With the win, Fisher improves to 2-0 and will host cross-town rival University of Rochester at 7 p.m. next Saturday in Courage Bowl III – a game dedicated to the children of Camp Good Days.
Fisher’s
Rob Kramer (Oneida/Oneida) led the Cardinals offense with a career-high 245 yards passing and threw four touchdowns passes for the second straight week, while
Ryan Hanson (G. Ray Bodley/Fulton) made the most of his first career start, racking up 165 rushing yards on 28 carries.
After
Tim Marion (Warwick Valley/Warwick) returned the game’s opening kickoff 38 yards to the Buffalo State 39, Fisher wasted little time getting on the board as
Kramer connected with
Jimmy Smith (Oneida/Oneida) for an 11-yard pass into the back-right corner of the end zone to give Fisher a 6-0 lead just 1:23 into the game.
The Bengals tied the game at 6-6 on the ensuing drive, but Fisher responded with a two-play, 59-yard drive to take the lead for good. After a 26-yard run from Hanson, Marion scored on a 33-yard pass from Kramer.
Fisher went up 20-6 with 13 seconds left in the first quarter, as Kramer and Smith hooked up yet again, this time from 33 yards out.
After the Fisher defense forced the Bengals to go three-and-out for the second straight series, Fisher drove 72 yards on 14 plays, capped by a three-yard run from Hanson to give the Cardinals a 27-6 lead.
Buffalo State had a chance to regain some momentum late in the first half, but the Fisher defense kept the Bengals out of the end zone after they gained possession inside the Fisher 5-yard line following a 66-yard interception return.
Fisher scored its last touchdown of the day with 3:08 left in the third quarter on a four-yard pass from
Kramer to senior All-American tight end
Chris Harmon (Caledonia-Mumford/Caledonia).
The Fisher defense forced two turnovers in the second half. Junior cornerback
Kenny Bostick (Aquinas Institute/Rochester) intercepted a pass and returned the ball 62 yards to inside the Buffalo State 10-yard line.
Freshman linebacker Matt Stranski (Warwick Valley/Warwick), playing in his first collegiate game, intercepted a pass in the Fisher end zone on the Bengals’ final possession.
Marion led all Fisher receivers with five catches for 93 yards, while
Corey Jackson (Iroquois/East Aurora) also caught five balls for 57 yards.
Harmon finished with four catches for 27 yards, while
Smith snagged three balls for 53 yards.
Defensively, All-American defensive back
Steve Stepnick (Iroquois/Marilla) led the Fisher defense with 10 tackles.
Josh Gottlieb (Fox Lane/Pound Ridge) tallied eight tackles, while senior linebacker
Steve Flagler (Vernon-Verona-Sherrill/Sherrill) added seven stops.
Nick Boone (Hornell/Hornell),
Anthony Cucit (Greece Athena/Rochester) and
Bostick each finished with six tackles.
Boone also registered a sack, as did
Dan Pollock (G. Ray Bodley/Fulton).
Micah Norton (Elmira Notre Dame/Lowman) and
Stranski each made five tackles.
Derek Melnyk (Monroe Township/Jamesburg, NJ) and
Turell Ahmed (St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute/Buffalo) each had four tackles.
