ONEONTA, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College football team racked up nearly 350 yards and held the Hartwick College Hawks to just seven points as the Cardinals routed their host, 28-7, on Saturday in an Empire 8 pairing at Wright Stadium.  With the win, Fisher leveled its record at 4-4 and improved to 2-2 in the conference standings while the hawks fell to 1-6 on the season and remained winless in league play at 0-5.

Michael Krafty started at quarterback for Fisher and completed 18-of-28 passes for 175 yards, three touchdowns and two picks.  Joseph Torrillo also saw time under center and was 2-for-5 for 52 yards.

The Cardinals grinded out 117 yards on the ground led by Dahmir Pross who had 61 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown while Peyton Nolan finished with 52 yards on 12 rushes.

In all, eight different receivers caught a pass led by TySean Sizer who netted 85 yards on five receptions including two touchdowns.  Pross caught five passes out of the backfield for 39 yards while Pat Galer and Richie Quinn each hauled in two grabs for 60 combined yards.

Both defenses stood their ground over much of the opening period, but Fisher would strike first after bridging the first and second quarters with a 12-play 80-yard drive capped off by a three-yard rush from Pross to open up a 7-0 lead.

The lead remained in the Cardinals' hands as the second half got underway, but Hartwick would quickly draw even as the home team took advantage of an interception to take over at midfield just 86 seconds into the third quarter.

Trailing by seven, Hartwick turned to its running game and used seven rushes as part of a larger 11-play drive that resulted in a 12-yard touchdown strike to make it 7-7 with just over seven minutes still showing on the clock.

With the game tied, Fisher answered on its next possession as head coach Paul Vosburgh's squad orchestrated a 10-play drive that included three first downs before Krafty connected with Shane O'Dea in the back of the end zone to push the visitors ahead, 14-7, leading into the fourth quarter.

Facing a one-touchdown gap, Hartwick forced Fisher to punt to open the period, but was unable to get much going on the offensive side of the ball as Fisher's defense came up with a big stop on fourth-and-one to take over at its own 44.

Holding a slim advantage, Fisher looked to air it out as Krafty connected with Chris Park to move the chains before the signal caller paired up with Sizer for a 42-yard touchdown strike to finish off a 58-yard drive with Fisher pushing ahead, 21-7.

From there, the Hawks looked to regroup, but the Cardinals' defense had other ideas as Kyle Vachon picked off a pass at the Hartwick 26 to bring the offense back out onto the field with a two-touchdown lead.

With 5:28 still showing on the clock, Fisher didn't waste any time as Krafty needed just one play to throw his second touchdown pass of the day to Sizer to extend the lead to 28-7.

Defensively, Fisher held Hartwick to just 13 first downs and 234 total yards including just 87 on the turf.  Joe Miscia finished with 10 tackles in the win while Vince DiMonte added eight including a half sack.  Evan Strassberger chipped in with seven tackles and a pass breakup while Anthony Manna netted six tackles including one for a loss.  Vachon contributed five stops and a pick in the win while Andrew Casanova was credited with four tackles.

Kyle Farewell had two punts in all for 75 total yards.  Joe Dotterweich made all four extra-point kicks.   
 
The Cardinals will have another difficult test at 1 p.m. next Saturday when they host No. 16 SUNY Cortland in an Empire 8 battle inside Growney Stadium.  The team will also honor the members of its senior class prior to kickoff.