St. John Fisher College’s
Ryan Francis (Batavia/Notre Dame) has been named as the College’s Male Athlete of the Week for the week ending September 19, 2010. He has also been named as the Empire 8 Conference Special Teams Player of the Week.
Francis returned the opening kickoff of Courage Bowl VI 86 yards for a touchdown to give the Cardinals a 7-0 lead over University of Rochester. Fisher, who never trailed in the contest, went on to pick up a 49-21 win.
Francis also had another kickoff return for a touchdown that was called back due to an illegal block penalty, but the junior was still credited with a 50-yard return. He finished the game with three kickoff returns for 158 yards, 15 yards shy of the College’s single-game record.
When he wasn’t returning kicks,
Francis was a key member of a Fisher offense that produced 49 points.
He caught five passes for 126 yards (both career-highs), including a career-long 84-yard bomb from Tim Bailey to seal the win.
For the season,
Francis is averaging 45.8 yards per kick return and has caught 13 passes for 234 yards and three scores.
Fisher (3-0) will return to action at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Hobart College. It is the third of four straight games on the road for the Cardinals.
