In a matchup between two top 25 teams, nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College held on for a 31-24 win at No. 15 SUNY Cortland on Saturday in front of 3,589 fans at Red Dragon Stadium.
With the win, Fisher ranked No. 21 in the latest D3football.com national poll, improves to 3-0 overall, but more importantly 1-0 in the Empire 8 Conference, while the Red Dragons fall to 2-1, 0-1. Last year, Fisher and Cortland went 6-2 and were crowned Empire 8 Co-Champions, but the Red Dragons earned the automatic bid to NCAAs, thanks to their 34-17 win at Fisher in week 3.
Fisher has now won four of its last five meetings vs. Cortland. The Cardinals were 0-1 all-time in games played at Cortland, with the lone contest coming in 1991, a 71-0 win over Fisher in head coach Paul Vosburgh's first-ever game at the College.
"It was a good win today and we were able to get strong contributions from our offense, our defense and special teams," said Vosburgh, now in his 26th career with the Cardinals. "Now we have to get ready for our mid-season bowl game: Courage Bowl XII."
For Fisher, Demarre Nelson sealed the win, making two interceptions in the Fisher red-zone in the final three minutes, while teammate DJ Logory tallied a team-high 10 tackles to lead the defense.
Offensively, Fisher senior quarterback Matt Naton was 16-of-27 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. William Coon snagged four passes for a team-high 95 yards, while Mike Collichio caught four passes for 70 yards and one touchdown.
James Chambers rushed 19 times for 88 yards and scored one touchdown, while Tony Fusco added 12 carries for 49 yards.
Cortland took a 3-0 lead four minutes into the game after Fisher turned the ball over deep in its own end, but the Cardinals answered with three straight touchdown drives.
Fisher went 75 yards on 11 plays and took the lead for good with Naton connecting with sophomore tight end Wyatt Stehle for a two-yard touchdown with 6:52 left.
On the ensuing kickoff, Chris Smith forced and recovered a fumble at the Cortland 27. Six plays later, Chambers scored on a two-yard run to put the Cardinals up 14-3.
Fisher would take a 21-3 lead, as Fusco scored on the first play of the second quarter. The six-play, 85-yard drive was highlighted by back-to-back catches from Coon. The first one going for 34 yards, and the second reception netting 42 yards.
After a Cortland touchdown, Fisher took a 24-10 lead as Devin Dzikowicz drilled his first career field goal from 35 yards out.
Cortland made it a one-possession game on the opening drive of third quarter, scoring on a 77-yard pass. After two unproductive drives – the second one ending on a Fisher fumble inside the Cortland 10 – the Cardinals get back in the scoring column, as Collichio scored on a 30-yard pass in the closing moments of the third quarter, putting the Cardinals up, 31-17.
Cortland scored midway through the fourth to make it 31-24. After Fisher went three-and-out on the next possession, Nelson made his first career interception at his own 7-yard line with 3:08 remaining to preserve the lead.
Fisher was forced to punt on its next possession, giving Cortland the ball at midfield with 1:01 remaining, but Nelson again came up big, making his second interception at the Fisher 17 with seven seconds left.
Fisher was 9-of-17 on the day on third down, including 7-of-10 in the first half, while Cortland was just 4-of-15 for the game.
Cortland was plagued with 15 penalties for 124 yards, while Cardinals committed eight penalties for 71 yards.
Justin Rivera finished with a career-high nine tackles, while All-American Alec Mortillaro broke up three passes and finished with eight stops.
David Carroll, Aaron Jones and Smith were each in on sacks and made seven tackles apiece.
Fisher returns to action at 4 p.m. next Saturday at the College at Brockport for Courage Bowl XII – a game dedicated to the children of Camp Good Days and Special Times.
Cardinals Prevail In Top 25 Showdown
/seasons/2016/boxscores/20160917_vf5t.xml
2016
St. John Fisher
31
Cortland
24
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 22 St. John Fisher (3-0) | 14 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
| Cortland (2-1) | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
Sep 17, 2016