Published: October 22, 2009

Bryant College started off its Oct. 10 game against Fordham by fumbling the opening kickoff, and though the Bulldogs maintained possession, this miscue would foreshadow their struggles throughout the game. After opening the year 1-3, Fordham finally appeared to be firing on all cylinders in the 35-7 win.

With a score of 28-0 at halftime, the game was already over to the disbelief of 3-1 Bryant. The Bulldogs gained only 85 yards during the first half, behind 19 passing yards from quarterback Michael Croce. In comparison, the Rams picked up 308 yards in the half behind 147 passing yards from quarterback John Skelton, FCRH ’10.

Tandem running backs Xavier Martin, FCRH ’10, and Darryl Whiting, FCRH ’12, recorded the first two scores of the game in the opening quarter, while Skelton added the next two, running one in from 34 yards out and completing a one-yard pass to his brother Stephen Skelton, FCRH ’11, with 28 seconds left in the half.

Bryant did not score until 14 minutes into the third quarter, when Croce connected with Tim Mastrino for a 28-yard touchdown.

Fordham looked like a team completely in sync. Skelton, working in the no huddle spread offense, deftly hit five different targets and managed the pocket like the pro he is projected to become. Skelton finished with two touchdown passes, both to his brother Stephen Skelton, and he would have had another on the opening drive if it wasn’t dropped. Skelton did record an interception, though it wasn’t because of an inaccurate throw.

“[It was] just… miscommunication. I kind of rushed the throw and put it out there,” Skelton said.

Running backs Martin and Whiting gained 125 and 56 yards, respectively, proving that for Fordham to be successful, the offense needs to refrain from resting solely on Skelton’s 6’ 5” frame and instead balance the passing game with some running plays.

“If you’re one-dimensional, you can defend one-dimensional most of the time,” said Tom Masella, Fordham head coach.

If switching up Fordham’s offensive looks means sharing the load, starting running back Martin has no issues with that.

“I like getting spelled by [Whiting]… because I don’t want to run the ball when I’m 50 percent and I’m tired. I’d rather run the ball when I’m 100 percent and full go.”

Often overlooked, both Skelton and Martin made sure to give credit to their offensive line, which did not surrender a sack and allowed the Fordham rushing attack to gain 5.5 yards a carry. “It’s a credit to them; they are doing a great job upfront,” Skelton said.

Martin added, “I’m only as good as the offensive line. If the offensive line has a good game, I have a good game. They have a bad game, I have a bad game.”

The Fordham defense also stepped up after letting up 20-plus points in every previous game. They held Bryant to only seven points, recording seven tackles for losses along with two sacks. Though Bryant did manage to pull of a couple big running plays in the second half, Masella wasn’t too worried about it.

“In the second half, when they were running counters [a type of running play] we’re probably defending pass a little more than defending run.”

For all intents and purposes, the Bryant offense was woefully inept at attacking the Fordham defense during the first half, going only 1-9 on third downs and being shutout on the scoreboard. Cornerback Kevin Colbert, FCRH ’10, was a standout for the Rams, frequently breaking up pass plays and playing tight enough coverage that the receiver he was covering had no chance at the ball.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ scout in the press box showed that the NFL is taking some looks at Skelton, but that hasn’t shown an effect on his game.

“I can come out whether there was a scout in the stands or there was no one there watching,” Skelton said. “Its my senior year and whether I was getting looked at or not, I think I play, you know, leave it all out on the field just because it’s my last chance to do what I can in college.”