Bronx News Sports: Hayes dominates

Bronx News Sports: Hayes dominates: Hayes dominates  Photo by Gary Quintal Playing their final regular season match-up at Rooftop, Cardinal Hayes improved to ...

Hayes dominates

Hayes dominates 

Photo by Gary Quintal

Playing their final regular season match-up at Rooftop, Cardinal Hayes improved to 3-5 after a 13-point second half propelled Hayes to a 19-6 victory over Saint John the Baptist. Hayes hopes to finish its regular season with a three game winning streak for traveling  to St. Anthony's for a 7pm match-up Saturday November 1st.  

Bronx News Sports: Fordham

Bronx News Sports: Fordham: Fordham Coach Looks Forward to New Season (Photos by Gary Quintal) By Howard Goldin BRONX, NEW YORK, OCTOBER 23- The ea...

Bronx News Sports: Fordham

Bronx News Sports: Fordham: Fordham Coach Looks Forward to New Season (Photos by Gary Quintal) By Howard Goldin BRONX, NEW YORK, OCTOBER 23- The ea...

Fordham

Fordham Coach Looks Forward to New Season

(Photos by Gary Quintal)

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, OCTOBER 23- The early fall is the time that the seasons of several important team sports converge. This week, the World Series and college football are moving forward, the NFL season is taking shape, the new seasons of the NBA and NHL are beginning, the college basketball conferences are previewing the next season at their annual media days. 

The Atlantic-10 Conference held its Media Day at 

Barclays Center last Tuesday. The location was chosen because Barclays will be hosting the A-10 Championship in March for the third straight season. 

Each of the 14 head coaches in the currently misnamed conference (there are 14 teams in the Atlantic-10) met with members of the media to discuss the upcoming season. Much of interest was told to reporters during the lengthy event, but this article will focus on the only New York City team in the A-10, Fordham University.

Although hundreds of college teams compete in thousands of games each season, a number of coincidences regarding Fordham personnel show college basketball is a small world. Fordham’s coach Tom Pecora began his career in coaching as an assistant to Bob Mckillop at Long Island Lutheran 30 years ago. McKillop, now in his 26^th year as the coach at Davidson, was also at Media Day as Davidson is the newest member of the conference. 

Pecora was an assistant coach at UNLV under coach Rollie Massimino during 1992-93. Massimino’s grandson, Matt, is on this year’s Fordham roster. Paul Hewitt, the coach at George Mason, was an assistant coach at Fordham.

Fordham finished last in the A-10 last year and was chosen to be last in the pre-season poll revealed. Yet, before the season begins, hope springs eternal. Pecora enthused, “This is the best time of the year. I like the anticipation and the unpredictability of a college basketball season.” 

Coach Chris Mooney of Richmond reiterated the feeling in his interview, “All coaches are excited and optimistic this time of the year.”

Several of the teams, including Fordham, took overseas trips during the off-season. The Fordham coach believes the trip to Canada will benefit his team for several reasons, “the practices, the cultural experiences and competing together.” He feels the bonding experience is invaluable for a team with “seven new bodies.”

Hewitt, who traveled with his team to Spain, spoke even more strongly, “The trip to Spain will help us more than anything that happened last season.”

Pecora spoke very positively of several of the newcomers. Eric Paschall, 6-6, was a standout at Dobbs Ferry High School in Westchester County and the New England Prep School player of the year at St. Thomas More in Connecticut. Pecora told of the youngster’s versatility on the court, “He’s 17 years old; he can play positions 2, 3 or 4; we expect a lot of Eric.”

He said of Chris Sengfelder, 6-8, of Germany, “He’s really been a big surprise.”

Pecora also anticipates improvement in his returning players. Last year’s prize recruit, Jon Severe of Brooklyn, was on the A-10 All-Rookie Team and has been selected as a preseason choice for A-10 Third Team. Pecora explained the opposition game plan last year was to stop Severe from scoring, “He was being defended by grown men. This year, there’ll be less of a burden.” 

He also talked of why he expects two upperclassmen to improve, “Senior Bryan Smith is finally playing his natural position. The offensive game of Junior Ryan Rhomes, 6-8, has blossomed.”

Fordham’s home arena, the Rose Hill Gym in the Bronx, has been oft-criticized as the oldest Division I gym and for its limited seating of 3,200. Yet, Pecora praised it as one of Fordham’s strengths, “Rose Hill is a special place. It reeks of tradition. It’s a great home court advantage. Sixteen games there is a good thing.”

Shaka Smart, the coach of the unanimous choice for first place in the A-10, VCU, reminisced of his first visit to Rose Hill, “They had Smush Parker and a hell of a team. Bob Hill was the coach. It was different and a challenge.”

Pecora, a native of Queens Village said of himself, “I’m born and bred there. It’s important for me to be a part of New York basketball.” Thus, he is exceptionally pleased to be playing against St. John’s University at Madison Square Garden (December 14) and against Manhattan College, its Bronx rival, at Barclays on December 28.

Fordham’s season will begin on November 14 at the Rose Hill Gym against the New York Institute of Technology.

Bronx News Sports: Fordham’s First Win over Penn is a Record Breaker

Bronx News Sports: Fordham’s First Win over Penn is a Record Breaker: Fordham’s First Win over Penn is a Record Breaker (Photos by Gary Quintal) By Howard Goldin BRONX, NEW YORK, OCTOBER 13-...

Fordham’s First Win over Penn is a Record Breaker

Fordham’s First Win over Penn is a Record Breaker

(Photos by Gary Quintal)

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, OCTOBER 13- The sixth meeting between the Fordham Rams (6-1, 2-0) and the University of Pennsylvania Quakers (0-4, 0-1) took place at Jack Coffey Field in the Bronx on October 11. The game on Saturday was the first victory of Fordham, 60-22, over the Quakers. The two teams seem to be heading in different directions. The win for Fordham was its fifth straight and 11th consecutive home win, and the loss for Penn was its eighth straight. The 60 points scored by the Rams was the most their Ivy League opponent had surrendered in a single game since its 61-0 defeat by #1 ranked Army on November 17, 1945.

The visitors reached the scoreboard first as Penn quarterback Alek Torgerson threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Ryan O’Malley at 10:01. To the credit of the Fordham defense, that intercepted two passes and forced two fumbles, the first Penn touchdown was also its last. The last 16 points scored by the Quakers were off the foot of Jimmy Gammil. The junior kicked the point after touchdown and five field goals.

Fordham scored twice on the ground in the first quarter. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania native Chase Edmunds carried the ball three yards for Fordham’s first points. His 11th touchdown of the season, in only six games, has been topped only five times in Fordham history in a single (full). He rushed for 101 yards, the sixth game in which has rushed for triple figures of yards. He is the first Fordham freshman to have a season rushing yardage total above 1,000 (1,011).

Fordham head coach Joe Moorhead, in his third successful season in the Bronx, spoke very highly of the sensational freshman’s work ethic, preparation, and effort, “He’s an old soul. Everything he’s gotten, he’s earned. It’s not a surprise the success he’s had.”

Quarterback Mike Nebrich, a senior, has also been impressed by the freshman running back, “He’s been huge. It [his rushing] opens up the defense. You can lead as a freshman.”

The second Fordham first quarter touchdown came on a recovered fumble and eight-yard run by senior defenseman DeAndre Slate.

Fordham’s defensive onslaught during the remainder of the game was achieved through the air under the leadership and outstanding ability of quarterback Nebrich. The senior from Virginia spoke of how he sees his responsibility during each contest, “My job is to get us going anytime we start sputtering.”

On Saturday, he completed 36 of 47 passes for a Fordham record of 566 yards, which broke the mark of 524 yards he set in 2013. Six of the 36 completions were for touchdowns, tying a Fordham game mark.

Five different receivers caught touchdown tosses from Nebrich. Tubucky Jones Jr., like Nebrich, a University of Connecticut transfer, caught two, one of 37 yards and one of 47 yards. Jones caught 10 for 203 yards, the eighth highest total in Fordham history. Sam Ajala received eight passes for 199 yards, the ninth highest total.

The 730 yards gained by the Fordham offense was a single game school record and the highest total by an NCAA FCS team this season. According to Moorhead, this success stems from good practice habits and game preparation. The coach also praised his players as being good students and fine human beings as well as good athletes. His own college experience at Fordham has obviously imbued in him the knowledge of what a student-athlete should be.

After Fordham’s bye-week the team will travel to Lehigh for its next contest on October 25. The Rams will return to Jack Coffey Field on November 1 to host Colgate.