Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Football Suffers First Loss of Season

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Football Suffers First Loss of Season: Rams can’t overcome five turnovers, fall, 27-14, at Lafayette BRONX, NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 18- It was a game of lots of little missed opportu...

Football Suffers First Loss of Season

Rams can’t overcome five turnovers, fall, 27-14, at Lafayette

BRONX, NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 18- It was a game of lots of little missed opportunities that resulted in a big missed opportunity for the Fordham football Rams, the opportunity to go undefeated for just the third time in school history. The Rams turned the ball over five times and never seemed to be able to get on track, falling to Lafayette College, 27-14, in Fisher Stadium.

The loss for the Rams, who entered the game ranked fifth in the NCAA FCS, drops Fordham to 10-1 on the year while Lafayette improves to 4-6.

Playing without the services of injured quarterback Mike Nebrich, the Fordham offense went through stops and starts, seeming to pick up big yardage on some plays but having the play called back by costly penalties, as the Rams were held to a season-low 14 points.

The defense also came up with some big plays, intercepting the Lafayette quarterback four times, but could not come up with the big stops when needed, allowing the Leopards to convert on six of 14 third downs.

Things looked good for the Rams at the start as Fordham took the opening kickoff and drove to the Lafayette 26, thanks to a 20-yard rush from Carlton Koonce on the first play and a 30-yard completion from Peter Maetzold to Brian Wetzel two plays later. Facing a fourth-and-one at the Lafayette 26, Koonce took the ball around the right side and picked up the first down but the Rams were called for holding and had to settle for a 47-yard Marando field goal attempt which went wide left.

The Leopards used the momentum of the missed opportunity and moved to the Fordham 13 where Brett Biestek rushed Lafayette quarterback Drew Reed on third down, causing an incompletion, but  Ryan Gralish kicked a 30-yard field goal to give Lafayette a 3-0 lead with 9:24 left in the first.

The Rams again moved the ball to midfield on the ensuing possession but Wetzel fumbled after hauling in a pass and the ball was recovered by the Leopards.

It took one play for Lafayette to capitalize on the miscue as Reed connected with Mark Ross with a 49-yard scoring strike to boost the Lafayette lead to 10-0 with 8:03 on the clock. 

The Leopards threatened early in the second quarter with a first and goal at the two but Stephen Hodge intercepted Reed in the end zone to thwart the treat.

The offense seemed to feed off the momentum, moving 80 yards on eight plays with Maetzold finding Wetzel on a screen pass that Wetzel brought 34 yards to the end zone to get Fordham on the board with 10:38 left in the second.

The Rams picked off Reed again on the next possession when Jordan Chapman was able to grab the ball while lying on the ground on the Fordham 21.

Koonce appeared to pick up 21 yards on the first play from scrimmage but the Rams were called for holding and, two plays later, DeOliver Davis picked off a tipped pass for Lafayette on the Fordham 33.

Lafayette turned the interception into points as Ross Scheuerman took it in from the two five plays later to put the Leopards up 17-7 with 5:34 left in the half.

Fordham used a 42-yard completion from Maetzold to Wetzel on the second play of the ensuing drive to move into Lafayette territory but two plays later, Maetzold was picked off by Lafayette’s Matt Smalley on the Lafayette 28.

The Leopards moved to the Fordham 24 on the first series of the second half but Jake Rodriques stepped in front of a Reed pass on the Fordham 15 and he returned it to the Fordham 28. But the Rams again couldn’t take advantage of the turnover, going three-and-out on offense.

The game remained 17-7 until Lafayette took over on its own 23 following a Fordham punt with 4:39 left in the third. The Leopards kept it on the ground for most of the drive, gaining 68 of the 77 yards on the ground, capped by a two-yard scoring run from Scheuerman as Lafayette increased its lead to 24-7 with 2:06 left in the period.

Early in the fourth, the Leopards intercepted Maetzold on the Fordham 44 and the Leopards moved to the eleven where Gralish connected on a 29-yard field goal to give Lafayette a 27-7 lead with 8:19 remaining.

Later in the quarter Ian Williams outjumped Ross and came down with an interaction for Fordham on the Rams’ 20. Maetzold moved the offense down to the Lafayette 13 where he connected with Wetzel for their second scoring strike of the game as the Rams pulled to within 13, 27-14, with 2:07 on the clock.

The Rams attempted an onside kick following the score but were called for illegally touching the ball and Lafayette was able to run out the clock.

Maetzold completed 22 of 39 passes for 305 yards and two scores, his second straight 300-yard passing game, with Wetzel catching eight of the passes for 149 yards and Tebucky Jones making five receptions for 54 yards. Koonce gained 92 yards on 17 carries.

Defensively, Hodge led the Rams with nine total tackles, eight solo, and he intercepted a pass while Levon Williams, Ian Williams and Jake Dixon each finished with seven stops.

The Rams close out the regular season next Saturday, November 23, with a trip to Hamilton, N.Y., to face the Colgate University Raiders in Andy Kerr Stadium at 1:00 p.m.

Tags: Fordham, Rams, Football, First Loss

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Assault Rifle Recovered Near Cluster of Schools

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Assault Rifle Recovered Near Cluster of Schools: (Photo Courtesy of NYPD) By Dan Gesslein BRONX, NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 15- Police recovered an assault rifle and scores of ammun...

Assault Rifle Recovered Near Cluster of Schools

(Photo Courtesy of NYPD)

By Dan Gesslein

BRONX, NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 15- Police recovered an assault rifle and scores of ammunition from a Morrisania home around the corner from five schools.

At around 5:40 a.m., cops armed with a search warrant went through the house at 1160 Forest Avenue. Inside a closet in the home under a blue T-Shirt, officers recovered an AK-47 assault rifle with a 30-round magazine. 

A further search of the home revealed the following: fifty, .38 caliber rounds; three 9mm rounds; nine 12-gauge shotgun shells; a pistol magazine and a 30-round capacity magazine. Police charged the following with criminal possession of a weapon: Steven Walker, Victoria Velez and Emmanuel Rosado.

Although there was no report of the suspects intention on using the weapon, the recovery of a military assault rifle so near to schools has some residents on edge. The home is within a two-block radius of the following schools in either direction: PS 212, Bronx Latin School, Dr Richard Izquierdo Health and Science Charter School, on Home Avenue; New Covenant Christian Middle and High School on Boston Road and Morris Academy on Boston Road.

Tags: Assault Rifle, Schools, Bronx, New York, NYPD, AK-47

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Red Cross Leading Relief Effort in Philippines

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Red Cross Leading Relief Effort in Philippines: Using Facebook to Help Those Hit by Tragedy (Photos courtesy of Red Cross)   WASHINGTON, NOVEMBER 14- The American Red Cross announced an...

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Red Cross Leading Relief Effort in Philippines

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Red Cross Leading Relief Effort in Philippines: Using Facebook to Help Those Hit by Tragedy (Photos courtesy of Red Cross)   WASHINGTON, NOVEMBER 14- The American Red Cross announced an...

Red Cross Leading Relief Effort in Philippines

Using Facebook to Help Those Hit by Tragedy

(Photos courtesy of Red Cross) 

WASHINGTON, NOVEMBER 14- The American Red Cross announced an initial contribution of $6 million in support of the global Red Cross response to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. These funds will be used to distribute relief items, repair and rebuild shelters, provide healthcare and ensure access to clean water and sanitation systems.

“We are grateful for the American public’s generosity and compassion following what has been called one of the strongest storms in world history,” said David Meltzer, chief international officer for the American Red Cross. “The American Red Cross is in a unique position to help provide support by airlifting relief supplies from its warehouses around the world, providing trained disaster responders specializing in damage assessment and telecommunications, and by channeling its financial support to the Philippine Red Cross and its more than 500,000 staff and volunteers and our other global partners in the Red Cross network – all of which go to providing relief from this devastating storm.”

In addition to financial assistance, the American Red Cross is lending people, expertise and equipment to this effort with four specialists already on the ground in the Philippines. These include two people who specialize in telecommunication and who are traveling with satellite equipment, and two others who specialize in disaster assessment.

The Philippine Red Cross has extensive experience in search and rescue and large-scale relief and recovery programs. The Philippine Red Cross is the largest humanitarian organization in the country, with 1,000 staff members and an estimated 500,000 active volunteers engaged in this disaster response. Their volunteer relief teams continue to provide assistance in the hardest hit communities, including assisting in search and rescue efforts.

The Philippine Red Cross has begun distributions of emergency supplies and has provided meals to people affected by the storm. On Sunday, 6,000 packs of relief supplies were sent to Leyete and other affected communities. However, supply delivery in the worst affected city of Tacloban has been significantly constrained by destroyed infrastructure, blocked roads, and downed communication lines.

Specialized emergency response teams from Red Cross societies across the globe are moving into the Philippines to assist the Philippine Red Cross. These include teams with expertise in logistics, disaster assessment, shelter, health, water and sanitation.

“A global Red Cross relief effort is well underway and we are working closely with our international partners to help get aid where it is needed,” said Meltzer.

Despite the tragic aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, thousands of survivors are grateful for their lives. The Philippine Red Cross worked closely with local disaster authorities to support preemptive evacuations, helping move more than 125,000 families to safer shelter prior to the storm making landfall. The Philippine Red Cross also disseminated early warning messages and safety tips in areas along the path of the typhoon.

Here in the United States, the American Red Cross is helping to reconnect families separated by the typhoon and has activated its family tracing services. If people are looking for a missing family member in the Philippines, please remember that many phone lines are down. If people are unable to reach loved ones, contact your local chapter of the American Red Cross to initiate a family tracing case.

The American Red Cross expects to make additional contributions to support the humanitarian response in the coming weeks. Donations received from American Red Cross and other Red Cross partners will aid the Philippines relief and recovery efforts through the Philippine Red Cross and possibly other organizations as experts on the ground determine the best way forward.

HOW TO HELP Those who want to help can go to www.redcross.org or call 1-800-REDCROSS to donate to typhoon relief. People can also mail in a donation to their local Red Cross chapter. Gifts to the American Red Cross will support our disaster relief efforts to help those affected by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. On those rare occasions when donations exceed American Red Cross expenses for a specific crisis, contributions are used to prepare for and serve victims of other crises.

In a new partnership, Facebook is making it possible for users to donate directly to the American Red Cross either through a notification in News Feed, or directly on the Red Cross Facebook page. This is the first time that the American Red Cross has engaged in such a large-scale fundraising program with a social platform. For the Red Cross that means that with the click of a button on Facebook, we can connect people who want to help with those who are so desperately in need in the Philippines. This Facebook effort for the Philippines in the United States will continue through November 15.

Tags: Haiyan, Typhoon