Football Defeats Lehigh 43-14

Bethlehem, Pa. - The 2018 Fordham football squad pulled a page from former head coach Joe Moorhead's playbook today as the former mentor always stated that when someone went down, the next man had to step up. Today it was two men who stepped up as junior Tyriek Hopkins and freshman Naim Mayfield stepped up for injured running backs Zach Davis and D'Angelo Palladino, combining to run for 206 yards and three touchdowns, as the Rams gave head coach Joe Conlin his first career win with a 43-14 Patriot League win over Lehigh University at Goodman Stadium. With the win, Fordham improves to 1-5 overall, 1-1 in the Patriot League, while Lehigh falls to 1-5 overall, 0-1 in the conference. The Fordham offense exploded for the 43 points today while gaining a season-high 488 yards of offense. Freshman quarterback Tim DeMorat completed 14 of 23 passes for 299 yards (a Fordham freshman record) and two touchdowns with Austin Longi grabbing five passes for 108 yards and Corey Caddlepulling in three receptions for 100 yards, including an 87-yard touchdown catch. Defensively Fordham held preseason All-American running back Dom Bragalone to just 34 yards on 19 carries and intercepted preseason All-Patriot League quarterback Brad Mayes three times, two of those from junior Jesse Bramble. After a scoreless first quarter, the Rams scored 22 points on three touchdowns in the second, the first on a 73-yard catch and run from Jonathan Lumleyand the last two on one yard runs from Mayfield and DeMorat as Fordham took a 22-6 lead into the break. An 87-yard catch and run from Caddle was the only scoring in the third as the Rams built a 29-6 lead and they increased it to 36-6 early in the fourth on a Hopkins 20-yard run. After a Lehigh touchdown, Mayfield closed out the scoring with a five-yard rush with just over two minutes remaining for the 43-14 final. Takeaways • The game was Fordham's second win at Lehigh in 16 games (the first came in 2014). • The Rams have now won five of the past six meetings with the Mountain Hawks. • Junior running back D'Angelo Palladino, who ran for 297 yards against Lehigh last year, was sidelined with an injury. • It was Fordham's first of two games on natural grass this year. • The Rams picked off three passes for the first time since the Eastern Washington game last fall. • Fordham controlled the time of possession: 32:30 to 27:30 • The Rams are now 25-7 against Patriot League opponents over the past six years. By the Numbers 11 – Total tackles for loss recorded by the Rams, led by 2.5 from Noah Fitzgerald and 2.0 from Anthony Diodato, a season-high and the most in a game for the Rams since they recorded 12 against Villanova in 2015. 47.3 – Average points scored by the Rams against Lehigh over the past six meetings. 87 – Yard touchdown pass by Corey Caddle, the longest scoring strike for the Rams of the year and the longest for Fordham since 2015. 16 – Career receiving touchdowns for Corey Caddle, who had one today, moving him into a tie for eighth on the Fordham career list. 100 – Receiving yards for Corey Caddle, the second 100-yard receiving game for his career. 108 – Receiving yards for Austin Longi, his third 100-yard game of the season and the tenth of his career (tied for fifth most in school history). 163 – Career receptions for Austin Longi, who had five today, moving him into a tie for seventh on the Fordham all-time list. 189 – Net rushing yards for the Rams, who entered the game averaging 24.2/game. 299 – Passing yards for freshman quarterback Tim DeMorat, a Fordham freshman record (former mark was 288 by John Skelton at Georgetown in 2006) 1,462 – Career receiving yards for Corey Caddle, who had 100 today, moving him into 13th place the Fordham career list. 2,134 – Career receiving yards for Austin Longi, who had 108 today, good for eighth place on the Fordham career list. What's Next? • The Rams return to Jack Coffey Field for another three-game homestand, beginning with a visit from the Bryant University Bulldogs on Saturday, October 20, in Fordham's final nonconference game of the year. • It will be the fourth meeting between Fordham and Bryant on the gridiron with the Bulldogs leading the all-time series, 2-1. • Bryant took last year's meeting, 45-40, in Smithfield on September 23 as Prince Wilson completed 26 of 44 passes for 393 yards and two scores for the Bulldogs. • Fordham is 6-13 against Lehigh since joining the Patriot League with the Mountain Hawks winning the first eight meetings. • The Rams are 1-0 against Bryant on Jack Coffey Field and 0-2 in Smithfield.