By DAN GARTLAND

Executive Sports Editor

For the second consecutive year, Fordham rode an explosive offense to season-opening victory as the Rams topped Rhode Island 51-26 on Thursday night.

Junior quarterback Michael Nebrich, playing in his first game since tearing his ACL on Sept. 15 of last year, led the charge on offense. He completed 17 of 25 passes for 267 yards with four touchdowns, and added 31 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.

“After last year’s injury, it was a tough rehab,” Nebrich said after the game. “The most important thing I took out of this game was having full confidence in the knee.”

Junior receiver Sam Ajala caught two of Nebrich’s touchdown tosses, finishing with 112 yards on four receptions.

Ajala was modest when assessing his performance. “The coaches call the plays to put us in the right position,” he said. “It’s just making plays.”

Fordham head coach Joe Moorhead was more laudatory.

“Sam’s very much improved,” Moorhead said. “He’s an extremely talented young man, and he’s got good physical tools, but I challenged him to embrace the mental aspect of playing the position and the fundamentals and techniques, and I think his performance was indicative of improvement in both of those areas.”

The game started ominously for Fordham, as senior cornerback Ian Williams, a preseason All-Patriot League selection, captain, and one of the team’s top defensive players, was injured returning the opening kickoff. Williams spent the first quarter on the bench icing his neck and shoulder area, but joined the rest of his teammates standing on the sideline later in the game. Moorhead said after the game that Williams was “day-to-day” and would be evaluated the next day.

Sophomore JQ Bowers replaced Williams and turned in a great performance. In the third quarter, he picked off URI quarterback Bob Bentsen and did an impressive job evading would-be tacklers as he ran it back 61 yards for a touchdown.

Fordham’s rush defense, on the other hand, struggled. URI gained 277 yards on the ground and averaged 5.5 yards per carry.

“A lot of that is a result of the tempo with which we play offensively,” Moorhead said. “We get a lot of plays run, and we score quickly, and that puts the defense back on the field. But we have to be able to stop the run better than we did today.”

Fordham’s next game is next Saturday night against Villanova. The Wildcats were ranked 5th in the Sports Network Top 25 preseason poll, and 9th in the preseason coaches’ poll. Villanova won last year’s meeting, 28-13, on the Wildcats’ home turf. This year’s matchup will be in the Bronx.