Sept. 7, 2008

Box Score

Photo Gallery

BRONX, N.Y. -- The Rhode Island football team dropped its first road game of the season, losing, 16-0, at Fordham. The game was played on Sunday, postponed for a day due to poor weather conditions due to Tropical Storm Hanna.

"We lacked execution out there today," said head coach Darren Rizzi. "We did some really good things - I thought special teams made some great plays - but we were 3-for-17 on third down conversions. While we didn't turn the ball over, if you can't turn some of those third downs into firsts, it adds up."

Senior quarterback Derek Cassidy attempted a career-best 41 passes, completing 25 of them, for 200 yards. Five Rams had at least three receptions, led by Ty Bynum's five catches for 43 yards. Joe Bellini hauled in four catches for 62 yards.

"Joe Bellini has been a very consistent performer for us all season long," Rizzi said. "Overall as a team, we had too many dropped passes and missed opportunities. Derek Cassidy was 25-for-41 and that very well could have been 35."

Fordham opened the scoring in the first quarter thanks to a 33-yard field goal by Adam Danko. Danko's field goal capped an eight play 58-yard drive that spanned 4:03.

In the second quarter, Fordham struck again as quarterback John Skelton hit receiver Jason Caldwell for an 87-yard touchdown pass, which put the Rams up 10-0.

They tacked on a fourth quarter TD, on a 50-yard pass from Skelton to Asa Lucas, making it 16-0.

"Our defense played very well, but let up a few big plays and those cost us in the end," said Rizzi.

Rhode Island struggled to move the ball offensively in the first half as they mustered just 84 yards of total offense. URI finished with 174 yards for the game.

"We had peaks and valleys out there today, but it's a rebuilding process," Rizzi explained. "It wasn't the result we wanted, but we come away from this game with some real positives. I'm very excited about some of the things we did defensively and I think you can build a long list of the positive things we did out there today."

The Rams' special teams had an outstanding day, blocking a punt and an extra-point, while getting excellent play from true freshman punter Tim Edger - 10 punts for 428 yards, including a long of 53 yards and five punts inside the 20.

"Tim Edger has a bright future and our special teams really showed a lot of heart," Rizzi said. "We have a lot of starters playing big roles on special teams. Shawn Leonard almost got to a punt as well and if we were able to convert some of those plays, it could've been a big day. Sometimes you just don't get the bounces."

URI returns home next to face New Hampshire in a Noon-time start at Meade Stadium. It is the CAA Football Game of the Week and will be broadcast live locally on Cox Sports Television. The game can also be heard live on the radio on WHJJ 920 AM and 99.3 FM WJZS, with Steve McDonald and Terry Lynch calling all the action.