BOX SCORE

In a game that featured the top-two ranked offenses in the Empire 8, strong defensive play would be the difference as the St. John Fisher College football team snapped Buffalo State College's three-game win streak after outscoring the Bengals 24-6, Saturday at Hoyer Field.

The Cardinals, now 7-2 overall (4-2 Empire 8) held Buffalo State (5-5, 3-4), the conference's top scoring offense to only 215 yards, while allowing only one touchdown that came in the game's final minute of play.

Neither offense was able to generate much momentum in the first quarter as Fisher punted the ball away on its first two possessions, while the Bengals turned the ball over on downs in back-to-back series including a botched snap on what would have been a 27-yard field goal attempt.

The Cardinals looked poised to take the lead in the early going of the second frame when Buffalo State forced a fumble, eventually recovering the ball on its own nine-yard line.  The Bengals would not possess the ball for long though, as Ryan Ballard picked off Casey Kacz's pass to give the Cardinal offense another opportunity inside the Buffalo State zone.

The Cardinals looked to break the scoreless tie, but were unable to come away with any points as Brendan Carey's 31-yard field goal attempt sailed just wide allowing the Bengals to take-over at their own 21-yard line.

After a quick three-and-out, Fisher took over on its own 41-yard line.  Quarterback Matt Naton breathed new life into the offense, connecting with Ryan Sweet on a 44-yard pass for the touchdown, capping a short two-play drive that took only thirteen seconds to give the visiting Cardinals the 7-0 lead.

After swapping possessions, Fisher went to work deep in its own end. Following back-to-back rushes, the Cardinals faced a third-and-long, but Nathan Nigolian was able to move the chains, snagging the ball out of the air to give Fisher a new set of downs.  The Cardinals would take advantage as Sweet blew past his defender and into an open secondary.  The junior wide receiver corralled the deep pass from Naton and was off to the races, sprinting 78 yards for the score to give Fisher a 14-0 lead.

The Cardinals would get another opportunity before the half came to a close when Bryant Moore forced a fumble that Fisher recovered deep inside Buffalo State territory.  After failing to reach the first-down marker, the Cardinals sent out the field goal unit as Carey connected on a 35-yard attempt to edge Fisher's lead to 17-0 as the halftime horn sounded. 

After forcing the Bengals to punt for a third time, Fisher took over possession on its own one-yard line with 1:31 remaining in the third quarter.  Buffalo State loaded the box and rushed Naton, but the sophomore didn't buckle under the pressure.  Instead, he hooked-up with Justin Rodriguez on a 44-yard bomb that brought the Cardinals to mid-field.  The Cardinals would cap the eight-play 99-yard drive on a five yard touchdown run by Cody Miller to push their lead to 24-0 with 12:31 remaining in the game.

On its very next possession, Buffalo State would cough-up the ball once again as Mason Judd pounced on the ball at the 39-yard line.  The Cardinals would advance the ball to the Bengal 24-yard line after the home team was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, resulting in 15 free yards for Fisher, but the Cardinals were unable to add to their lead.

The home team was able to avoid the shut out, scoring its only touchdown of the game in the final minute of play as Kacz broke the goal-line to make it 24-6.  The Bengals would try for two, but Fisher's defensive line held strong as the Cardinals would hold on for the 24-6 win.

Naton, in just his first-career start displayed veteran control, going 14-23 for 293 yards and two touchdown passes.  Sweet set several new career marks in the win with five receptions for 144 yards and two scores.

The Cardinals' defense was impressive as well, led by Sean Preish who had 13 tackles.  Ballard made nine stops and had an interception, while Peter DiMilia recorded six tackles.  Moore notched five tackles and forced a fumble and Zach Hildebrand registered four tackles including two sacks.

The Cardinals will finish their regular season at 1 p.m. on Saturday as they host Alfred University in the ninth annual Courage Bowl at Growney Stadium.