Football coach calls season opener ‘sloppy,’ despite big win; Star receiver suspended for unclear reason

August 30, 2014 by Connor Ryan

Fordham Football opened its season with a bang Saturday night at Rose Hill, defeating St. Francis University, 52-23.

But it wasn’t good enough for Joe Moorhead, the team’s head coach, who said the game “wasn’t clean.”

“There was some sloppiness in execution,” he told WFUV Sports after the game. “There are some things we need to clean up.”

As the team looks ahead to its next game against Villanova on Sept. 6, Moorhead added: “We’re going to have to make some strides this week.” [Fordham’s full schedule]

Fordham crushed St. Francis even without its star wide receiver Sam Ajala — who was forced to sit out Saturday night for violating the university’s student-athlete code of conduct. Fordham confirmed for Fordham Daily that he would only miss Saturday’s game.

It is not clear how Ajala violated the code of conduct, and school officials have said it is “against department and school policy” to disclose that information.

Ajala — a candidate for the Walter Payton Award as the Most Outstanding Player in the FCS — aired his frustration on Twitter before Saturday’s game.