The Fordham University football Rams swept the weekly Patriot League awards with Jonte Coven being chosen Offensive Player of the Week, James Crockett earning Defensive Player of the Week honors, Ben Dato receiving his second straight Special Teams Player of the Week award and Xavier Martin voted the Rookie of the Week.
Last Saturday, Fordham upended the College of Holy Cross, 24-21 at Jack Coffey Field to clinch at least a share of the Patriot League title and earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs. It will be Fordham’s second appearance in the NCAA playoffs since the Rams moved to the NCAA I-AA in 1989, the first since 2002.
Coven, a senior running back, rushed 29 times for a career-high 167 yards against the Crusaders on Saturday. Crockett, a sophomore linebacker, had a career-day against Holy Cross, recovering a fumble in the end zone for a score and picking off a pass in the final seconds to secure the Fordham win. Dato, a senior punter, averaged 46.6 yards/punt on eight kicks, some into a stiff wind, against Holy Cross. He punted eight times for 373 yards with two of his kicks downed inside the Holy Cross 20.
Martin, a freshman running back, carried 14 times for 75 yards in the Holy Cross game while also returning two kickoffs for 60 yards to earn his third Rookie of the Week award. He was part of a Fordham rushing attack that gained 298 yards on the day.
After a bye this Saturday, Fordham will close out the 2007 regular season as the Rams play host to the Bucknell University Bison in a Patriot League game on Nov. 17 at 1 p.m. at Jack Coffey Field.
