Thirteenth-ranked St. John Fisher College improved to 1-1 on the year, as
the Cardinals downed visiting Buffalo State College 20-7 tonight in a rain-soaked Division III football game at Fisher's Growney Stadium. The Fisher defense forced four turnovers and held the Bengals, who were playing in their season-opener, to just 11 yards passing.
Fisher took the lead for good, scoring three points on a 28-yard field goal from #
Chris Pierri# on the game's opening possession, but it was the only score of the first half. Fisher forced three turnovers in the first half – an interception and a fumble recovery by #
Jason Cirulli# and an interception by
#
John Sheridan#, but came away with no points, as three drives stalled inside the Bengals' 40-yard line
After the Bengals went three-and-out on its opening possession of the second half, Fisher marched 64 yards on seven plays to take a 10-0 lead. Twenty of the yards came on the ground from quarterback/running back #
Robbie Brown#, who scored on a quarterback-keeper from one-yard out.
Fisher capitalized on Buffalo State's fourth turnover early in the fourth quarter. After
Derek Melnyk stripped and recovered a fumble at the Buffalo State 20, #
Tim Marion# caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from
Tim Bailey with 12:03 left in the game.
Buffalo State scored its lone touchdown of the game with 1:47 left.
E. Todd Hurlbut scored on a one-yard run, capping an eight-play 66 yard drive.
Fisher outgained Buffalo State, 411-212.
Bailey, making just his second career start, finished with 264 yards on 19-of-34 passing with one touchdown and no interceptions (all career-highs).
Marion finished with six catches for 91 yards, while #
Jimmy Smith# added six catches for 82 yards. Sophomore #
Luke Herrington# gained a career-high 64 yards on 11 carries, while Brown finished with 52 yards on seven rushes.
Josh Gottlieb tallied a team-high 12 tackles to lead the Fisher defense.
Fisher will return to action at 7 p.m. next Saturday and will face host University of Rochester in Courage Bowl IV, a game dedicated to the children of Camp Good Days.
