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I    In a battle between two undefeated teams, visiting Springfield College defeated host St. John Fisher College 55-38 on Saturday in a key Empire 8 Conference match-up.
       With the win, Springfield ranked 20th in the national coaches poll and 17th in the d3football.com poll, improves to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the Empire 8, while the Cardinals, ranked ninth and 14th, respectively, fall to 7-1, 3-1. 
       Fisher racked up over 500 yards of offense, but its defense, which entered the game allowing just 56 points for the entire season (eighth in Division III) struggled against Springfield, which entered the game as the No. 1 rushing offense in the nation. 
       Fisher, who trailed 20-9 at halftime, scored 22 points in the third quarter and trimmed Springfield’s lead down to three points (20-17, 27-24 and 34-31) on three different occasions, but never took the lead.
       Quarterback Nick Suchyna (St. Francis/Buffalo), who replaced injured Rob Kramer (Oneida/Oneida) on the second play of the second half, threw for three touchdowns and also ran for a score.
       Suchyna hooked up with senior Sean Nowicki (Alden/Alden) for a 28-yard pass at 11:38 in the third quarter and again at the 2:12 mark from 34 yards out.  He also tossed a 30-yard pass to James Reile (Herkimer/Herkimer) with 3:29 left and scored on a six-yard scamper in the third.
       Fisher scored its first touchdown of the day midway through the first quarter on a one-yard touchdown run from senior Mark Robinson (Bath-Haverling/Bath), but Chris Pierri’s (Fairport, NY) extra point kick was blocked.    After a Springfield touchdown, Pierri made it 14-9 with a 25-yard field goal.
       Springfield scored again with 3:05 left in the half, but Fisher nearly drove the length of the field in the closing moments.  The Cardinals, however, couldn’t convert on first-and-goal from the Springfield 7 and Pierri’s 24-yard field goal was blocked.
       Suchnya completed 12-of-15 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns, while Kramer was 5-for-11 for 137 yards, giving the Cardinals a season-high 359 passing yards.
       Robinson rushed for 123 yards on 20 carries, marking his 20th career 100-yard rushing game. 
       Nowicki was Fisher’s top receiver, catching six balls for a career-high 127 yards and two touchdowns.  Corey Jackson (Iroquois/East Aurora) finished with three receptions for 74 yards, while Tim Marion (Warwick Valley/Warwick Valley) caught two balls for 67 yards.  Reile finished with two receptions for 54 yards, while Jimmy Smith (Oneida/Oneida) made two receptions for 25 yards.
       Chris Harmon (Caledonia-Mumford/Caledonia) scored two points on an extra-point pass from Suchyna.
       Defensively, All-American linebacker Gene Lang (C.W. Baker/Baldwinsville) led the defense with 14 tackles, giving him 266 for his career and moving him up to fifth on the College’s all-time list.
       Scott Miranto (North Tonawanda/North Tonawanda) finished with 11 tackles and recovered a fumble, while Jason Cirulli (Webster Schroeder/Webster) made a career-high 10 tackles and forced a fumble.
       Fisher will return to action at 1 p.m. next Saturday at Utica College.