Game Notes: Football Hosts Cortland Saturday In Key Empire 8 Matchup

St. John Fisher (5-1, 3-0 Empire 8)

Head Coach: Ed Raby Jr. (1st year at Fisher, 6th year overall)

Career Record: 5-1 at Fisher, 25-23 overall (includes four seasons at SUNY Morrisville)

2025 Results: @FDU-Florham (21-0 W), vs. St. Lawrence (28-23 W), @UofR (28-21 L), vs. Alfred (21-7 W), vs. Brockport (31-24 OT W), @Hartwick (35-21 W)

Team Captains: Ryan Whitney* (Jr., QB), Ethan Curtis* (Sr., WR), Timothy Vanderbrink* (Jr., S) and Colin Faust* (Jr., LB) ...  * denotes first-time captain.

• Roster
• Coaching Staff
• Schedule
• Season Stats

SUNY Cortland (5-1, 4-0 Empire 8)

Head Coach: Tom Blumenauer (1st year at Cortland, 4th overall)

Career Record: 5-1 at Cortland, 26-12 overall (includes three seasons at Franklin & Marshall)

2025 Results: vs. Grove City (31-14 L), vs. Union (30-6 W), @Hartwick (59-9 W), @SUNY Morrisville (48-3 W), vs. Utica (28-13 W), vs. Alfred (65-12 W)

Team Captains: Alessandro DeRosa (Sr., DB), Joe Iadevaio (Jr., WR), Jayden Lont (Sr., OL), Matt Lotter (Sr., LB)

• Roster
• Coaching Staff
• Schedule
• Season Stats

Setting the Stage

The Cardinals have quietly been one of the top stories in Division III in their first season under head coach Ed Raby Jr., who inherited a team that went 3-7 overall (2-5 Empire 8) in 2024. 

With one more victory, the Cardinals (5-1, 4-0 Empire 8) would clinch their first winning season since 2016, but they have their sights set on much more than that as they get set to welcome No. 17/22 SUNY Cortland (5-1, 4-0 Empire 8) for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Saturday at Growney Stadium. The winner will hold sole possession of first place in the conference entering the final month of the regular season. 

In Case You Missed It… 

• The Cardinals are off to their best overall and conference starts since 2016. Fisher won its first six games that year, including four E8 contests, before losing to Utica. 
• The Cardinals beat Brockport, which had been receiving votes in various DIII football top-25 polls, 31-24 in overtime on Oct. 4 for their first Courage Bowl win since 2016. 
• The Cardinals have won three consecutive games since a 28-21 loss to the University of Rochester on Sept. 21. Fisher last won three straight games in September 2023.

The 2025 Season In Photos….

Honoring Coach Paul Vosburgh

St. John Fisher University will honor former football head coach Paul Vosburgh during a ceremony at halftime of Saturday's game. A gathering will also be held at Growney Stadium's Pellicano Pavilion starting at 12:30 p.m.

Vosburgh, who coached the Cardinals for more than three decades, was the second-longest active tenured head coach in Division III before announcing his retirement last November. He went 181-155 in charge of the Cardinals and 192-173-1 overall. 

Over 34 seasons at Fisher, Vosburgh won six Empire 8 Conference titles and led the Cardinals to the NCAA Division III Football Championship in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2011 and 2013. The Cardinals had the best season in program history in 2006, as they went 12-2 overall, won the NCAA Division III East Region and advanced to the national semifinals. Fisher also won six Eastern College Athletic Conference bowl games under Vosburgh's leadership. 

Vosburgh won the Empire 8 Coach of the Year award twice and garnered National Coach of the Year honors in 2006. The Cardinals won 10 games or more in five seasons with him at the helm, and totaled 129 victories from 2003-2019, about eight wins per season. 

Two of Vosburgh's teams (2006 and 2013) won the Lambert Meadowlands Award, presented annually to the top Division III team in the East region. 

Click HERE to read messages to coach Vosburgh written by fans, former players and former coaches. 

Click HERE to read St. John Fisher Athletics' feature story on coach Vosburgh, written by Athletics Communications Coordinator Mike Hogan. 

A Postseason Trend?

Since 2000, the Cardinals have made it through October with five wins or more 14 times. In all but one of those seasons (2023), they qualified for the postseason and ended with a winning record. 

Year                Wins Thru Oct.                 Postseason
2023                5                                No
2016                7                        ECAC Bowl Game
2015                5                        ECAC Bowl Game
2014                6                        ECAC Bowl Game
2013                5                        NCAA Tournament (reached regional finals)
2012                6                        ECAC Bowl Game
2011                7                        NCAA Tournament (reached regional finals)
2010                7                        ECAC Bowl Game
2008                5                        ECAC Bowl Game
2007                8                        NCAA Tournament (reached regional finals)
2006                8                        NCAA Tournament (reached semifinals)
2005                8                        ECAC Bowl Game
2004                8                        NCAA Tournament (reached second round)
2003                5                        ECAC Bowl Game

Lister Stays Hot Against Hartwick

Since becoming the Cardinals’ starting quarterback in Week 3, junior Mason Lister has completed 62% of his passes for nearly 1,000 yards with eight touchdown passes to zero interceptions over five games. Lister has also rushed for 195 yards and two touchdowns on 61 attempts. He had 117 yards rushing, a career high, in a 28-21 loss to the University of Rochester on Sept. 20. 

Lister became the first Fisher quarterback since Hunter Walsh in 2019 to earn E8 Offensive Player of the Week honors after a dominant showing against Hartwick. He set career highs in completion percentage (71/4%) and passing yards (356) as the Cardinals piled up a season-high 432 yards of offense in the 35-21 road win. With four touchdowns passing and one rushing, he became the first Fisher player to account for five or more scores in a game since quarterback Matt Naton threw for six scores in a win over Hartwick in November 2016.

Fisher's Explosive Backfield Duo

The Cardinals entered the season expecting to have a dynamic running back duo in seniors Deante Hall and Camden Chance, and through six games, that has been exactly the case. 

Hall leads the Cardinals with 446 yards rushing and five touchdowns on 88 carries, while Chance has amassed 251 yards and three scores on 53 attempts. Fisher has averaged 155.2 yards per game on the ground, good for fourth in the Empire 8. 

Hall rushed for a touchdown in five consecutive games to start the season, becoming the first Fisher player to have a streak that long since running back James Chambers found the end zone in six straight games in 2017. Three of Hall's five touchdowns during that stretch came on runs of 20 yards or more.

Chance has also been a factor for Fisher out of the backfield as a pass catcher. He produced the best receiving game by a running back in program history against Hartwick, catching three passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns, an 80-yarder and a 54-yarder. 

Chance became the first Fisher running back to have a 100-yard receiving game since Ryan Kramer caught 11 passes for 108 yards against Ithaca in October 2013. Additionally, with his 80-yard score in the first quarter, he became the first Fisher running back to log a receiving touchdown since Chambers against Cortland in October 2017.

Fisher's Winning Formula

The Cardinals' winning formula in their first season under Raby came into clear focus in the first six weeks of the season: 1) force turnovers and tighten up in the red zone, and 2) control the ball and limit turnovers on offense.

With 11 takeaways to four turnovers through six games, the Cardinals enter this week second in the Empire 8 and tied for 15th in Division III with a +8 turnover margin.

Defense

• Fisher has forced three or more turnovers in wins over FDU-Florham (3), Brockport (3) and Alfred (4). The Cardinals hadn't forced three or more turnovers in three games during a season since 2019. 
• The Cardinals stand second in the Empire 8 and tied for 16th in DIII with seven fumble recoveries. 
• The Cardinals rank 19th in Division III and stand atop the Empire 8 in red zone defense, allowing points on just 62.5% of their opponents' trips inside their 20. 

Offense

• Offensively, the Cardinals have gone four consecutive games without turning the ball over, their longest such streak in at least 20 seasons. Fisher had one giveaway against FDU-Florham in Week 1 and three against St. Lawrence in Week 2. 
• Fisher is one of just 12 teams in the country that has thrown one interception this season. 
• The Cardinals rank third in the Empire 8 and 56th in the country in time of possession (31:51).  

Other Notes To Know

•  Fifth-year wide receiver Jaylen Brantley caught six passes for 132 yards against Rochester and five for 149 with a touchdown against Hartwick. He’s the first Fisher player to have multiple 100-plus yard receiving performances in a season since Will Blake in 2019. Through six games, Brantley leads the Cardinals in catches (21) and yards (418). 
• With their performances against Hartwick, Brantley and Chance became the first pair of Fisher players to surpass 100 yards receiving in the same game since Pat Galer and Blake did so against Cortland in October 2019. 
• Sophomore linebacker Jack Tanoory earned a spot on the D3football.com Team of the Week on Oct. 7 after making 14 tackles, including 13 solo, and forcing a crucial fumble in the fourth quarter of Fisher’s 31-24 win over Brockport. Tanoory, who also made 14 tackles against Hartwick, currently leads Fisher with 54 tackles. He’s the conference’s leader with three forced fumbles. 
• Safety Timothy Vanderbrink has been one of the top defensive players in the Empire 8 and beyond this season. While the junior has missed one game due to injury, he still has 50 total tackles (7th in E8), 34 solo tackles (t-4th in E8), two fumble recoveries (t-2nd in E8) and two fumbles forced (t-2nd in E8). Named E8 Defensive Player of the Week twice and to the D3football.com Team of the Week on Sept. 16, Vanderbink has made 10 or more tackles in three of the five games he’s played in this season. 
• This marks the first season in which the Cardinals have had multiple players (Tanoory/Vanderbrink) earn D3football.com weekly honors since safety Jason Rodriguez and defensive lineman Sean Cleary did so in 2019. 

Series History: St. John Fisher vs. Cortland

Series Snapshot: Saturday’s game will mark the 17th meeting between St. John Fisher and SUNY Cortland. The Red Dragons hold an 11-5 lead in the series, which began in 1988, and have won the last six games. 

Last Meeting: Cortland piled up nearly 500 yards of offense in a 49-0 victory over St. John Fisher last October at Grady Field. Red Dragons quarterback Zac Boyes completed 20 of 25 passes for 373 yards with four touchdowns. 

Last Win: The Cardinals amassed 557 yards of total offense in a 35-28 victory over Cortland in October 2017 at Growney Stadium. Fisher, which trailed 21-7 at halftime, outscored Cortland 28-7 in the second half. Running back James Chambers rushed for 199 yards with two touchdowns and caught eight passes for 91 yards and a score. 

Cortland-Fisher Connections

Nolan Foley (SJF Offensive Line Coach/Recruiting Coordinator) – Foley joined the Cardinals’ staff as offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator in March 2025 following two years at SUNY Cortland, which won the Division III National Championship in 2023. He coached the Red Dragons’ special teams and served as their director of football operations. Foley also played for the Red Dragons from 2017-19. 

Brees Segala (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach) – Segala played for SUNY Cortland from 2018-21. As a senior, the former quarterback won the Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Year award and was a finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy, presented annually to the top Division III player. He passed for 2,620 yards with 31 touchdowns and rushed for 382 yards with five scores that season, leading the Red Dragons to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA DIII Football Championship.  

Scouting SUNY Cortland | By Jackson Gallivan, St. John Fisher Athletics Student Assistant 

Under new head coach Tom Blumenauer, the Red Dragons have once again been one of the top teams in Division III this season, as they enter Saturday’s contest ranked No. 22 by D3football.com and No. 17 by the American Football Coaches Association. Strong on both sides of the ball, Cortlan boasts the top scoring offense (40.7 points scored per game) and defense (12.3 points allowed per game) in the Empire 8. 

Offensively, Cortland has one of the best rushing offenses in the country, averaging 235.5 yards per game. The Red Dragons have amassed over 200 yards rushing in five straight games since being held to 85 against Grove City to start the season, including a season-high 307 against SUNY Morrisville on Sept. 27. Cortland ran for seven scores against Hartwick on Sept. 20 and four against Alfred last week. 

The Red Dragons lead the conference with 10 interceptions thrown, but on the other side, their defense has been able to make up for those turnovers by forcing plenty of its own. With nine interceptions and eight fumble recoveries, Cortland has forced 17 turnovers this season, the top mark in the E8 and the fourth-best in the country. 

Cortland also ranks first in the E8 in sacks (18) and second in tackles for a loss (46). 

The Red Dragons have won 30 consecutive Empire 8 Conference games, a streak that dates back to November 2019. They've won the conference outright four years in a row. 

Cortland’s Players to Watch

#1 Mike Rescigno (So., QB) - Rescigno ranks in the top-20 nationally in rushing yards (683) and rushing touchdowns (10). He’s had over 100 rushing yards in each of Cortland’s last five games. As a passer, he’s completed just under 60% of his passes for 870 yards with 10 touchdowns to nine interceptions. 

#11 Aden Wiser (Sr., DL) - Wiser leads the Cortland defense in sacks with 6.5. He’s also broken up two passes and forced a fumble. 

#23 Ethan Gallo (Jr., RB) - Gallo was named to the Empire-8 First-Team Offense last year. This year, he has continued to be a key contributor out of the backfield for Cortland. He’s gained 372 yards on 81 attempts with seven scores. 

#41 Aidan Lochner (Jr., LB) - Lochner has done it all this year for the Red Dragons. He leads the team with 38 tackles, including four for a loss and 18 solo, to go along with an interception and a fumble recovery. 

Jacque LaPrarie (Jr., WR) – The junior has been Cortland’s top target through the air with 15 catches for 280 yards and four touchdowns. He had three catches, two of which were touchdown grabs, for 65 yards against Alfred last week. 

Fisher Football Focus Episode 8

On this week's episode of Fisher Football Focus, student reporter Jacob Rodriguez previewed the Cardinals' matchup against Cortland with head coach Ed Raby Jr. and sophomore linebacker Jack Tanoory. 

The show, produced weekly during the season, is posted to the St. John Fisher Athletics YouTube page every Friday.