PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College football team racked up 355 yards of offense on Saturday including 310 through the air, but was unable to shake off a slow start as the Cardinals fell to No. 15 Washington and Jefferson, 37-12, in their season-opener at Growney Stadium. With the loss, Fisher, which is receiving votes in the initial D3football.com national poll, ended the day at 0-1 while the Presidents improved to 1-0 to begin their year.
Junior quarterback
Joshua Michels entered the game in the third quarter and went 15-of-28 for 223 yards, one touchdown and three picks.
Jake Thompson got the start as signal caller and was 11-for-16 for 87 yards before leaving the game in the second half after being sidelined with an injury.
In all Fisher had seven different receivers catch a pass led by
Will Blake's six catches for a career-high 112 yards including a 74-yard strike in the fourth quarter. Sophomore
Pat Galer hauled in seven balls for 95 yards and a touchdown while
Willy Stevenson grabbed six catches for 54 yards.
Cam Cleveland had four receptions and 36 yards while
Michael Masucci,
Ryan Ingerson and
Reide Metzger each caught one pass on the day.
After falling behind 23-0 in the first half, Fisher began to find its footing in the third quarter. With the Presidents threatening to begin the second half, Fisher was able to halt the drive when freshman
Max Bates broke through and forced a fumble as the Cardinals took over on their own 33. From there, Fisher orchestrated a 14-play 67-yard drive highlighted by 25-yard strike over the middle from Michels to Galer to make it 23-6.
As the quarter wore on, Washington and Jefferson answered with a scoring drive of its own as the Presidents ate up just 2:36 of clock with an 8-play 70-yard burst to hold a 30-6 edge with just under five minutes remaining in the third period.
Trailing by four scores, Fisher was poised to put points on the board on its ensuing drive after marching downfield to the Presidents' 6-yard line courtesy of two first downs, but the Cardinals couldn't punch it in as Washington and Jefferson came away with a pick in the endzone to take over at its own 20.
Heading into the fourth quarter, Fisher's defense would hold again as it forced a punt before head coach
Paul Vosburgh's team took over deep inside its own territory at the 15-yard line. Undaunted, Michels took the snap and found Blake on the sideline as the Penfield native broke free and scurried 74 yards downfield before being dragged down at the 11 to set Fisher up. Three plays later,
Johnathan Letta busted through the line and found pay dirt to cap off a four-play 85-yard drive that made it 30-12 with just over 12 minutes left to play.
Trailing by 18, the Cardinals forced a quick three-and-out to take over at their 32. Fisher once again looked sharp as Michels connected with Stevenson for 16 yards and then again for nine yards, but the momentum was stopped as the Presidents hit Michels as he threw before taking it 71 yards for the pick-six to open up a 37-12 advantage.
Defensively, Fisher was paced by
Justin Wheeler's 15 tackles while
Evan Majewski and
Christopher Biryla each added 11 tackles.
William Riechert came away with 10 stops including one for a loss while
Brennen Thompson had eight tackles to his credit.
Vince DiMonte has seven stops and came away with an interception.
Michael Burton had a strong game as the punter averaged 32 yards on five kicks and pinned the Presidents inside their own 20 twice. Stevenson accounted for 49 return yards including a 32-yard run while Cleveland added 61 yards on three returns.
The Cardinals will enjoy a two week break before hosting Ithaca College at 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 22nd at Growney Stadium in what will mark homecoming weekend. For more information about homecoming weekend and a schedule, please
click here.
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