The St. John Fisher College football team evened its record to 3-3 on the year, as the Cardinals posted a 37-32 win over visiting Utica College on Saturday afternoon in a pivotal Empire 8 Conference matchup.
With the win, the Cardinals move to 3-2 in the Empire 8, while Utica falls to 4-3, 3-2.
Fisher racked up a season-high 458 yards of total offense, while the defense allowed a season-low 57 rushing yards on 30 attempts.
Sophomore Tony Fusco tallied a career-high 223 all-purpose yards, including 182 on the ground on 26 carries, while scoring two touchdowns. Nathan Nigolian also scored two touchdowns and caught six passes for 143 yards.
Quarterback Matt Naton was 11-for-18 for 256 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for another score.
For Utica, quarterback Teddy VanGalen threw for 335 yards on 25-of-39 passing, while Gregory Palmer snagged seven passes for 123 yards
On the game's first play from scrimmage, Palmer caught a 53-yard pass down the middle, but Fisher's Brandon Fuentes forced a fumble, which was recovered by Jeffrey Carlin at the Fisher 15.
Fisher took the lead on its second possession of the game, as the Cardinals marched 73 yards on six plays with Naton scoring from one yard out to put Fisher up 6-0 with 5:13 left in the first quarter.
The Pioneers would answer with their own 73-yard driving, needing seven plays to reach the endzone to take a 7-6 lead with 2:17 remaining in the opening frame.
Following a 49-yard return from James Chambers on the ensuing kickoff, Fusco scampered 41 yards on a screen pass to put Fisher up for good, 13-7, in the closing seconds of the first quarter.
Fisher would tack on another touchdown on its next possession – a three-play, 52-yard drive – with Fusco accounting for all yardage. The sophomore running back broke free for a 46-yard run on the first play, and two plays later, scored on a two-yard run to put Fisher up 20-7.
The Cardinals led 20-7 going into the second half, but Utica gained the momentum on the opening drive of the third quarter. On a fourth-and-6 play from the Utica 33, Naton's pass was intercepted and returned 76 yards by Matthew McCoy for a defensive touchdown to pull Utica with six at 20-14.
Fisher answered three drives later. After Fisher forced the Pioneers to go three-and-out on back-to-back drives, the Cardinals faked a double-reverse and Naton hit Nigolian in stride for a 59-yard touchdown pass to put Fisher up 26-14.
Utica came right back though and scored on a third-and-15 play from the Fisher 22 in the final moments of third quarter to make it 26-21.
Fisher, however, responded with an eight-play, 91-yard drive early the fourth. On third-and-12 from the Utica 13, Naton connected with Nigolian to put the Cardinals up 32-21.
On the ensuing drive, Fisher's Alec Mortillaro, who intercepted a pass in the first half, forced and recovered a fumble at the Utica 40. The Cardinals, however, couldn't capitalize as Chambers was intercepted at the Utica 1 on and end-around pass.
With 3:51 left, Utica drove 83 yards on 15 plays and scored the game's final points on a two-yard run from Jerred Beniquez with 32 seconds left.
Utica tried an on-sides kick, but Fisher's Bobby Campese fielded the attempt to preserve the win.
Defensively, Brandon Miller led the Cardinals 13 tackles, including one sack.
Fuentes was in on 10 tackles. He also punted five times, landing three of his kicks inside the Pioneers 20.
Linebacker Chris Smith eight tackles, including three for losses and one sack (all career-highs). David Carroll finished with seven tackles, while Devin Mullins made five stops.
Aaron Jones and Randall Marcellus both registered sacks in the win.
Fisher returns to action at 7 p.m. next Friday. The Cardinals will host Alfred State University under the light of Growney Stadium for a non-conference matchup.
Fisher Football Powers Past Pioneers
/seasons/2015/boxscores/20151017_rlh8.xml
2015
Utica
27
St. John Fisher
32
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utica (4-3) | 7 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 27 |
| St. John Fisher (3-3) | 13 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 32 |
Oct 17, 2015