St. John Fisher College’s Joe Leavell, a senior on the football team, has been named the College’s Male Athlete of the Week for the week ending September 2, 2012.
Leavell was second on the team in tackles as the No. 11 Cardinals defeated No. 20 Thomas More College 13-7 in overtime, finishing with seven, four of which were solo.
The biggest play of the day for Leavell came in overtime as the Saints started with the ball. On first down from the 25-yard line, Leavell and Cody Foster broke through the offensive line and sacked Thomas More’s quarterback for a five-yard loss, pushing them out of field goal range as the defense held on the next three downs.
This half sack gave Fisher the opportunity to score any amount of points to win the game on its offensive possession in the first overtime. Ryan Kramer’s option toss to Cody Miller for a two-yard touchdown scamper gave the Cardinals’ the win.
Leavell showed his importance to the team by returning to the field at a high level after having seven tackles in 2011’s season opener against Buffalo State, a game in which he sustained a season-ending injury.
With the win, Fisher jumped to No. 9 in the latest d3football.com poll, and Leavell and the Cardinals will head to Pennsylvania on Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff against host Washington & Jefferson College.
