BOX SCORE
The St. John Fisher College football team fell to No. 3 (D3football.com) / No. 4 (AFCA) University of St. Thomas 45-10 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Championship. Fisher's run of epic proportions, the first two-loss team to receive an at-large bid by the NCAA Committee since 2007, came to an end against a formidable opponent, the Tommies having reached the NCAA quarterfinals the last three seasons. The Cardinals finish the 2011 campaign with a 10-3 record with two wins against undefeated conference champions in the first two rounds of the tournament.
Most of the scoring came in the first half, as Fisher got on the board first using an 8-play, 51 yard drive that ended with a Chad Monheim field goal from 24 yards out for a 3-0 Cardinals lead with 11:39 left in the first quarter.
St. Thomas answered back with a touchdown on a 31-yard pass from Dakota Tracy to Gagliardi Finalist Fritz Waldvogel. After a snap that was mishandled by punter Ryan Sweet, the Cardinals turned the ball over on downs at its own 11-yard line. Colin Tobin used a four-yard run to punch in the Tommies second touchdown of the afternoon, giving St. Thomas a 14-3 lead with 1:17 left in the first quarter.
Ryan Francis, for the second week in a row, stole the momentum right back for the Cardinals, returning an 85-yard kickoff to pay dirt, the fourth return in his career, to close the margin to 14-10 with 1:07 remaining in the opening quarter.
On third down with under a minute to play in the first quarter, Cardinal cornerback Adam Burdick jumped a route at about the St. Thomas 20-yard line that would have easily gone for six, but the ball slipped out of his hands. After that near misfire, the Tommies gained control of the game, scoring three more touchdowns in the opening stanza to head into halftime with a 35-10 lead.
The Cardinals defense played a stellar second half, allowing only 10 points, including holding St. Thomas to a field goal on a drive that started from Fisher's own 14-yard line off a Tommies interception.
Cody Miller had 15 carries for 84 yards, while Dave Vosburgh finished with a team-high nine tackles. For the Tommies, Tracy finished 9-for-18 for 133 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those throws went to Waldvogel, who did not play in the second half, ending with five catches for 105 yards. Tobin finished with 159 yards on 25 carries and two rushing scores.
