Sept. 30, 2014
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THE OPENING KICK
MATCH-UP: Lafayette (2-2) travels to Fordham (4-1) for the first of two nationally televised games the Leopards will play in the Bronx, N.Y. this season. Kickoff is slated for 6:34 p.m. in the game that serves as Lafayette's Patriot League opener. No. 16/19 Fordham represents the second Top 25 team Lafayette will face in three weeks. The Rams and their high-powered offense have been averaging 41.2 points per game and 489 yards of total offense per game.
LAST TIME OUT: The Leopards are coming off a 35-23 victory over Wagner. Senior TB Ross Scheuerman punched in a pair of fourth-quarter scores (27 yards and 55 yards) to finish with 128 rushing yards. He added five catches for 91 yards. Starting QB Drew Reed was knocked from the game in the second quarter with a shoulder injury and was replaced by classmate Blake Searfoss (14-23-1 for 173, 2 TD) who was seeing his first significant playing time of the season.
WHEN LAST THEY MET: Lafayette snapped Fordham's 10-game win streak with a 27-14 victory over the No. 5 Rams on Nov. 16, 2013. Ross Scheuerman had 23 carries for 169 yards and two touchdowns in the win. The Lafayette defense sacked Fordham back-up QB Pete Maetzold five times and picked him off four times as he replaced the injured Mike Nebrich.
'CAUSE IT'S FRIDAY: The last time Lafayette played on a Friday was Oct. 14, 1977 when Lafayette traveled to Philadelphia to face Penn at Franklin Field.
PATRIOT LEAGUE OPENERS: Lafayette is 17-11 in Patriot League openers, with Patriot League play first beginning in 1988 as the Colonial League and 15-9 since 1990 when the league took its current name. The Leopards have won eight of their last 10 Patriot League openers (Georgetown in 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, Fordham in 2005 and Bucknell in 2006, 2012 and 2013) with the losses coming to Georgetown in 2010 and 2011.
MOVING UP TO FIFTH: With 160 rushing yards at William & Mary, senior TB Ross Scheuerman moved into fifth place for career rushing yards. Scheuerman has 2,837 career yards and recently passed Ryan Priest '87 (2,597 yards). Scheuerman needs 100 yards to eclipse Tom Costello '91 (2,936) and could advance as high as third all-time with a healthy senior season. Scheuerman has led the team in rushing the past three seasons and carried for 1,113 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2013 as the first player since 2006 to rush for 1,000 yards.
CARRYING THE LOAD: Ross Scheuerman's workload has increased steadily with his experience. In 2011, as the Patriot League Rookie of the Year, the Creamridge, N.J. native averaged 10 carries per game through four games. In 2012, it was 11.5 per game through four games, followed by 18 carries per game in 2013. This season, Scheuerman is averaging 20.3 carries and 131 rushing yards per game. He has three straight 100-yard games this season and nine for his career. His 29 carries vs. Wagner were a career high.
CLASS OF THE CLASSROOM: In 2013, the Lafayette football program had the highest academic progress rate (APR) in the NCAA FCS Playoffs and boasted the fourth-best graduation success rate (GSR) in the NCAA. Overall, for the 18 sports measured at Lafayette, a total of 14 Lafayette programs registered a graduation rate of 100 percent.
BIG PLAYS: TB Ross Scheuerman has been responsible for the bulk of the Leopards' big plays in 2014. Of the 10 plays that Lafayette has for 30 or more yards (on offense, defense and special teams), Scheuerman claims five. He opened the season with a 90-yard kick return at Sacred Heart and had a 72-yard rush for a touchdown at No. 13 William and Mary. He has carries of 40 (Robert Morris) and 36 (Sacred Heart) yards and punched in a 55-yard touchdown vs. Wagner. Scheuerman is averaging 6.5 yards per carry on the ground and 8.0 yards every time he touches the ball (rushes, kick returns and receptions).
ABOUT FORDHAM: The No. 16/19 Rams enter the game at 4-1, coming off a 45-16 blowout win at Holy Cross. Fordham's only loss on the season was Sept. 6 against No. 7/10 Villanova, 50-6 when the Rams were held without a touchdown.
• Fordham returns eight starters on each side of the ball after advancing to the FCS Playoffs with a 12-2 record.
• Former UConn transfer senior QB Mike Nebrich is 111-of-182 for 1,451 yards with 12 TDs and four INTs. Senior WRs Tebucky Jones and Brian Wetzel have accounted for half of Nebrich's TD passes, grabbing three each, while classmate Sam Ajala has 23 catches for 377 yards.
• TB Chase Edmonds, of Harrisburg, Pa., is making his case for Rookie of the Year honors, carrying 103 times for 723 yards (7.0 ypc) with eight TD's.
• Defensively, senior LB Victor DiFusco and sophomore LB Marlon Crook have carried the load after losing 2013 All-American LB Stephen Hodge to injury. DiFusco has 39 tackles while Crook leads the team with 4.0 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss.
• Joe Moorhead (Fordham '96) is in his third season in the Bronx. Inheriting a 1-11 team following 2011, he led the 2012 installment to a 6-5 record. Last season he won Patriot League Coach of the Year laurels and was a finalist for the FCS coach of the year.
