Fifth-ranked St. John Fisher College defeated visiting University of Rochester 37-21 on Saturday night in Courage Bowl III – a football game dedicated to the children of Camp Good Days – in front of 5,887 fans at Fisher’s Growney Stadium.
With the win, Fisher, also ranked No. 1 in New York, improves to 3-0 for the sixth straight year, while Rochester falls to 0-2. The victory also marks Fisher’s sixth straight victory over its cross-town rival.
Fisher scored 37 points, despite gaining just 252 yards and controlling the ball for just over 23 minutes.
Rob Kramer (Oneida/Oneida), who started the game 1-for-7, finished 9-for-17 for 143 yards, with three touchdowns and one interception.
Ryan Hanson (G. Ray Bodley/Fulton) led Fisher’s rushing attack with 23 carries for 95 yards and two touchdowns.
Rochester, who controlled the ball for just under 37 minutes (36:54), converted on 11-of-23 third-downs and 3-of-8 fourth-downs, but was plagued by 10 penalties for 90 yards.
After punting on its first two possessions of the game, Fisher scored touchdowns on three of its next four drives, giving the Cardinals a 20-0 lead.
Hanson scored on a four-yard run late in the first quarter and
Jimmy Smith (Oneida/Oneida) caught his first of two touchdowns on the day – a 25-yarder with 7:08 left in the second quarter.
After an errant snap was recovered by Fisher’s
Dan Pollock (G. Ray Bodley/Fulton) near midfield with 1:12 left, the Cardinals extended their lead on a 29-yard pass from
Kramer to
Tim Marion (Warwick) with just 27 seconds left in the half.
The Yellowjackets, however, scored on desperation-pass from 32-yards out was batted up in the air by a Fisher defender and into the waiting arms of a Rochester receiver as time expired.
Steve Flagler (Vernon-Verona-Sherrill/Sherrill) intercepted a Rochester pass on the second play of the second half to set up a 28-yard field goal from Fisher’s Kyle Piccirilli (Albion/Albion) to give Fisher a 23-7 lead early in the third quarter. The Yellowjackets, however, responded with a 15-play, 59-yard drive and scored eight points on a 10-yard pass and two-point conversion to make 23-15 with 4:04 left in the third.
Rochester pulled to within two points on a four-yard interception return, but the Fisher defense broke up the potential game-tying two-point conversion.
After a Rochester penalty on the ensuing kickoff gave the Cardinals the ball at the Rochester 44, Fisher wasted little regaining the momentum, using just five plays to take two-score lead (30-21), as Smith caught a 14-yard pass with 10:02 left.
Fisher sealed the win on back-to-back snaps, one by Rochester and one by the Cardinals with around four minutes to play. Senior
Scott Miranto (North Tonawanda/North Tonawanda) made a shoe-string tackle on fourth-and-one from the Rochester 15. On the very next play,
Hanson finished the scoring with a 15-yard run with 3:57.
Junior linebackers
Josh Gottlieb (Fox Lane/Pound Ridge) and
Jason Cirulli (Webster Schroeder/Webster) each enjoyed their best games in a Fisher uniform.
Gottlieb registered a career-high 14 tackles, while
Cirulli finished with 12 tackles and two sacks (both career-highs).
Curilli was also named as Fisher’s MVP of the Courage Bowl and will have his name engraved on the Teddi Trophy.
Steve Stepnick (Iroquois/Marilla) tallied 10 tackles for the second straight game, while breaking up two passes.
Anthony Cucit (Greece Athena/Rochester) made eight tackles.
Micah Norton (Elmira Notre Dame/Lowman) and
Nick Boone (Hornell/Hornell) were each in on seven stops.
Miranto made six tackles and broke up two passes, while Matt Becton (St. Joseph’s/Buffalo) also was in a six stops – a personal-best for the junior defensive tackle.
Smith finished with three catches for 51 yards, while
Marion caught two passes for 36 yards.
Chris Harmon (Caledonia-Mumford/Caledonia) and
Corey Jackson (Iroquois/East Aurora) also finished with one catch.
Fisher will return to action at 1 p.m. next Saturday at Ithaca College. The Bombers, currently ranked 24th nationally, are coming off a 32-30 loss at Hartwick College. Fisher outscored Ithaca 34-0 in the second half of last year’s win, but has never won at Butterfield Stadium.
