BOX SCORE
The St. John Fisher College football team defeated host University of Rochester 24-17 on Saturday in Courage Bowl IV – a game dedicated to the children of Camp Good Days and Special Times – in front of 4,124 fans at Rochester's Fauver Stadium.

 

With the win, Fisher, ranked 11^th nationally, improves to 2-1 on the year, while Rochester falls to 0-2.

 

Tim Marion was named as Fisher's Most Valuable Player and will have his name engraved on the Teddi Trophy.  The senior scored two touchdowns and finished with 197 all-purpose yards.

 

After allowing Rochester to score touchdowns on its first two drives, the Fisher defense tightened and allowed just three points for the remainder of the game and none in the second half. The Cardinals, who trailed17-14 at the half, scored a touchdown on the opening drive of the second half to take the lead for good.

 

It was the third straight time that Fisher trailed at the half at Rochester, yet rallied for a win. In 2004, the Cardinals were down 20-13 at the half and battled back for a 38-34 win. In 2006, Fisher trailed 7-6 at intermission before posting a 30-10 win over the Yellowjackets.

Fisher answered Rochester's opening drive with a 13-play, 61-yard drive with Marion scoring on a seven-yard pass from quarterback Tim Bailey , tying the game at 7-7. (LISTEN TO THE PLAY)

 

After Rochester regained the lead at 14-7, the Cardinals tied the game again with Marion taking a direct snap and scoring on a three-yard run midway through the second quarter. (LISTEN TO THE PLAY)

 

Rochester kicked a field goal to take a 17-14 lead into the locker room, but Fisher took the lead for good on the first drive of the second half, as the Cardinals marched 50 yards on 11 plays with Bailey hitting tight end Dan Reger on a four-yard pass less than five minutes into the second half, making it 21-17. (LISTEN TO THE PLAY)

 

Rochester responded with a lengthy drive and appeared to pull within one point on a 37-yard field goal, but elected to take the point off the boards after a Fisher penalty gave the Yellowjackets first-and-goal from the Fisher 10. After a five-yard loss on first down, the Yellowjackets were penalized twice and a 42-yard field goal on fourth down came up short.

 

Fisher took the ensuing drive 62 yards and a 30-yard field goal from Chris Pierri on the first play of the fourth quarter made it 24-17.

 

Rochester had five drives in the fourth quarter, but managed to pick just three first downs during that time and never crossed its own 40-yard line.

 

Ryan Miller led the Fisher defense with 11 tackles. He sacked the Rochester quarterback at his own 5-yard line and forced a fumble, which was recovered by Byron Rhone at the Rochester 3 with 3:47 left. A 20-yard field goal from Pierri was blocked, giving Rochester one-last drive with just over one minute left, but the Yellowjackets failed to capitalize. Rhone also recorded a sack, as did cornerback Turell Ahmed.

 

Dan Pollock added seven tackles, while Jason Cirulli made six stops for Fisher, who out-gained Rochester 379-257.

Bailey completed 21-of-35 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns. Jimmy Smith caught six passes for 66 yards, while running back Brad Carlton added six catches for 51 yards and gained 63 yards on the ground of 16 carries (all career-highs).

 

Marion caught three passes for 55 yards, while Paul Deckard also caught three passes for 33 yards. Marion also rushed for 16 yards, totaled 87 yards on four kickoff returns and 41 punt-return yards.

 

Punter Ricky Tatar averaged 42.8 yards on four punts.

 

Fisher will return to action at 1 p.m. next Saturday and will host No. 19 Ithaca College in a key Empire 8 Conference matchup.   The Bombers, who racked up 69 points on Saturday in a win over Hartwick College, are 3-0 this year, but are 0-2 in their last two trips to Growney Stadium and lost 37-16 to visiting Fisher last year.