PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College football team was upended by visiting Morrisville State on Saturday as the Cardinals fell 35-7 on a chilly afternoon at Growney Stadium.  With the loss, Fisher fell to 1-5 overall and 1-3 in the Empire 8 standings while the Mustangs climbed above .500 and finished the day at 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the conference standings. 

Joshua Michels, who had missed the last game with an injury got the start and went 3-for-6 for 21 yards before being lifted for Alejandro Utset who completed 11-of-28 passes for 104 yards.  Utset also produced a touchdown on the ground with a one-yard dash.

Malachi Duvall led the rushing game with 26 yards on six carries while Ryan Ingerson posted 14 yards overall.

Cam Cleveland led the receiving corps with 51 yards on three catches while Pat Galer and Will Blake each hauled in four receptions.  Galer had 39 yards through the air and Blake finished the day with 34 receiving yards.

Defensively, Tony Silvanic had a career-high 18 stops and forced a fumble while William Riechert totaled 12 tackles including two for a loss.  Christopher Biryla returned from a one-game absence and was credited with 11 tackles while Justin Wheeler made 10 stops at the linebacker position.  Sam Maddi was in Morrisville's back field all afternoon and totaled one sack to go along with a forced fumble and a pass breakup.  Michael Chase and Evan Majewski combined to make 18 tackles for the Cardinals.

After winning the opening coin toss, Morrisville elected to receive and took its opening possession 72 yards over 15 plays before a quarterback sneak at the Fisher one yard line staked the visitors to a 7-0 lead.

Morrisville was able to hold Fisher to just 14 yards over its next two drives before taking over at its own eight with 2:49 remaining in the opening quarter.  From there, the Mustangs bridged the first and second quarters together with a 12-play 92-yard drive touchdown drive to open up a two-score edge, 14-0.

Following another three-and-out by Fisher, the visitors struck again and built a 21-0 lead with a six-play, 47-yard drive culminating in another one-yard run up the gut to make it a three-score game with 7:35 remaining in the opening half. 

The Cardinals began to show life on the offensive side of the ball on their next drive and worked the ball to the Morrisville nine yard line with a fresh set of downs.  With four chances to punch the ball in, Fisher was unable to break the plane as the Mustangs held on and took over on downs deep inside their own territory.

After holding Morrisville on its next possession and forcing a punt, Fisher was able to take advantage of a short field and got on the board after running the two-minute drill with precision.

After completing a 15-yard pass to Blake down the sideline, Fisher was aided by a roughing the passer call to move the ball inside the Mustangs' 10.  Following a pair of rushes from Ingerson that moved the ball to the Morrisville three, the Cardinals made it a 21-7 affair with Utset finding the end zone on a QB keeper.

Coming out of the halftime break, both defenses looked sharp, however, the Mustangs added to their lead late in the third quarter courtesy of a five-play, 81-yard drive capped by a 53-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-7.

In the fourth quarter, the visitors made it a four-score game with a 13-play, 93-yard drive to earn a 35-7 win.

Michael Burton had seven punts on the day and averaged 37.0 yards per kick.  The senior punter pinned the Mustangs inside their own 20 twice including a career-long 60-yard kick.

The Cardinals will look to turn things around next Saturday at 2 p.m. when they travel to Cortland to take on the Red Dragons in an Empire 8 pairing at the SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex.