ONEONTA, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College football team erupted for a season-high 49 points and matched its season-high with 572 total yards as the Cardinals picked up their first win in Empire 8 play behind a 49-21 win at Hartwick College.  With the win, Fisher climbed above .500 and is now 4-3 overall and 1-2 in the conference while the Hawks fell to 1-5 with the loss and remained winless in the Empire 8 at 0-2.

As a team, the Cardinals racked up 28 first downs and finished with 161 rushing yards and 411 passing yards on the day. 

Freshman quarterback Hunter Walsh was 24-for-34 in the win with 365 yards and three touchdown tosses.  Junior Jake Thompson came on in the second half and threw for a touchdown on 4-of-6 passing with 46 yards.
 
On the ground, Fisher was led by Dahmir Pross who had 103 yards on 17 carries to go along with two touchdowns while Mathew Hull produced 21 yards on eight carries.  Walsh had three runs on the afternoon and found the end zone once with his legs.

In all, eight different receivers hauled in a catch led by TySean Sizer who had four grabs for 179 yards and two scores.  Senior Will Blake caught a game-high 13 catches for 127 yards while William Coon had a season-high four grabs for 33 yards and a touchdown.  Michael Escobar caught a 28-yard touchdown strike in the win while Chris Park and Johnathan Letta each had two receptions.

After falling behind by a touchdown following the first quarter of play, Fisher would knot the game up at 7-7 in the second period courtesy of a 7-play, 34-yard drive that was capped off by a 24-yard touchdown pass from Walsh to Sizer.

With the score leveled, Hartwick took over deep inside its own territory as its drive began at its own 12 yard line.  After converting a third-and-eight with a 9-yard passing play, the Hawks looked to air it out again as the home team came up with a 71-yard pass before the Cardinals made the tackle at their own two.  From there, Fisher's defense stood tall as the Cardinals came up with four straight goal line stops to take over on downs at their own four.

With its heels near their own end zone, Fisher went to the air as Walsh delivered a bullet down field to Sizer who broke free and sprinted 96 yards to pay dirt to make it 14-7 with under seven minutes remaining in the half.  The pass was just one yard shy of tying the program record (97 yards) set by Jimmy Smith on a pass from Rob Kramer in 2007. 

As the half wore down, both teams traded possessions until the Cardinals took over at the Hartwick 47 with 3:14 still showing on the clock.  Ahead by a touchdown, the Cardinals would string together seven plays including three straight completions by Walsh culminating in a 13-yard touchdown catch by Coon to hold a 21-7 edge at halftime.

Coming out of the break, Hartwick would cut the deficit to a one score game after marching 84 yards on five plays to make it 21-14, but the Hawks' defense couldn't come up with a quick stop as the Cardinals countered with an 8-play scoring drive of their own to reclaim a two possession lead.  After beginning the drive at their own 48, the Cardinals moved the chains three times before Walsh scrambled up the gut and across the goal line to make it 28-14.

Down by two scores and with momentum favoring the visitors, Hartwick moved the ball downfield quickly with a 40-yard passing play, however, the Cardinals would apply the pressure on third down as John Cleary broke through for a sack that forced the Hawks' quarterback to bobble and fumble the ball as Sam Maddi pounced on the turf to give Fisher the ball deep inside Hartwick territory. 

With a fresh set of downs and 25 yards to work with, Fisher handed the ball of to Pross on three straight plays as the Bishop Kearney graduate moved the chains before capping the drive with a 9-yard rushing score to give the Cardinals a 21-point cushion, 35-14.

After forcing Hartwick to punt, Fisher would bridge the third and fourth quarters with another touchdown drive after moving the ball 59 yards on nine plays highlighted by another rushing touchdown by Pross to make it 42-14.
Facing a steep climb with time working against it, Hartwick continued to look for the big play as the Hawks went 73 yards on just eight plays to pull to within 21 points, 42-21. 

With nine minutes still showing on the game clock, Hartwick forced the Cardinals to punt, but couldn't hold on to the ball as Jason Rodriguez picked off a floater for his sixth interception of the season before he was eventually dragged down at the Hartwick 29.  Three plays later, Thompson connected with Escobar on a post route to push the Cardinals' advantage back to 28 points, 49-21.

Defensively, Anthony Manna posted a team-leading six tackles while Cameron Bellino made five stops in the win to go along with one pass breakup.  Rodriguez made five tackles and finished with one INT.  His six interceptions is tied for the fifth-most in a single season in Fisher's storied history.  Cleary had one sack and a forced fumble while LeMar peter was credited with a sack.

Kicker Joe Dotterweich averaged nearly 32 yards on three punts while the North Tonawanda native was 6-for-6 on extra point opportunities.

The Cardinals will look to make it two wins in a row at 4 p.m. on Saturday when they welcome first-place Cortland to Growney Stadium for an Empire 8 clash.