Football | 10/20/2023 1:08:00 PM
PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher University football team are at home over the weekend as they host no. 17 ranked SUNY Cortland. The Cardinals are coming off of a 28-21 win over Hartwick College that moved their record to 4-2 overall and 1-1 in Empire 8 competition.
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The Series: Cortland leads the series between the schools, 9-5, including wins in each of the last three meetings. Cortland beat the Cardinals four straight times from 1988-91, with the win in 1988 completing the Red Dragons' 10-0 regular season. The teams did not meet again until 2003. Fisher beat Cortland at home twice in the ECAC Northwest Bowl (47-37 in 2003 and 34-20 in 2009) and in a non-league matchup in 2013 (33-25).
The series resumed in 2015 when Cortland joined the Empire 8 and the Red Dragons won at Fisher, 34-17, that season. The teams finished as Empire 8 co-champions, but Cortland earned the league's NCAA berth by virtue of the head-to-head victory. The Cardinals won in 2016 and 2017, while Cortland has been victorious in each of the last four meetings (2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022).
2023 Cardinals: St. John Fisher overcame an early 14-3 deficit and won at Hartwick, 38-21, last Saturday.
Peyton Nolan, the Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Week, rushed 29 times for 176 yards and three touchdowns and
Giovanni DiCaprio ran 13 times for 121 yards.
Aaron Chase finished 14-of-23 through the air for 135 yards and two scores, both to
Jason Britton on his lone two receptions of the game.
Joe Miscia,
Trenton Sherman and
DeAndre Green each intercepted a pass.
Chase is 74-of-132 passing (56.1 percent) this fall for 923 yards and 11 touchdowns with five interceptions. Nolan ranks ninth nationally in Division III with 125.8 rushing yards per game and is 22nd nationally with eight rushing touchdowns.
Ethan Curtis leads the Cardinals' receiving corps with 20 catches for 304 yards and four touchdowns.
Joe Miscia is Fisher's leader with 49 tackles and two interceptions and
Ryan O'Dea has 34 tackles.
Kyle Farewell is 3-for-4 on field-goal attempts, with a long of 39 yards, and is 14-for-18 on PAT kicks. He also averages 39.4 yards per punt with five inside the 20. DiCaprio averages 17.7 yards per kickoff return and
Ryan Romagnoli averages 12.1 yards per punt return.
Ranked Dragons: Cortland improved to 3-0 in Empire 8 play with a 59-21 win over visiting Alfred University last Saturday. The Red Dragons led 42-7 at halftime and scored on their first eight possessions, including a
Ravi Dass Jr. 63-yard punt return touchdown.
Zac Boyes completed 19-of-22 passes for 186 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for a score.
Rashad Tucker finished with seven receptions for 96 yards and two touchdowns and
Jaden AlfanoStJohn ran nine times for 81 yards and a score.
Through six games, Boyes is 98-of-135 passing (72.6 percent) for 1,540 yards and 19 touchdowns with only one interception. Boyes also has run for 276 yards and four touchdowns. AlfanoStJohn and
Ashton Capone share the team lead with seven rushing touchdowns apiece. AlfanoStJohn averages 86.5 yards per game on the ground and Capone averages 60.2 yards.
JJ Laap has 31 receptions for 665 yards and seven scores and
Cole Burgess has caught 22 passes for 303 yards and five touchdowns.
Jack Winey is the team leader with 57 tackles from his middle linebacker position.
Sam Cotton has recorded 25 stops, 17 solo, and
Luke Winslow has 23 tackles, two interceptions and three pass breakups.
Nick Lardaro paces the team with four sacks.
Mike Baloga has made all 42 of his PAT kicks and 3-of-5 field goals, with a long of 38 yards.
Patrick Luby averages 38.1 yards per punt on nine kicks. Cortland did not punt in the season opener versus Delaware Valley and punted only once each of the last three games.
Look Ahead: The Cardinals will play their final home of the regular season on Saturday, Oct. 28 with kick off at 12 p.m. They will welcome Alfred University to campus. Fisher will honor their seniors pre-game.
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