Last year, Fordham quarterback Michael Nebrich tore his ACL, ending his season after just three games, but Thursday night, he returned in style.
Playing for the first time in nearly a year, Nebrich accounted for five touchdowns as the Fordham Rams kicked off their 2013 season with a 51-26 victory over the Rhode Island Rams at Jack Coffey Field.
Nebrich completed 17 of 25 passes for 267 yards and four touchdowns, while also running for 31 yards and a score.
"It was a good feeling," he said. "After last year's injury, it was a tough rehab. The most important thing I took out of this game was having full confidence in the knee."
The biggest touchdown came late in the third quarter, when Rhode Island had just scored to trim the Fordham lead to 31-19 and was riding a wave of momentum.
On a third-and-1 from the Rhode Island 49, Nebrich found Brian Wetzel, who ran about 20 yards after the catch to scoot into the end zone and extend the lead to 38-19.
Rhode Island responded with a touchdown, but Nebrich kept them at bay, finding Sam Ajala wide-open for a 64-yard touchdown pass that effectively iced the contest.
Freshman running back Kendall Pearcey finished the scoring with a 16-yard touchdown run with 1:27 remaining in the game.
After going three-and-out on their first possession, Fordham took advantage of a shanked Rhode Island punt and drove 65 yards in just 54 seconds, with Nebrich finding Ajala on a 29-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone for a quick 7-0 lead.
"The coaches call the plays to put us in the right position," Ajala said. "It's just making plays."
"Sam's very much improved," coach Joe Moorhead said. "We switched him from the slot to the X — that position's a focal point in our offense. He's extremely talented, and he has good physical tools, but I challenged him to embrace the mental aspect. He embraced it, and his performance was indicative of that. There's still plenty of room to improve, though."
Jake Dixon stopped Rhode Island's next drive with an interception, and on a quarterback keeper, Nebrich scampered 32 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead less than seven minutes into the game.
After a Rhode Island field goal, Fordham scored again, as Nebrich found Brian Wetzel for a 5-yard touchdown reception to extend the lead to 21-3 early in the second quarter.
The key defensive play for Fordham came in the third, when J.Q. Bowers intercepted a Bob Bentsen pass and took it 61 yards to the end zone to quell a Rhode Island threat, extending Fordham's lead to 31-12.
Moorhead said he was satisfied with the team's effort, while acknowledging there was room to improve.
"It was imperative that we come out and execute on both sides of the ball and special teams," he said. "For a large part of the game, we did it, but there's enough that we have to clean up if we're going to beat a team like Villanova [Fordham's next opponent]."
One of the areas that Moorhead said needed improvement was the rushing defense. Though Fordham neutralized Bentsen (who went 18-of-31 for 156 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions), they had trouble stopping the run, as Rhode Island rolled up 277 rushing yards on 50 attempts, an average of 5.5 yards per carry.
"We couldn't put any more guys in the box," he said. "We were committing people to stop the run, and a lot of that is a result of the tempo of which we play offensively. We score quickly, which puts the defense back on the field.
"Generally speaking, they're going to play a lot of snaps [81 to just 57 for Fordham]. We have to be able to stop the run better."
Nebrich said he could play better.
"I had a couple missed blitz checks," he said. "The biggest mistake I made was overthrowing Wetzel in the end zone. If we're going to beat Villanova next [Saturday], we need to be perfect, and I can't miss those things."
jdemarzo@nypost.com
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Fordham wins opener
Dengan url
http://makananrasaenak.blogspot.com/2013/08/fordham-wins-opener.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Fordham wins opener
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar