PITTSFORD, N.Y. – In a matchup of the top two teams in the Empire 8 Conference standings, the No. 17/22 SUNY Cortland Red Dragons capitalized on three turnovers and a handful of untimely St. John Fisher penalties in a 31-7 victory at Growney Stadium on Saturday. 

Winners of their last six games this season and 31 consecutive Empire 8 contests since 2019, the Red Dragons moved to 6-1 overall and 5-0 in conference play. Fisher, which had won three straight games, dropped to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the E8. 

Senior running back Camden Chance had a career day for the Cardinals on the ground, amassing 139 yards and scoring his sixth total touchdown of the season on 17 attempts. Fisher finished with 177 yards rushing as a team. Junior quarterback Mason Lister completed 12 of 22 passes for 115 yards and threw three interceptions. 

Cortland piled up 373 yards of total offense, 249 on the ground and 124 through the air. Running back Ethan Gallo rushed 22 times for 145 yards and scored twice, while quarterback Mike Rescigno completed 10 of 15 passes for 119 yards with two scores. He added 88 yards rushing on 15 attempts. 

The Cardinals' offense had success early, driving well into Cortland territory on the game's first series before sophomore Dominik Greco pushed a 39-yard field goal try wide left. Fisher, after its defense forced Cortland to punt on the ensuing drive, made up for that missed opportunity on its next series. 

Chance ripped off runs of 56 and 16 yards and capped a six-play, 85-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone to give the Cardinals a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter. He racked up 80 of his rushing yards on that drive alone. 

The Red Dragons pulled even midway through the second quarter with an 11-play, 56-yard march. Rescigno, on 4th-and-goal from Fisher's 2-yard line, rolled out to his left and fired a strike to wide receiver Jacque LaPrarie in the back of the end zone for his first passing touchdown of the day.  

Aided by a 15-yard Cortland unnecessary roughness penalty, the Cardinals were on the move again on the ensuing possession before Lister, while under heavy pressure, was intercepted by Nazair Jean-Lubin, who returned the ball 23 yards to the Red Dragons' 38-yard line. Not long after, Rescigno ripped a 24-yard pass down the middle to wide receiver Sam Cotton, and Gallo powered his way into the end zone on the following play to put the Red Dragons ahead with 33 seconds left in the half. 

Senior Jaylen Brantley's 45-yard kickoff return to the Cortland 48 gave the Cardinals some momentum back, and a 20-yard Lister pass to junior receiver Jackson Cusack got them in range for a field goal. However, after a 7-yard Chance run, Greco pushed another kick wide, that one from 38 yards out, as time expired.

Cortland opened the second half with the ball and worked its way down the field again, reaching the Fisher 2-yard line after a pass-interference penalty. After the Cardinals stopped Gallo for a loss of a yard, Rescigno found Joe Iadevaio for his second passing touchdown of the day to put the Red Dragons ahead by two scores. 

Lister threw his second interception of the day on the third play of Fisher's ensuing drive, and the Red Dragons once again cashed in for points, going ahead 24-7 on a 22-yard Cole Callard field goal with 7:37 left in the third quarter. 

Fisher's second-half offensive rut continued on its next drive, as it had to punt after three plays. In the final minute of the quarter, Gallo rushed for his second score of the day to cap an 8-play, 75-yard drive that spanned 4:27 to put the game out of reach. 

Cortland improved to 12-5 all-time against Fisher and pushed its winning streak in the series to seven games with the win. 

Game Notes

• Chance has accounted for 314 total yards of offense and three touchdowns over the Cardinals' last two games. 

• Brantley's 45-yard kick return in the second quarter marked Fisher's longest kick or punt return this season. 

• Junior defensive back Gavin Motto led Fisher and set a career high with nine tackles, eight of which were solo stops. 

• Sophomore defensive back Matthew Bennett recorded his team-leading fourth pass breakup of the season. 

Vosburgh Honored

St. John Fisher University honored former head football coach Paul Vosburgh at halftime. Vosburgh retired last November after 34 seasons leading the Cardinals.

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. 

Stay tuned for photos and video coverage of the ceremony. 

Up Next

St. John Fisher faces Utica on the road next Saturday, Nov. 1. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.