Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Inconsistency Hurts Hoyas at No. 21 Rams

Charles Nailen/The Hoya Junior Frank Terrazzino and the rest of the Hoya offensive line allowed six sacks against Fordham Saturday.

BRONX, N.Y. – Penalties cost the Hoyas their second Patriot League victory of the season Saturday, giving the Fordham Rams a 34-10 win at home to extend their series winning streak to nine straight.

The Georgetown defense committed a roughing the kicker penalty early in the second quarter, leading to Fordham’s third touchdown of the afternoon. And late in the third quarter, senior wideout Luke McArdle leaped and came down with the ball in the back corner of the end zone, but the play was called back for offensive pass interference, nullifying a touchdown that would have cut the Rams’ margin to four.

Neither freshman Alondzo Turner, who made his first career start, nor junior Andrew Crawford could power the Georgetown offense from the pocket, as the Hoyas moved the ball only 260 yards. Neither passer got the opportunity to find a rhythm as they were constantly assaulted by Fordham’s front four, led by senior defensive end Keron Lucius who tallied 2.5 sacks.

“They were bringing a lot of pressure off the edge,” Crawford said, “and they were playing their safeties down in the box which really helped them stop our run game. They brought a lot of pressure that threw us off on our play-action.”

Georgetown rushed for a mere 79 yards, 65 of those coming from sophomore Marcus Slayton on 14 attempts.

The achievement of the day came from Fordham senior tailback Kirwin Watson, who broke 200 yards and scored all five of the Rams’ touchdowns on the afternoon, tying a conference record.

“He’s so good you just take it for granted he’s going to find a way to make those plays,” Fordham head coach Dave Clawson said. “You just feed him the football and eventually he’s going to make a big play.”

The Hoya defense contained Watson for most of the afternoon, allowing just 88 yards in the first 45 minutes of play. Georgetown managed to stay in the game by winning the field position battle, as freshman Keith Allan averaged 39.9 yards per punt.

Missing a field goal, failing to convert an interception into a score and faltering with an Allan punt going out of bounds at the Georgetown 45 all wore away at the Hoyas. Though able to contain the Rams in the third quarter while its offense was attempting to rally, the Georgetown defense broke down with 9:46 to play in the fourth. Watson beat a defender and was off to the races, putting the game entirely out of the Hoyas’ reach.

“It was just a matter of time if we let Watson touch the ball as much as he did,” Georgetown head coach Bob Benson said.

Fordham was successful moving the ball through the air, as senior quarterback Kevin Eakin went 20-of-34 for 258 yards. More than half of that yardage came from senior wideout Javarus Dudley, who caught eight passes for 135 yards.

The Hoyas opened the contest before 4,522 spectators at Jack Coffey field with three straight runs by Slayton, making it apparent that they would try to take advantage of the worst run defense in the Patriot League. A fake punt almost cost Georgetown dearly, but freshman Micah Clukey missed a 24-yard field goal and the Hoyas escaped unscathed from their first debacle of the afternoon.

Turner completed a 21-yard pass to McArdle on his first attempt. Georgetown failed to get past midfield and Fordham took advantage. Watson carried five times for 50 yards, including a 22-yard run to put the Rams up 7-0 early.

Answering right back, senior wide receiver Walter Bowser beat coverage and Turner hit him for a 64-yard score on the Hoyas’ first play.

The contest turned into a defensive slugfest as neither team could move the ball. Turner’s initial luster wore off, as his throws sailed behind his intended targets. Eakin finally produced the big play that turned the game’s momentum in Fordham’s favor, finding Dudley for a 63-yard throw that set up first-and-goal inside the Hoya 5.

The Rams’ defense returned to the field to protect a 14-7 advantage and managed to get two sacks in the process, bringing the opposing defense back out. Georgetown held Fordham on three plays, but contact between a Hoya defender and senior punter Stephen Ayers gave the Rams new life in Georgetown territory. It took the Rams three plays to capitalize and extend their lead to two touchdowns.

Sophomore Michael Gillman converted from 26 yards out on the next drive to narrow the margin to 21-10. The defensive battle resumed and continued into the third quarter, as Georgetown still could not get on the board after an interception by sophomore defensive end Michael Ononibaku.

To jumpstart the offense, Crawford relieved Turner with just under four minutes to play in the third quarter. The Hoyas were denied when McArdle’s end zone grab on third-and-10 was nullified. The 15-yard penalty cost not just a touchdown but a three-point attempt, as Gillman’s 44-yard try fell short.

“I thought it was an awful call,” McArdle said. “We got to live with it, I guess. [But] it would have changed the game.”

The Georgetown defense held for one more drive, stalling a Fordham march at the Hoya 25 and blocking the field goal attempt. But with the offense eating up only 34 seconds on a three-and-out, fatigue became too much to overcome as Watson ran 45 yards to stretch the Rams’ lead to 18.

The last gasp for the Georgetown offense ended in agony, as the team committed a false start on fourth-and-5. “We were actually going for a hard count, which we got them on, but we got our kid too,” Benson said.

On fourth-and-10, senior defensive end Adam Foley sacked Crawford to put the game away for good, though Watson added a 50-yard touchdown on the ensuing drive for good measure.

No. 21 Fordham (7-2, 2-2 Patriot), which lost tough contests early in the season to Lehigh and Bucknell, has yet to play undefeated Colgate. The Rams play host to Holy Cross next Saturday before meeting the Raiders at Andy Kerr Stadium on Nov. 15. They end the year at Towson on Nov. 22.

Though Georgetown’s defensive questions were answered at Fordham as banged-up senior linebackers Matt Fronczke and Andrew Clarke both recorded double-digit tackles, the coaching staff has yet to deal with the issue of starting quarterback.

“[At Fordham] I wasn’t sure if I was going to come in or not,” Crawford said. “The coaches told me . early [last] week that I wasn’t going to start.”

Benson said Crawford did not practice much last week because of injury.

Georgetown (3-6, 1-4 Patriot) wraps up a three-game stretch against conference opponents at Harbin Field next Saturday, when the Hoyas face the Towson Tigers.

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