Football | 11/9/2017 10:40:00 AM

PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College football team will close out the 2017 season on the road as the Cardinals travel to Western New York to take on the Buffalo State Bengals in an Empire 8 contest at Coyer Field.  Fisher is coming off a hard-fought loss to Morrisville last weekend while the Bengals earned a win over Hartwick.  Both teams enter the game holding a 2-4 mark in conference play.   

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SERIES HISTORY: Saturday will mark the 21st time that these two programs have met on the grid iron with the Bengals winning 11 of the previous 20 games.  Fisher, however, owns recent history as the Cardinals have notched eight wins in their last 10 contests against Buffalo State.  Last season, Fisher came away with a win on its home turf, 28-24.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Fisher dropped a tough one on the road last weekend as the Cardinals fell to Morrisville State, 35-28, after the Mustangs eeked out a final-minute touchdown in the fourth quarter.  It was a back-and-forth affair from the get-go as Fisher and Morrisville each had success finding the end zone over the course of the opening half.  The Cardinals held a 7-0 lead in the first quarter as JAMES CHAMBERS capped a seven-play drive with his first touchdown of the afternoon.  The Mustangs countered with an 11-play scoring drive of their own before MIKE COLLICHIO hauled in a five-yard TD toss from JOSHUA MICHELS to give the visitors a 14-7 edge heading into the second period.  The lead was short-lived, however, as Morrisville tied the game up with another long drive to make it 14-14. From there, Fisher reclaimed the lead after a pick-six, but the home team responded with two more touchdowns to lead it 28-21 in the third.  Fisher battled back to tie the game at 28-28 with just over nine minutes remaining, but the Mustangs milked the clock and worked with an eight-play 53-yard drive to earn their first conference win of the season.
 
THOMPSON TAKES IT THE DISTANCE: Junior safety Brennen Thompson was a bright spot on Saturday as the Herkimer native jumped a route at the Morrisville 20 and took it 80 yards for the pick-six.  It was Thompson's first career interception and second touchdown of the season after he blocked a punt and recovered the ball in the end zone in Fisher's five-overtime win over Utica earlier this season.  He finished Saturday's game with six tackles including one solo stop.
 
WHEN WE LAST MET: Last season, Fisher topped Buffalo State, 28-24, after overcoming a deficit late in the fourth quarter.  Trailing 24-21 with 10:45 remaining in the game, COLLIN FIUTKO orchestrated an eight-play 56-yard drive that resulted in a 17-yard scramble by CHRIS SMITH to lift Fisher to the all-important conference win.  In that game, Fiutko was 15-for-22 with 209 yards and three touchdowns while JAMES CHAMBERS finished with 94 yards on just seven carries.  At the receiver position, WILLIAM COON had 103 yards and a TD while MIKE COLLICHIO hauled in a game-high seven catches for 56 yards and a touchdown.  Defensively, DJ LOGORY recorded a team-leading 17 tackles while ANTHONY LEE accounted for 10 tackles in all.  Fisher forced Buff State into three interceptions with Logory, ALEC MORTILLARO and PATRICK CHAMBERLAIN each coming away with a pick. 
 
DID YOU KNOW: Buffalo State's quarterback KYLE HOPPY has had a nice career with the Bengals, but did you know that he was an even better baseball player?  In fact, Hoppy was so good that he was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 2009 and played four seasons in Orioles' organization from 2009-12.
 
ENGINE NUMBER 5: This train moves fast and if you're in the way... JAMES CHAMBERS caused problems for Cortland two weeks ago...about 300 of them actually.  The senior running back tallied a career-high 199 yards on the ground including an 80-yard burst.  He wasn't done there though as the also hauled in a game-high eight receptions for 91 yards.  Chambers had three touchdowns in the win.  His 199 yards on the ground marked the highest rushing total Fisher has had since 2015 while his 80-yard touchdown run was the longest for Fisher since Hall-of-Famer Mark Robinson had an 86-yard run in 2005.  In seven games this season, Chambers has gone over the 100-yard mark three times and he ranks fourth overall in the Empire 8 with 786 rushing yards.   
 
SCOUTING BUFFALO STATE: The Bengals enter Saturday's contest with a 5-4 overall record, however, in conference play, they're 2-4.  Buffalo State ranks last among Empire 8 teams in scoring, but its defense has managed to keep it in close games.  To date, the Bengals are allowing a shade over 28 points per game, but have limited their opponents passing attack as they're surrendering just 184 passing yards per game this season, which ranks second in the conference.
 
Hoppy is perhaps the team's most versatile player on offense as the quarterback has amassed nearly 1,900 yards through the air and 10 touchdowns while gaining another 351 yards (total) on the ground.  Through nine games this season, Hoppy's favorite target has been RICKY BAILEY who accounts for a team-high 45 receptions.  Bailey brings 648 receiving yards and three touchdowns into Saturday's matchup.  STEPHEN JOHNSON leads the team with 697 yards through the air and five TDs while HAD BRYANT and JAMAR RUTLEDGE have combined to produce 554 yards.
 
On the ground, ANTOINE HOLLOMAN and AUSTIN NEAL share the heavy lifting and have netted 276 and 254 yards, respectively.  As a team, the Bengals have managed to find the end zone 12 times on the ground, which is sixth overall in the conference.
 
Defensively, the team is led by BART MAZZARA who owns 72 tackles including 5.5 for a loss.  DAMETRIUS BROWN has been credited with 61 stops through nine games while KHALIL SOMMERVILLE has come up with 43 stops including a team-leading 12 tackles for a loss.  Overall, Buffalo State's line can cause problems up front as PAUL KROWEL and Somerville have tallied 5.0 and 4.5 sacks, respectively.  TIQUAN SIMPKINS could affect the passing game for Fisher as well as he has come away with three interceptions on the season.