It seems like it’s boom or bust for the Georgetown offense. A week after scoring 57 points in a thrilling homecoming victory against Butler, the Hoyas could only muster 10, falling to the Fordham Rams, 17-10 on Saturday.
In what was a close match up throughout the duration of the game, Fordham’s Javarus Dudley returned a third quarter kickoff went 97 yards for the eventual winning score.
The Rams struck first, scoring with 7:21 remaining in the first quarter. It looked like the Hoyas would catch a break on the Ram’s first drive of the game. After a crushing hit by junior defensive end Eric Speron, Fordham’s running back coughed the ball up, and junior tackle Kevin Komelasky dove on it to regain possession from the Hoyas. Georgetown could not capitalize, however, as the Rams’ defense picked off a Dave Paulus pass on the ensuing Hoya drive to negate their previous offensive error.
After taking over with great field position, the Rams could only salvage a field goal after a tough stand by the Hoya defense. Fordham would strike again soon thereafter, taking advantage of another interception from Paulus. This time the Rams would take advantage, driving for the touchdown to put them on top, 10-0.
The Hoyas engineered a drive with 13:37 left in the second quarter, which would result in their only touchdown of the day, a 45-yard pass from Paulus to senior wideout Gharun Hester.
The score would remain 10-7 as the teams broke for the half, but would not remain that way for long. Four minutes and three seconds into the second half, Georgetown took advantage of an interception by senior safety Brett Crowder to convert a 48-yard field goal by Kentucky transfer and graduate student Marc Samuel and even the score at 10 apiece.
However, the Hoyas’ success was short lived. On the ensuing kickoff, Dudley broke it open, returning the kick nearly the entire length of the field for a touchdown, the seven points making the difference in the game.
The two teams traded drives for the remainder of the game, but both defenses held firm, refusing to yield as the minutes ticked off the clock to an eventual Rams victory, sealed by another interception off Paulus on the Hoyas’ final drive of the game.
The Hoyas never really found their stride on offense at any time during the game. Fordham’s defensive line dictated the game for Georgetown, shutting down the Hoyas’ running game, allowing just 13 yards on the ground against them and forcing four interceptions.
“We can’t turn the ball over. We need to take better care of the ball and sustain our blocks longer,” Head Coach Bob Benson said of the Hoyas’ offensive performance. He also credited the formidable Rams defense.
“They were pretty good up front,” Benson said. “We knew it would be a challenge.”
The pressure of the Fordham defense also kept Hester under wraps for most of the game, holding him to one touchdown catch. The Rams frequently double teamed him and allowed him no chance at a reception.
The Hoyas tried everything to get their ground game in motion, including tossing sophomore David Wingate-Robinson and senior Anthony Tuozo into the backfield.
“We tried to take advantage of each running back’s talents,” Benson said.
The loss marks the second defeat of Georgetown by a Patriot League team this season. Still, Benson remains confident in his team’s abilities and was pleased with the defense’s performance.
“I thought we stopped the run pretty well,” Benson said. “We challenged our defense to step up this week, and we thought they did a pretty good job.”
“We never thought it was going to be easy,” Benson said of the Hoyas’ move into to the Patriot League next fall. “We want to play good teams here every game. But when we play better teams, we have to be better in every part of the game.”
Georgetown will next face Bucknell at 1 p.m. Saturday on Kehoe Field.
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