The St. John Fisher College football team (7-2, 5-1) fell  41-21 to No. 15 Salisbury University (8-1, 6-0) in what amounted to an Empire 8 Conference title game on Saturday in Salisbury, MD. With the loss, Fisher will have to beat Hartwick College at 1 p.m. next Saturday and hope for one of nine at-large bids to be given to them by the NCAA Selection Committee.

Salisbury started with the ball by winning the coin toss and electing to receive. Its first score featured only running plays and took 9:12 off the clock, ending with a four-yard touchdown run by Ross Flanigan to cap the 15-play, 77-yard drive and put the Sea Gulls up 7-0.

Salisbury's second score was setup by a Fisher mistake; after driving all the way into the Sea Gull's red zone, Ryan Kramer threw an interception and three plays later quarterback Dan Griffin found Juma Richards for a 67-yard touchdown pass making it a 14-0 lead.

Despite not punting in the first half, the Cardinals still trailed 14-0 heading into the locker rooms.

The Cardinals received the kickoff to start the second half and were once again moving the ball against the Sea Gulls but a Ryan Schmidt 16-yard rush ended with a fumble that was recovered by Salisbury. Another three-play drive resulted in a Sea Gull's touchdown on a 16-yard rush by Tyler Curley, putting them ahead 21-0.

Fisher got its first score in the third quarter on a 4^th-and-inches rush by Kramer that went for 40-yards and a touchdown to make it a two-score game, 21-7.

Randal Smedley added the game-winning touchdown with a four-yard rush with 6:18 left to play in the third quarter, putting Salisbury up for good at 28-7.

The Cardinals added two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including a 33-yard pass from Kramer to Ryan Francis and a Cody Miller five-yard rush to close their scoring in the game.

Salisbury outgained the Cardinals by just seven yards, 411-404, and Fisher actually had a 1:24 advantage in time of possession. The Cardinals ran 22 more offensive plays than the Sea Gulls, 78-56, but Salisbury was 8-for-11 on third downs.

Miller rushed for 126 yards on 26 carries while Kramer finished with 96 yards on the ground on 14 carries. Kramer threw for 123 yards on 10-of-26 passing, throwing for a touchdown and an interception. Francis caught the only touchdown pass for the Cardinals, moving him into sole possession of third place on the career touchdown list at Fisher, breaking a tie with Schmidt.

Dave Vosburgh led the Cardinals with a team-high 13 tackles, while Mason Judd and Travis Tones each finished with eight stops.