BRONX (Interstat) — Gunnar Smith rushed for a late touchdown and Fordham held off Richmond 20-14 in an NCAA Football Championship Division game Saturday at Jack Coffey Field. The Rams improved to 2-5, while the Spiders fell to 5-2. Fordham scored the game’s final points when Smith ran 5 yards for a touchdown with 2:23 remaining. Bennett Henderson’s extra-point attempt failed, but the Rams had enough to secure the home win. The game drew an announced attendance of 1,825.

Fordham struck first in the opening quarter when Smith connected with Ricky Gonzalez II for a 10-yard touchdown and Henderson kicked the extra point. Richmond answered with a touchdown later in the first quarter and added another in the second to take a 14-7 lead into halftime. The Rams tied the game in the third quarter on Jamell James’ 2-yard run, then went ahead in the fourth on Smith’s 5-yard keeper. Henderson’s missed extra point kept the margin at six, but Richmond could not answer. Fordham finished with 98 passing yards and leaned on a rushing attack that produced key gains from James and Yohan-Li Louis. Richmond threw for 122 yards and spread the ball to Sean Clarke, Bryce Allen, Andreas Hill, Jaiden Fair and Quanye Veney.

Smith, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound quarterback from Lake Mary, Fla., completed 13 of 25 passes for 98 yards and one touchdown and ran nine times for 20 yards and another score. He connected with Gonzalez for a 10-yard touchdown in the first quarter, and Henderson’s extra point was good. Smith later scored on a 5-yard run in the fourth quarter, but the extra point failed. Henderson missed a 37-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter. Fordham also got a 2-yard touchdown run from James in the third quarter, and Henderson’s kick was good. Early in the third quarter, Smith was sacked for a 13-yard loss.

Ashten Snelsire led Richmond by completing 24 of 39 passes for 122 yards. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound quarterback spread the ball to a deep group of receivers. Allen caught five passes for 33 yards and hauled in a 6-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Kyle Bitsko kicked the extra point. Clarke, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound tight end, had six receptions for 34 yards. Hill added four catches for 24 yards, and Fair finished with three receptions for 16 yards. Fair also returned two kickoffs for 38 yards and two punts for 2 yards. Veney caught two passes for 3 yards.

Aziz Foster-Powell paced the Richmond rushing attack with 12 carries for 68 yards and added two receptions for 8 yards. Jamaal Brown ran six times for 24 yards and caught two passes for 4 yards. For Fordham, James carried 15 times for 80 yards and caught one pass for a loss of 3 yards. Louis added 10 carries for 61 yards and a 24-yard kick return. KJ Reed caught four passes for 42 yards, Nodin Tracy had four receptions for 30 yards, and Gonzalez finished with three catches for 25 yards and a touchdown. Andrew Bond had one reception for 4 yards. Judah Ofori-Ansah returned one kickoff for 36 yards, and Alonzo Riddick returned one punt for no gain.

Richmond’s defense was led by Daniel Sellers, a 6-foot-3, 248-pound defender who recorded five tackles and three quarterback hurries. Jordan Allen had five tackles and an interception. Jackson Thorne made six tackles, while Blake Houser added five. Camden Byrd posted four tackles, one sack and one quarterback hurry. Braxton Lassiter had four tackles and one quarterback hurry. Devin Geronomi made five tackles, and Caleb Geronomi had four. Kyree Richardson, Jeremiah Washington and Tramayne Bullock each finished with three tackles. TJ Baldwin, Moses Bailey and Matt Holland each made two stops. Jamar Hodges and Bryce Lee each had one tackle. Krystian Williams added one tackle. Ned Gray punted seven times for 260 yards.

Fordham’s defense received six tackles and an interception from Boogie Owens. Andrew Osmun and Johnny Schmitt each made nine tackles. AJ Revella had seven tackles, Drew Minich finished with six tackles and two quarterback hurries, and Kemaury Tye added five. Justin Johnson made four tackles. Alex Fiala recorded three tackles and one sack. Jakub Mwangelwa had two tackles, one sack and one quarterback hurry. James Dunnemann II and Tiu Afalava each made three tackles. Dominic Sansone punted four times for 163 yards. Henderson handled kicking duties and converted two extra points while missing one extra point and a field goal.

Richmond entered the game having won two straight and four of its previous five contests. The Spiders had beaten Lafayette, Furman, Georgetown, Howard and Bucknell, with their only loss coming against North Carolina State. Fordham had lost two straight and five of six to open the season. The Rams had defeated William & Mary but fell to Lehigh, Stony Brook, Coastal Carolina, North Dakota State and Colgate. Richmond is next scheduled to host Colgate, then visit Holy Cross and Villanova before home games against Lehigh and William & Mary. Fordham will host Villanova and Lafayette before road games at Bucknell and Holy Cross and a home matchup with Georgetown.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Richmond 32, Fordham 26. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Richmond with a 90 percent probability to win. Fordham had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -8.5. The total score of 34 went over the over/under line of 45.5.