Football Drops Heated Bout to Ohio, 59-52

Fordham fought in spectacular fashion and put on a heart-racing performance on Saturday, Sept. 24 against the Ohio University (OU) Bobcats, ultimately losing, 59-52, to their Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent. The Rams entered the stadium 3-0. Head Coach Joe Conlin was hopeful that his team could extend its winning streak to 4-0. In the end, the game wouldn’t go his way.

The high-powered offensive duo of Tim DeMorat, Fordham College at Rose Hill (FCRH) ’23, and Fotis Kokosioulis, FCRH ’23, was the backbone of the Rams effort. Ryan Greenhagen, Fordham Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) ’24, and James Conway, FCRH ’25,  led the team in tackles, with six apiece, but Fordham’s defense struggled to keep the Bobcats in check. 

Rams kicker Michael Bernard, FCRH ’23, set the tone with a touchback on the kickoff, starting Ohio’s possession at the 25-yard line. On the Bobcats’ first drive, running back Nolan McCormick, OU ’26, marched the offense down the field with ease, getting his team into the redzone. 

DeMorat kept a strong poker face throughout the game. Falling behind the Bobcats by 14 points seemed to leave the Ram unfazed.

Ohio made it to the one-yard line with little resistance from Fordham’s defenders before quarterback Kurtis Rourke, OU ’24, rushed into the endzone. Rourke faked a pass to Jake Neatherton, OU ’23, and the Rams fell for the deception, allowing Rourke to bypass every single Ram on the field. The Bobcats took an early 7-0 lead with around eight minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Fordham was eager to even the score. DeMorat relied on the abilities of running back Trey Sneed, GSAS ’24, on the opening drive. Sneed found small pockets of space in the Bobcats’ defense to run through. OU was forced to send over multiple defenders to take down Sneed as he steamrolled his way downfield. His efforts were not enough, as Fordham was forced to punt.

With possession once again, Rourke pulled another fake pass, and sent the ball 39 yards down the field into the hands of Tyler Foster, OU ’25. There was not a single Ram near Foster as he taunted his way into the end zone bringing the score to 14-0. 

DeMorat kept a strong poker face throughout the game. Falling behind the Bobcats by 14 points seemed to leave the Ram unfazed.Fordham continued to display its offensive strength into the second quarter. 

With 13 minutes left in the half, DeMorat showed faith in his teammates’ athletic ability. He found Kokosioulis for a 33-yard touchdown, giving Fordham its first touchdown. Kokosioulis made his way down the field without a single Bobcat getting near the loose Ram. After a successful extra point kick, the Rams were on the board, 14-7. 

On the next drive, Neatherton attempted to run with the ball. He freed himself from Fordham’s defense, but Greenhagen tracked him down. The 6’1”, 245-pound linebacker clung to Neatherton and carried him out of bounds. 

Greenhagen held the responsibility for preventing many runs during the game. With 11 minutes left in the second quarter, Rourke made a pass to his left toward McCormick. But once again, Greenhagen launched into the hips of the Ohio running back. 

Rourke then made a 14-yard pass to Sam Wiglusz, Ohio University Graduate College (OUGC) ’23, to enter the redzone. Finally, after a Fordham stop, Ohio attempted a field goal, upping the score to 17-7. 

As the second quarter wound down, the Rams made a strong effort to add to their score. DeMorat tacked on a 45-yard pass to Dequece Carter, GSBRH ’23, which brought the Rams to the Bobcats’ 15-yard line.

With six minutes remaining in the first half of play, DeMorat made a 74-yard pass to Kokosioulis. Tariq Drake, OU ’24, made a brave attempt and launched himself at Kokosioulis, yet the Ram brushed him off and continued his single-man race to the end zone, bringing the score to 17-14. 

On Ohio’s next drive, Rourke passed to Tyler Toledo, OU ’25, who ran through Fordham’s defense and landed in the end zone. Natani Drati, GSAS ’24, attempted to impede him, but it was useless against Toledo’s reach past the goal line. The score was now 24-14 with only two minutes remaining in the half. 

As the second quarter wound down, the Rams made a strong effort to add to their score. DeMorat tacked on a 45-yard pass to Dequece Carter, Gabelli School of Business at Rose Hill (GSBRH) ’23, which brought the Rams to the Bobcats’ 15-yard line. 

DeMorat targeted Carter once again, but the pass slipped through his fingers and fell harmlessly to the ground. DeMorat’s teammates adopted his poker-face attitude and Carter was not fazed by the error.

DeMorat sent the ball in Carter’s direction a final time, and this time found success. Carter seized the ball and planted his feet on the end zone paint. Following the extra point, the score was now 24-21 with 1:50 left in the quarter.

It appeared that Fordham was within striking distance, but with six seconds left, Rourke completed a 21-yard pass to Justin Birchette, OU ’23, who dragged the Fordham defender wrapped around him into the end zone. The first half of play concluded with a devastating blow to the Rams with the score at 31-21. 

Both offenses continued to thrive in the second half. The Bobcats did not maintain their 10-point lead for long. The Rams received the ball and started their drive from their own 26-yard line. The offense advanced into Ohio territory before DeMorat found a wide-open Kokosioulis for an easy 45-yard touchdown pass, cutting the Bobcat lead to three. 

Before the Rams could celebrate, however, Keegan Wilburn, OU ’26, returned the kickoff 97 yards for a quick touchdown. Ohio regained its double-digit lead, 38-28.

On their next drive, the Ram offense continued to make their way down the field, taking advantage of some poor Ohio tackling. Multiple big runs from Sneed set the Rams up deep in Ohio territory, leading to a 25-yard touchdown pass from DeMorat to wide-open wide receiver MJ Wright, GSBRH ’23. Once more, Fordham made it a three-point game.

Ohio’s offense began to drive again after a perfectly executed wheel route by running back McCormick. The drive ended in the red zone after Rourke was sacked by a ferocious Fordham blitz. Rourke fumbled, and the Rams maintained their six-point lead with under six minutes left in the game.

On the Bobcat’s first drive of the second half, Rourke and the Ohio offense began to make their way down the field with solid plays picking up large chunks of yardage. Eventually, the drive stalled out in Ram territory as Fordham forced a turnover on downs. 

The Rams’ offense picked up again, and its next drive included huge completions to Kokosioulis, one for 27 yards and another for 14. After a defensive pass interference call, the Rams set up on first down from the two-yard line, leading to an easy go-ahead rushing touchdown for running back Julius Loughridge, FCRH ’25, setting the score to 42-38.

After Fordham forced a punt thanks to an excellent tackle by defensive back Anthony Tony-Itoyah, GSAS ’23, DeMorat fired a bullet to a wide-open Kokosioulis, who took it to the house for an 85-yard touchdown. Fordham extended its lead to eleven points and the offense seemed unstoppable.

Unbelievably, the Rams forced another fumble off Rourke and recovered it again, giving them the ball and a chance to seal the win.

On the following Ohio drive, Rourke found wide receiver James Bostic, OUGC ’23, who would have likely scored if not for a diving tackle by Fordham defensive back B.J. Ferguson, FCRH ’23. The play brought the third quarter to an end, the score stood 49-38 for Fordham.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Ohio continued its drive and scored a touchdown on a impressive one-handed grab by Foster. It was initially flagged for pass interference, but Foster held on to the ball for a touchdown. After a successful two-point conversion, the score stood at 49-46 in favor of the Rams.

With the ball once again, Fordham took it to the red zone, but after an incomplete pass on third down, was forced to kick a 36-yard field goal and settle for a 52-46 lead. 

Ohio’s offense began to drive again after a perfectly executed wheel route by running back McCormick. The drive ended in the red zone after Rourke was sacked by a ferocious Fordham blitz. Rourke fumbled, and the Rams maintained their six-point lead with under six minutes left in the game.

Kokosioulis shone with a record breaking stat line of 13 receptions, 320 yards and 4 touchdowns. He now holds the Fordham and Patriot League single-game receiving yards records.

The Rams’ next drive died quickly as DeMorat’s long pass to Carter, was broken up on third down. Fordham punted and gave Ohio yet another chance to take the lead.

Unbelievably, the Rams forced another fumble off Rourke and recovered it again, giving them the ball and a chance to seal the win. On the first two plays of the drive, however, the Rams’ offense committed two 15-yard penalties, leading to a punt on fourth and 34 with plenty of time for Ohio to come back and score. 

The Bobcats swiftly took advantage. Rourke marched down the field in a matter of minutes. Ohio’s comeback was capped by a 5-yard completion to Jacoby Jones, OU ’24, who made an incredible catch in the endzone to give the Bobcats a 53-52 lead with under a minute left to play.

On the Rams’ final drive, they committed a number of penalties to push their offense back before fumbling on a lateral attempt, leading to an Ohio touchdown and a final score of 59-52. With that, an upset victory slipped through the grasp of the ambitious Fordham squad. 

The Rams did put on a remarkable performance, particularly on offense. DeMorat’s passing was excellent. He recorded 27 completions for 503 yards and 6 touchdowns on Saturday, which pushed him into first place on Fordham footballs career completions and career passing list. This performance against a bigger school is likely to attract attention from professional scouts.

Kokosioulis shone with a record breaking stat line of 13 receptions, 320 yards and 4 touchdowns. He now holds the Fordham and Patriot League single-game receiving yards records.

Despite the loss, the Fordham football team is going to face higher-stakes conference opponents in the coming weeks. Fordham will return to Football Championship Subdivision play, where the competition will not be nearly as stiff as the Bobcats from the Mid-American Conference. 

The Rams return to Rose Hill for their next game on Oct. 1, against Georgetown University during Parents Weekend. It will be Fordham’s first Patriot League contest of the season.

Get the latest Fordham sports updates on your Twitter feed. Follow The Observer’s sports Twitter page here.