PITTSFORD, N.Y. – With an extra week of preparation under its belt, the St. John Fisher College football team will square off with nationally-ranked Alfred University at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Growney Stadium.  The Cardinals will have extra motivation as the game coincides with Alumni Weekend as the College is set to welcome back its former graduates.

There's plenty of entertainment lined up for the weekend including food trucks, mixers, brunch and more.  To find out more or to register, please visit www.sjfc.edu/alumni.

Those unable to make it to campus can still catch all of the game action by clicking the links below.  The game will also be broadcasted live on ESPN Rochester at 95.7FM/950AM. In the meantime, check out the full set of game notes to get up to speed on this weekend's Empire 8 matchup.

WELCOME BACK!: Saturday's game not only marks the second home contest of Fisher's schedule it also coincides with Alumni Weekend as the College is excited to welcome back its former graduates.  Growney Stadium will be rocking with thousands of devoted fans back to cheer on their beloved Cardinals.  Prior to kickoff, there will be a special ceremony as members of the Class of 1967 will take part in the coin toss at midfield. The College will have plenty of entertainment throughout the weekend including food trucks, campus tours, tailgate parties, an alumni brunch and more.  To learn more or register, please visit www.sjfc.edu/alumni. 
 
SERIES HISTORY: Today's meeting marks the 20th time that Fisher and Alfred have squared off on the gridiron.  In that span, Fisher holds a slim lead having won 10 of its 19 games against the Saxons.  Heading into last season's critical game with Alfred, Fisher had won the last three meetings, however, in 2016, the Saxons came out on top in a game that decided the Empire 8 Champion as Alfred posted a 38-17 win en route to its first NCAA Division III Football Championship appearance since reaching the quarterfinals in 2010.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Fisher broke out of its offensive slump against Hartwick, but was unable to hold a final minute lead as the Hawks earned a hard-fought 24-21 win in conference play on September 23.  Fisher trailed by seven points, 21-14, with time winding down in the fourth quarter, but the Cardinals responded in a big way.  Needing a touchdown to keep its hopes alive, Fisher turned to JAMES CHAMBERS who set the tone after reeling off a 17-yard gain to set up a first-and-10 at the Hartwick 44-yard line.  From there, freshman signal caller, JOHNATHAN LETTA dropped back and delivered a strike to WILL BLAKE that turned into a 53-yard touchdown play to pull Fisher to within one.  Following a critical extra point by DEVIN DZIKOWICZ to make it 21-21, Hartwick had just over two minutes to string together a game-winning drive, which culminated in a 21-yard field goal.
 
TO THROW, OR NOT TO THROW?: JOHNATHAN LETTA made quite an impression during Fisher's last outing after starting for the first time in his young career.  The Hilton native provides Fisher with some flexibility at the quarterback position as his legs are just as dangerous as his arm.  Against Hartwick, Letta completed seven of his 11 pass attempts for 118 yards and a touchdown and also picked up nearly 100 yards on the ground on 17 carries.  He also accounted for 12 of Fisher's 18 first downs.   
     
COMING OUT OF THE BYE WEEK: Over the last 10 seasons, Fisher has gone 7-3 coming out the bye with the Cardinals scoring an average of 28.6 points per game in that stretch.  With quarterback JOHNATHAN LETTA getting an extra week to work with the offense, the Cardinals should be firing on all cylinders this week.
 
BIG GAME JAMES: JAMES CHAMBERS put together one of the best games of his career in Fisher's last game as the Lockport native rushed for a career-high 173 yards.  Chambers found the end zone twice overall to give him four total touchdowns on the season.  For his career, Chambers has now amassed 1,866 total yards and is likely to become just the seventh back in program history to eclipse 2,000 career rushing yards.
 
MILESTONE WATCH: Senior wideout MIKE COLLICHIO is approaching some impressive milestones as the senior needs just five receiving yards to become just the fifth player if Fisher's history to surpass the 2,000 yard plateau for his career.  His 138 career receptions is fifth all-time and he needs just 27 more catches to pass Nathan Nigolian for fourth place in the record book.  Additionally, Collichio's 16 touchdowns is tied for the seventh-most in program history.  His next touchdown will tie him with Jimmy Smith (2005-08) for sixth place.  WILLIAM COON is also approaching a benchmark of his own as he needs just six yards to break 1,000 receiving yards for his career.
 
IT'S IN HIS "GENES": Can't make it to Growney Stadium for Saturday's showdown? ESPN Rochester has you covered.  Gene Battaglia has the play-by-play and the game will be broadcasted live on ESPN Radio local channel 95.7 on your FM dial or 950 AM.  You can also listen live on ESPNrochester.com.
 
SCOUTING ALFRED: The Saxons boast not only the best defense in the Empire 8 Conference but one of the top units in all of Division III as they only surrender 11 points per game this season.  Over its last two games, however, Alfred has outscored its opponents 66-10 and held Buffalo State, which had been averaging over 35 points, to just a field goal.  The Saxons currently ranks second in the Empire 8 with six interceptions and have come up with eight sacks through four games.  The Saxons all but eliminate the ground game as opposing teams are averaging less than 100 yards per game.  Add in another wrinkle and Alfred has allowed just one rushing touchdown this season.       
 
The defense is led by All-American A.J. LiCATA who has 43 tackles so far while COLE REED has made 36 stops.  NICK MILGATE has 30 tackles on the season including a pair of sacks while ERIC GRAHAM and RAEQWON GREER have each been credited with 20 tackles.
 
On the offensive side of the ball, Alfred's MALEKE FUENTES has racked up nearly 450 yards on the ground to go along with four scores while NAS SMITH has added another 222 yards at the tailback position.  BRYCE MORRISON owns nearly 600 yards and four touchdowns through the air while JAYDEN GAVIDIA is one of the conference's top wideouts with 443 receiving yards to go along with five TDs.            
 
HALL OF FAME NEWS: The St. John Fisher College Athletics Hall of Fame will see two former football players enshrined during an induction ceremony on November 3 at the Woodcliff Hotel and Spa as Noah Fehrenbach '06 and Gene Lang '07 will each be honored.  A three-time All-Conference honoree and an All-American selection in 2005, Fehrenbach rewrote the record books at Fisher and is still the program's all-time leader in receiving yards with 3,083 (nearly 1,500 yards more than second place), receptions (205) and touchdowns (36).  A two-time All-American, Lang was named to the Third-Team All-Decade Team by D3football.com at the conclusion of his career at linebacker.  To date, he still ranks third all-time in total tackles with 325.  Lang is a two-time First-Team All-Conference selection by the Empire 8 and was named the conference's Defensive Player of the Year in 2006 – the conference's first-ever player to earn that award.  Furthermore, he was named All East Region by D3football.com twice and went on to be named the 2006 Don Hansen Gazette Linebacker of the Year.
 
ON THE HORIZON:  Fisher is in the midst of its longest home stand of the season as after today, the Cardinals will play two of their next three games in front of their home crowd.  After this week's battle, Fisher will host Utica College in another Empire 8 contest at 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 14 before traveling to Ithaca College on October 21st in what will be a non-conference matchup this season with the Bombers transitioning to the Liberty League.  From there, Fisher will play its final home game on the season on Saturday, October 28 as it celebrates the many accomplishments and contributions of its senior class.