Kendall Pearcey.

Monmouth reserve quarterback Ben Onett (Glen Dale, MD/St. John’s Catholic Prep) finished the scoring by throwing his first career touchdown pass to Reggie White Jr. (Baltimore, MD/Randallstown, MD/Milford Mill Academy) late in the fourth quarter. White Jr.’s first career touchdown, a 23 yard reception, came with 7:34 left to finish the scoring at 54-31 in favor of the Rams.

 

Cody Williams
Cody Williams (Monmouth Athletics)
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Fordham Quarterback Kevin Anderson engineered a scoring drive off the opening kick, getting down to the MU five on a 49 yard pass to wideout Tony Patrignelli. Anderson finished the 10 play drive off with a play action touchdown pass to Corey Caddle with 10:56 remaining in the first quarter.

Monmouth senior LB Anthony McDonnaugh (Philadelphia, PA/West Catholic) forced a fumble in Fordham territory but on the next play Williams threw his fourth interception of the year. Anderson and company answered with a six-play, 69 yard drive that culminated in a 26 yard Edmonds touchdown.

MU responded with a drive of their own, sparked by a 27 yard Ambush catch and run. Monmouth worked its way down to the Fordham 14 but the Ram defense responded and the Blue & White had to settled for a 35 yard Matt White (Gibsonia, Pa./Mars Area) field goal.

The Blue & White defense forced its first punt but on the next play Williams fumbled when he sacked and Fordham pounced on the loose ball. Three plays later Anderson and Edmond’s connected on a 18 yard scoring pass to put the Rams up 21-3 with 14:26 to play in the second quarter.

Chaney and the Hawks answered with an 80 yard drive; spanning almost eight minutes. On second and nine from the Fordham 13, Chaney went off the left side the line and powered through would be tacklers for his third TD of the year.

Edmonds scored his third TD of the game, racing for 56 yards untouched and the Rams led 28-10 with 4:57 to play in the half.

Monmouth senior Joe Johnson (Manchester, NJ/Manchester) came up with the defense’s biggest play of the half, intercepting Anderson on and returning the ball 45 yards to the Fordham 22. Two plays later Williams hit Pat Gray (Westfield, NJ/Westfield/Hargrave Military) who cut back against the grain and to the endzone to cut the Ram lead to 28-17 with just under one minute to play.

Fordham, not content to run the ball out with the wind at its back, hit another big play as Anderson found a wide open Jordan Allen for a 60 yard touchdown with 27 seconds left in the half.

Monmouth was 4-of-15 on third down, while Fordham was 6-of-10. The Hawks also committed nine penalties for 100 yards and had a slight advantage in time of possession 30:35 to 29:25.

Chaney finished with 68 yards on 19 carries with a pair of touchdowns. Defensively, it was another double digit tackle effort for sophomore Mike Basile (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial), who had 10 stops on the afternoon.  Johnson had six tackles to go with his first interception of the season.

The Hawks return home next week for its final nonconference tuneup of the season against Bryant University. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.

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