PITTSFORD, N.Y. – On the day that it honored its senior class, the St. John Fisher College football team racked up a season-high 557 yards of offense as the Cardinals knocked off visiting SUNY Cortland on Saturday at a rainy Growney Stadium. With the win, Fisher improved to 2-6 overall and 2-3 in the Empire 8 standings while the Red Dragons, who had a three-game winning streak halted, finished the day at 5-3 overall and 4-2 against conference opponents.
As a team, Fisher rushed for 265 yards on 39 carries and compiled 292 yards through the air on 21 completions. The Cardinals earned 25 first downs in the win and controlled the ball for 31:15.
Senior running back James Chambers led the charge on offense as the Lockport native produced three touchdowns and 290 yards of offense on his own with a career-high 199 rushing yards to go along with 91 receiving yards on eight receptions.
Sophomore quarterback Joshua Michels was 21-for-33 with 292 yards and two touchdown passes and also gained 15 yards on the ground.
Dylan Harrington led the receiving corps with a game-high eight receptions for 148 yards and a touchdown while senior Mike Collichio hauled in two passes overall.
After forcing Cortland to punt on its opening possession, Fisher took an early lead courtesy of a nine-play 79-drive capped by a 10-yard touchdown run from freshman Johnathan Letta to hold a 7-0 advantage.
The Red Dragons answered early in the second quarter with a touchdown drive of their own to make it 7-7 and took advantage of a Fisher fumble on the ensuing kickoff with a five-play drive that resulted in another touchdown to make it 14-7, Cortland.
Trailing by seven points midway through the second period, Fisher marched its way down field and set up for a 22-yard field goal only to have Cortland block the attempt and recover the ball at its own 20 to keep the Cardinals at bay. Eight plays later, the Red Dragons went up by two touchdowns after moving 80 yards in just over three minutes to head into the locker room with a 21-14 edge.
The Cardinals started the second half with the ball and made the most of their opportunity. After losing two yards on first down, Fisher more than made up for it as Michels connected with Harrington down the sideline for a 67-yard touchdown pass to pull the home team to within seven points, 21-14.
After a quick three-and-out by the Red Dragons, Fisher took over inside its own 20 with 12:44 still showing on the clock in the third quarter. From there, the Cardinals moved the sticks three times including an 18-yard strike from Michels to Chambers to set up first-and-10 at the Cortland 13. After Michels pushed his way ahead to the five, Chambers bullied his way over the goal line to knot the game at 21 points apiece.
Fisher wasn't done there, however, as head coach Paul Vosburgh's team orchestrated another quick scoring drive, this time using three plays to pick up 64 yards in just 50 seconds capped by a 40-yard pass from Michels to Chambers as Fisher scored 21 unanswered points in the third quarter to hold a 28-21 lead.
In the fourth quarter, the offensive flurry continued as Chambers put the Cardinals up 35-21 courtesy of an 80-yard run to finish off a two-play 94-yard drive.
Cortland continued to battle down the stretch and made things interesting late in the final quarter after using six plays to move the ball 75 yards before the Red Dragon quarterback scurried into the end zone with a seven yard scramble to make it a one possession game, 35-28.
Trailing by seven with time winding down, Cortland forced Fisher to punt, but had just 30 seconds left on the clock to work with. The Red Dragons moved as far as their own 31-yard line, but William Riechert and Jonathon Piersma broke through the line and sacked the quarterback to all but end the game with Fisher on top.
On the defensive side of the ball, Evan Majewski led the way with 10 tackles while Riechert had nine stops in the win including one-and-a-half sacks to go along with a forced fumble. Brennen Thompson accounted for eight tackles and a pass breakup and senior David Carroll was credited with seven tackles in all. Piersma contributed six tackles including two for a loss. Demarre Nelson also had six stops and broke up four passes at the cornerback position.
Fisher also played well on special teams with Cam Cleveland collecting 86 yards on kickoffs including a 30-yard return. Michael Burton had 117 punt yards while Devin Dzikowicz totaled 364 yards on kickoffs with one touchback. The junior placekicker also nailed all five of his extra point opportunities.
Fisher will be back in action at 1 p.m. next Saturday as it travels to Morrisville to take on the Mustangs in an Empire 8 pairing.
Cardinals Produce Nearly 600 of Offense as Fisher Slays Red Dragons
/seasons/2017/boxscores/20171028_xszy.xml
2017
Cortland
28
St. John Fisher
35
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cortland (5-3) | 0 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
| St. John Fisher (2-6) | 7 | 0 | 21 | 7 | 35 |
Oct 28, 2017