PITTSFORD, N.Y. – It's Homecoming Weekend and the St. John Fisher College football team is set to return from a two-week break as the Cardinals will host No. 25 Ithaca College at 2 p.m. on Saturday on the turf inside Growney Stadium. 

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Do you want to learn more about Saturday's matchup?  Check out this week's game notes for an inside look.

WELCOME HOME: To all of the alumni out there - welcome back!  Today marks homecoming for the College and there's a lot planned.  From campus tours that showcase the College's growth to luncheons, dinners, parties and more, Homecoming Weekend has something for everyone.  Not to mention a certain football game on Saturday afternoon...To find out more please CLICK HERE.
 
THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT: In case you missed it, Fisher Athletics launched its new mobile app last week - SJFC Athletics - in the App Store and on Google Play.  The app, which gives fans, alumni, parents and more yet another opportunity to stay-up-to-date with the latest news, highlights, schedules and more, is free and features push notifications so you never miss a beat.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Saturday will mark the 21st time in program history that the Cardinals and Bombers will square off on the gridiron and this series is split evenly with both teams claiming 10 wins apiece.  Last season, Ithaca got the better of Fisher on its home field, however, over the last 12 years, Fisher is 9-2 against Ithaca and outscored the Bombers 324-182.  Until last season when the Bombers departed for the Liberty League, these two teams had combined to win 13 Empire 8 titles.
 
AGE IS JUST A NUMBER: The 2018 season marks the 48th year in Fisher football's illustrious history.  The team, which began as a club team in 1971 under Frank Petrus, has come a long way over the last five decades as the Cardinals are routinely in the national spotlight.  With five NCAA appearances under its belt, Fisher football has amassed 271 wins in its history and has reached the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division III Football Championship four times including an appearance in the Final Four in 2006.
 
CHECK YOUR SCHEDULE: No surprise here, but Fisher faces one of the tougher schedules in Division III again in 2018.  After facing No. 15 Washington and Jefferson in its season-opener, Fisher will then have to play Ithaca, which is coming off an eight-win season and cracked the top 25 this week for the first time since 2015.  From there, the Cardinals square off with No. 4 Brockport, which reached the NCAA semifinals last season with 13 wins.  It doesn't get any easier with Fisher's opponents owning a combined record of 8-6 heading into the fourth week of the season.   

HE'S A REAL CATCH: Junior receiver Will Blake had a career day against Washington and Jefferson after the Penfield native hauled in six catches for a career-high 112 yards including a 74-yard reception that set up a touchdown run in the fourth quarter.  Entering the game, Blake had tallied 571 career receiving yards over 20 appearances.  His best year statistically was his freshman season where he had 20 catches for 320 yards and a pair of touchdowns - marks he is well on his way to breaking this year.
 
BYE BYE: Over the last decade, the Cardinals have traditionally fared well coming out of a bye week.  Dating back to 2008, head coach Paul Vosburgh's team have gone 6-4 following a week off.  This season, with only nine games on the docket, the Cardinals will head into a matchup against Ithaca having had two weeks to get healthy and practice.  Time will tell if the extra preparation pays off.
 
GENERATION NEXT: The 2018 St. John Fisher football team features a lot of new faces and many of the Cardinals' underclassmen have already made their presence felt.  Last time out, Fisher started nine players that were either freshmen or sophomores.  Offensively, sophomore quarterback Jake Thompson got the call and went 11-for-16 while being protected by freshman offensive lineman Donovan Anderson.  Two more sophomores had an impact with Pat Galer hauling in a team-leading seven catches for 95 yards and a touchdown while Cam Cleveland had four catches and racked up 61 return yards against Washington and Jefferson.  On the defensive side of the ball, Fisher started five underclassmen including three freshman as the Cardinals held the Presidents' offense to one touchdown in the second half.  Freshman Max Bates forced a fumble while sophomore Vince DiMonte jumped a route for his first-career interception.  Second year man LeMar Peters blocked a kick while fellow classmate Terry White helped plug the middle.  Justin Wheeler made his first start in Fisher's season-opener and accounted for a team-leading 15 tackles overall.
 
TIME TO PLAY: We're talking about possession and volume here - two areas that Fisher controlled throughout its season-opener.  Despite the final score, the Cardinals actually ran more plays and had the ball longer than the Presidents.  The Fisher offense ran 73 plays compared to 64 for W&J and ate up nearly 33 minutes of clock.  To put that into perspective, last season, Fisher ran 70 plays or more three times - one of which came in its historic five-overtime win over Utica - and possessed the ball for at least 30 minutes just twice.    
 
SCOUTING ITHACA: Coming off a year that saw them post an 8-3 overall record, the Ithaca College Bombers have had a strong start to the 2018 season and bring a 2-1 record to Growney Stadium on Saturday.  Ithaca, which broke into the D3football.com top 25 this week, is coming off a convincing win over Alfred as its defense held the Saxons scoreless for nearly 40 minutes of play.
 
On the offensive side of the ball, Ithaca is led by sophomore signal caller Wahid Nabi.  Nabi, who was named the Liberty League Rookie of the Year in 2017, has thrown for 520 yards and three touchdowns to date.  Andrew Vito has proven to be his favorite target through the team's first three games, but Will Gladney could make his return to the field this week after missing the two contests with an injury.  Gladney, who was named a Preseason All-American, is coming off a sophomore season that saw him post 72 catches for 1,024 yards and seven TDs.  Isaiah D'Haiti will get the bulk of the carries in the backfield after compiling 122 yards on the ground so far to go along with a team-leading three scores. 
 
Defensively, Ithaca is led by Pat Minogue who has acquired 33 total tackles including five that have gone for a loss.  Additionally, Ryan Bronson (24 tackles) and Nick Garone (20 tackles) fill the gaps as Ithaca is allowing under 96 rushing yards per game this season, which ranks second among all Liberty League teams.     
 
HALL OF FAME NEWS: St. John Fisher College is set to induct seven new members into its Athletics Hall of Fame later this fall including Brennan Fortune '08 who played a significant role in helping to build the team in to what it is today.  Fortune could be considered not only one of the greatest offensive lineman to have played at Fisher, but one of the best in Division III history.  A three-time All-American (one preseason), Fortune was named to the All-Decade Team by D3football.com.  During his four seasons, Fisher amassed 41 wins including three berths in the NCAA Division III Championship.  In 2006, the Cardinals vied for a national championship and reached the semifinals for the first time in team history.  With Fortune on the line, the running game exploded for the Cardinals' offense as he helped block for Mark Robinson who is currently in our hall of fame.  He is a three-time All-Conference honoree.  Joining Fortune in this year's class are Jenna Waldron '10 (women's volleyball), Dave Wood '09 (men's lacrosse), Dan Jurik '10 (baseball), Rev. Albert Gallmon '74 (men's basketball), Nicole Lanieu '02 (softball) and Patrick Tobin '62 (Honorary).
 
WHAT'S NEXT: Following Saturday's contest, Fisher will prepare for No. 4 Brockport and the 14th annual Courage Bowl in support of Camp Good Days.  The game, which will be played at Bob Boozer Field in Brockport, has become one of Division III's most anticipated contests as it directly benefits Camp Good Days, which is a not-for-prof-it organization that provides thousands of children with cancer the opportunity to come together in a residential camping experience to be with the only ones who could truly understand what they were going through – other children with cancer.  Since its founding by Fisher assistant coach Gary Mervis, Camp Good Days has impacted more than 45,000 campers from 22 states and 29 countries.  With a small group of paid employees, Camp Good Days is a volunteer-based organization.  To avoid placing any additional financial burden on the families served, all of the programs are offered free of charge for the participants.
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