PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Senior TySean Sizer made history on Saturday and running back Dahmir Pross scored three touchdowns, but it wasn't enough as the St. John Fisher College football team was beaten by visiting Alfred University, 38-35, in an Empire 8 clash inside Growney Stadium.  With the loss, Fisher dipped to 3-4 on the year and fell to 1-2 in the conference standings while the Saxons improved to 3-3 and moved to 2-0 in league play.

Sizer finished the game with two touchdowns of his own after the Irondequoit native became the first player in team history to return a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown in the same game as he racked up over 200 total return yards on the day.

Overall, the Cardinals accounted for 208 passing yards in the loss with Joseph Torrillo completing 14 passes to seven different receivers.  Richie Quinn finished with three grabs for 64 yards while Chris Park added a team-leading four catches for 63 yards.  Pross hauled in all three of his targets and finished with 12 receiving yards to go along with 88 yards on the ground and a game-high three touchdowns.  Malachi Duvall added 35 rushing yards on 15 carries.

After swapping possessions over the first five minutes, Fisher started in Alfred territory and ripped off a seven-play drive capped off by a two-yard scramble by Pross to open up a 7-0 lead.

As the period wore on, Fisher kept Alfred off the board and bridged the first and second quarters with a three-play series including a 42-yard strike from Torrillo to Gabe Maloni down the sideline that set up another touchdown run for Pross to push the advantage to 14.

Trailing by two touchdowns, Alfred went to work and orchestrated a 10-play, 75-yard drive to cut the gap in half.  After forcing Fisher to punt on its ensuing possession, the Saxons drew even after moving the chains three times before punching it in from a yard out to level the game at 14-14 heading into halftime.

Coming out of the break, Alfred looked to pin Fisher deep in its own end, but Sizer had other ideas as the wideout broke to the outside and sprinted 88 yards to pay dirt marking the first kickoff returned for a touchdown since 2011 as Fisher opened up a 21-14 edge.

Following a lengthy 13-play drive that resulted in a field goal for the Saxons, Fisher was poised to add to its lead with the third quarter winding down.  Leading 21-17, Torrillo looked to move the chains, but missed his target as Alfred picked off the pass and scampered 75 yards the other way for the pick six to forge ahead, 24-21.

From there, the visitors would add to their lead with a 12-yard touchdown strike to hold a 10-point cushion with 14:26 remaining in the game.

Down 31-21, the Cardinals countered and pulled to within three after a 20-yard reception by Park gave Fisher a fresh set of downs.  With the ball at the Alfred 28, Pross went to work and reeled off a 13-yard run before barreling his way 15 yards into the endzone to pull Fisher to within 31-28 with plenty of time still showing on the clock.

With momentum beginning to favor the home team, Alfred quickly put Fisher on its heels with a 49-yard run up the gut before finishing off the drive on the next play with a nine-yard touchdown strike to maintain its two-possession lead.

Facing an uphill climb, Fisher worked the ball down to the Alfred three-yard line, but was stood up on a fourth-and-two as the Saxons took over on downs holding a 10-point margin with under two minutes to go.  After failing to pick up much yardage on three consecutive runs, Alfred was forced to punt the ball to Sizer who proceeded to break a tackle and work his way up the sideline for a 38-yard touchdown that gave Fisher new life as it trailed by a field goal with 1:30 remaining.

With just 90 seconds to go and no timeouts, Fisher opted for an onside kick, but the Saxons pounced on the loose ball and ended the comeback bid with three straight kneel downs.

Vince DiMonte led the defense with 15 tackles overall while Joe Miscia, who was named the Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, added 14 stops.  Evan Strassberger had 11 tackles while Johnathan Ellison had six including one for a loss and a pass breakup.  Kyle Vachon and Jeremy Woodcokc each finished with one sack apiece while Jason Rodriguez intercepted one pass and had two tackles.

Kyle Farewell had three punts for Fisher and averaged 46.0 yards.  The freshman was 4-for-4 on extra point attempts.

The Cardinals will enjoy a much needed bye week before returning to action at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 30th in Oneonta against the Hartwick College Hawks.