In their final home game of the season, the Georgetown football team (4-6, 2-3 Patriot League) fell to the Fordham Rams (9-2, 5-1 Patriot League) 38-31. The Hoyas trailed by 21 points in the second quarter, but a rally before halftime cut the lead to 28-21. The Hoyas managed to tie the score at 31 before the Rams seized a seven point lead for good. The final drive for the Hoyas culminated with senior quarterback Kyle Nolan throwing an interception in the end zone.
The day started with the honoring of the team’s sixteen seniors in a pregame ceremony in commemoration of Senior Day. The game started well for the Hoyas, as Fordham fumbled the opening kickoff and was forced to start with the ball at their own 2-yard line. The Hoyas defense went to work, forcing a three and out and handing their offense the ball at Fordham’s 42-yard line after the punt. Six plays later, sophomore running back Alex Valles scored on a 19-yard touchdown run, giving the Hoyas a 7-0 lead.
The Rams then proceeded to score 28 unanswered points. After the Georgetown touchdown, junior Fordham quarterback Kevin Anderson fired a 7-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Jonathan Lumley. After a Valles fumble on Georgetown’s next drive gave the Rams a short field, sophomore running back Chase Edmonds scored from five yards out on a run. The next Georgetown drive stalled, and Fordham began throwing the ball downfield, with Anderson finding Lumley for a 35-yard gain. The drive culminated in another Anderson to Lumley connection on a 3-yard slant for a touchdown. Fordham got the ball back after another stalled drive from the Hoyas, but sophomore defensive back David Akere intercepted Anderson in the end zone and returned the interception to the Hoyas’ 35-yard line. Georgetown’s good fortune soon turned, as a Nolan pass was tipped into the hands of Fordham linebacker Stephen Hodge, who returned the interception 55 yards for the touchdown.
Georgetown would soon respond. On the next kickoff, sophomore running back Isaac Ellsworth exploded down the sideline for an 83-yard return, and Nolan would squeeze inside the pylon for a 12-yard touchdown run on a scramble. On the next Fordham possession, Anderson led his offense inside Georgetown territory, and was faced with a 4th and 5. Fordham chose to go for it, but the Hoyas’ secondary smothered the Rams’ wide receivers and Anderson attempted to scramble out of the pocket only to be brought down short of the first down marker. With momentum on their side, Nolan hit senior wide receiver Jake DiCecco on a third down for a huge 19-yard gain, and then scrambled away from pressure to find senior wide receiver Harrison Glor in the back of the endzone for the touchdown with seven seconds left in the half. Georgetown had cut the lead to 28-21 going into halftime.
Fordham added a field goal in the third quarter to extend their lead to 10. The next Georgetown drive was rolling inside Fordham territory, but a third down incompletion ended the drive, as the Hoyas begged for a pass interference call. Sophomore kicker Henry Darmstadter missed the field goal, and Fordham had the ball back. However, Georgetown’s defense came through in the clutch. Senior defensive end Hunter Kiselick picked off a screen pass and gave Georgetown the ball and the momentum back. The Hoyas would capitalize, as Nolan lobbed a 26-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Brandon Williams, who made a spectacular diving catch in the end zone to make the score 31-28.
Georgetown Sports Information
Kiselick would come up big again the next drive, as he sacked Anderson on third and long to force a Rams punt. On the next Hoya drive, Ellsworth caught a screen pass and ran for a 53-yard gain, which included running out of a tackle at midfield to send the crowd into a frenzy. Darmstadter added a 34-yard field goal to tie the game with 5:17 left to go in the fourth quarter.
On the next kickoff, Fordham’s special teams responded to Ellsworth’s huge return earlier in the game. A 76-yard return set the Rams up on the Georgetown 21-yard line, and sophomore running back Jarred Brevard punched it in from 10 yards out to give the Rams a 38-31 lead. With their backs to the wall, Nolan led the Hoyas on a valiant final drive. With 2:50 remaining, a 3rd and 10 was converted on a screen pass to Glor who ran for 21 yards. A 4th and 1 conversion on a 10 yard run by senior fullback Troye Bullock set Georgetown up with the ball on the Fordham 33-yard line and 1:16 left to go. Nolan’s magic ran out, as he floated a pass into the middle of the end zone into triple coverage and Fordham linebacker David Barletta intercepted it, sealing the deal for the Rams.
Nolan ended the day 28-of-46 for 328 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Glor led the Hoyas’ receiving corps with seven catches for 97 yards and a touchdown. Hunter Kiselick spearheaded the defensive effort with four tackles, 1.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sacks, and one interception, and was assisted by senior linebacker Matt Satchell’s nine tackles.
The Hoyas will face Holy Cross (5-5, 2-3 Patriot League) in their season finale next Saturday in Worcester, Massachusetts. Kickoff is at 12:05 p.m.
