Box Score

The nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College football team fell 26-13 to host Alfred University on Saturday afternoon in Alfred, NY. It was the first time since the middle of the 2008 season that the Cardinals have dropped back-to-back games.  With the loss Fisher falls to 4-2 and 1-2 in the Empire 8 Conference while Alfred improves to 4-1, 3-0.

Alfred used two fumbles and a fake field goal to take a 19-6 lead heading into the locker rooms at half. The Saxons scored two touchdowns in the final eight seconds of the first half which proved to be too much for the Cardinals to overcome in the second.

In the second half, the Saxons started with the football and drove for a touchdown for its 26-straight point, leading the Cardinals 26-6 at that point. Ryan Kramer then led the Cardinals on a 10-play, 66-yard drive, concluding with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Matt Monacelli to cut the Alfred lead to 26-13, which it remained for the duration of the contest.

Fisher's best chance for a comeback came with 7:55 remaining in the fourth quarter when Alfred tried a handoff to a receiver who tried to throw a pass. Mason Judd got a hand on the football, causing a fumble that Joe Leavell recovered and returned it deep into Saxons' territory. The Cardinals failed, however, to cash-in any points on the drive, turning the ball over on downs when Kramer was nearly sacked on 4th-and-11.

The Saxons scored 19 unanswered points to finish the first half, including a fake-field goal, and a 17-yard rushing touchdown with no-time remaining in the opening half after Alfred squib kicked to the Cardinals with eight seconds remaining. That squib was misplayed by Kevin Francis and when Matt Monacelli picked up the kick, he was hit and fumbled, which Alfred recovered at the Fisher 17-yard line. With four seconds remaining, the Saxons brought out its field goal unit, but when Alfred snapped the ball, holder Jonathan Ruffin ran through the middle of the defense for a score.

This all came after Tyler Stell caught a pass from Kramer over the middle, but fumbled after getting hit at the Fisher 30-yard line. Alfred recovered at the Fisher 34-yard line with 37 seconds remaining and used three plays going out-of-bounds and a timeout to control the clock before Chuck Beckwith ran in his second touchdown of the day around the tackles from the 3-yard line with just eight seconds remaining. Alfred missed the extra point and took the lead 13-6 at this point.

Fisher got on the board first after an impressive drive orchestrated by Kramer, who started after suffering an injury last weekend against Salisbury University. Kramer completed passes of 32, 20, and 19 yards on the drive before completing a 26-yard touchdown pass to Stell on 4th-and-19. Fisher failed to convert the PAT but led 6-0 with 11:19 remaining in the first half.
Beckwith ran for 116 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns in the first half before Fisher held him to just 32 yards on 11 carries and no scores in the second half.

Kramer set a career-high for passes attempted with 51, his previous high being 42 in the season opener in 2011 when he threw 42 passes in a 12-7 win over Buffalo State. He also threw for a career-high 272 yards, overshadowing 218 yards in that same game to start 2011. The quarterback finished with two touchdowns and three interceptions.  Cody Miller led the Cardinals in the run game with 14 carries for 31 yards.  Judd led the Cardinals with 13 tackles and a forced fumble.

Fisher returns to action at 4 p.m. next weekend as its hosts Empire 8 rival Ithaca College.