Sports

Fordham falls to Colgate in offensive slugfest

If you like offense and nail-biters, Jack Coffey Field was the place to be on Saturday afternoon.

In a game that featured 1,155 yards of total yards, Colgate beat Fordham 41-39 in a thrilling season finale.

“You have to tip your cap to Colgate,” Fordham head coach Joe Moorhead said. “Patriot League champions, I hope to see them do well in the playoffs and represent the Patriot League well.”

The Rams (6-5), who were ineligible to win the league’s title because they offer scholarships to football players, hung with the Raiders’ potent offense for the majority of the game, even heading into halftime with a 16-14 lead.

“Our team came out, played four quarters and showed it could compete with any team in the country,” Moorhead said.

Fordham scored a late touchdown after Ryan Higgins connected with Brian Wetzel on a 19-yard strike that left the Rams a two-point conversion away from tying the game with 43 seconds left. Fordham failed to convert or recover the ensuing onside kick, leaving Colgate (8-3) to run out the clock.

“After the [touchdown] play with Brian, I walked into the huddle, told everyone I loved them and this was it, do-or-die,” Higgins said.The [two-point] play worked in practice all week. It just didn’t go our way.”

The Raiders were led by their dual rushing attack with quarterback Gavin McCarney (178 yards, TD) and Jordan McCord (141 Yards, 3 TDs).

“Colgate came in with a great game plan,” Rams linebacker Mike Martin said. “We knew it was going to be a fight for four quarters.”

Fordham’s senior running back, Carlton Koonce, tried his best to match Colgate’s rushers, finishing with 232 yards and three touchdowns. Koonce broke the Rams’ single-season rushing record passing Kirwin Watson’s 1,477-yard mark set in 2003 and finished with 1,596 yards on the season.

“Obviously it’s cool to have the record, but it would have been twice as nice to have the W on top of that,” Koonce said. “[The record] was a group effort and goes to show how we dominate the line of scrimmage.”

The difference was that Fordham settled for field goals attempts five times throughout the game. Patrick Murray, a preseason All-American, was uncharacteristically off, missing on two field goals (49,55) and had an extra point blocked by Colgate. Murray did hit connect twice (38,21).

Fordham’s defense helped kept the Rams close, with sophomore safety Jake Dixon intercepting McCarney once and recovering a red-zone fumble. Junior cornerback Ian Williams also contributed a red-zone interception in the second quarter.

“We just wanted to get the ball to our offense because we know they can score,” Martin said. “Offense always gets all of the glory, but that doesn’t bother our defense.” The Rams were hindered by penalties, and missed a huge chance to capitalize and take a lead in the third quarter.

Down 21-19, Fordham drove from its own seven-yard line after the Dixon fumble recovery. In a drive that heavily featured senior running back Carlton Koonce, a Chris Watkins holding penalty on the Colgate 14-yard line negated a Koonce touchdown before Higgins threw an interception to hand the ball back to Colgate.

“I didn’t feel good after the pick,” Higgins said. “I was down for a little bit but had everyone come over and pick me up. That’s what this team is all about.”

asulla-heffinger@nypost.com