Bruce Grant spent the second half trying to make up for turnovers.
“Those things can’t happen,” the Fordham Prep running back said after his team’s 27-20 loss in a CHSFL Class AAA league game at Kings Bay Friday night.
The Rams fumbled the ball four times, including two by Grant on handoff exchanges, and three were recovered by Xaverian. Turnovers on back-to-back possession in the second quarter at a key time left the Rams playing catch up.
Grant nearly pulled it off.
The senior broke what looked like a run going nowhere into a 14-yard gain. After Xaverian’s Muhammad King scored on a 3-yard touchdown run to put the Clippers, back up two scores, Grant took the ensuing kickoff back 87-yards for a score to again keep Fordham Prep in it.
“There was a whole bunch of guys to my right and I said let me try this way,” he said. “I saw a little gap. I hit it hard and it paid off.”
The Rams couldn’t control the Xaverian ground game in the second half, including the final drive as the Clippers ran out the clock in both team’s league opener Friday night.
“It was the little things that messed us up,” Grant, who rushed for 89 yards on 15 carries, said.
Fordham Prep (0-2, 0-1 CHSFL AAA) looked like it was beginning to swing the momentum late in the second quarter. Senior quarterback Brendan McGlynn hit Allan Bronzo up the right sideline for a 32-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-6 with 3:42 left in the first half. The Rams got the ball back after recovering an onside kick on the Xaverian 43-yard line. They got down to the Clippers 10 after McGlynn hit Michael Seminario on a 38-yard strike, but Grant’s fumble on the handoff was recovered by Xaverian.
Jaime Martinez’s punt slipped through the hands of Fordham’s Daniel Turner and was recovered by Andrew Scholl on the Fordham Prep 48. Xaverian (2-0, 1-0) scored to make it 14-6 with 53.5 seconds left in the first half and later went ahead 21-6 on a 1-yard touchdown run by freshman Zach Kearney in the third. Turnovers also hurt Fordham Prep in last week’s 24-21 loss to Stepinac.
“I’m disappointed because I feel we are capable of much more.” Rams coach Pete Gorynski said. ”So far we haven’t display that”
He said changes could be coming next week after looking back at the game tape. Gorynski already sat McGlynn after the third quarter in place of junior backup Max Kinder, who was 4-for-4 for 44 yards on Fordham Prep’s second scoring drive.
“That was a well-executed drive,” Gorynski said.
Xaverian was still in control of the game from the second quarter on, but never felt comfortable because of Grants’ big-play ability. And Grant put that on display.
“We are screaming don’t kick the ball to Grant,” Clippers coach Joe DeSiena said. “We kick it blatantly away from him. He runs over catches the ball and runs a touchdown right down our throat.”
