Football | 10/31/2025 3:00:00 PM
PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher football team (5-2, 3-1 Empire 8) will look to get back to its winning ways on Saturday in another crucial Empire 8 Conference matchup against Utica (5-2, 3-1 Empire 8) at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.
Conference Race Heating Up
The Cardinals, who had their three-game winning streak snapped last Saturday against Cortland, currently stand in a three-way tie for second place in the E8 standings with Utica and Brockport. Cortland, 5-0 in conference play, sits alone in first place.
In Case You're Just Catching Up…
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The Cardinals got off to their best overall (5-1) and conference starts (3-0) since 2016 this season.
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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.
Trending Toward The Postseason?
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
Chances Are….
When senior running back Camden Chance has touched the ball recently, chances are that something good has happened.
Over the last two games, Chance has amassed 170 yards rushing and 144 yards receiving while piling up 314 yards of total offense. He's rushed for a score and caught two touchdown passes.
Last week, in a 31-7 loss to nationally ranked Cortland, Chance amassed a career-high 139 yards rushing on 17 attempts. He had 80 of those yards on a six-play, 85-yard drive that he capped with a 1-yard score in the second quarter.
In a 35-21 win over Hartwick on Oct. 11, Chance produced the best receiving game by a running back in program history, catching three passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns, an 80-yarder and a 54-yarder. That performance made Chance 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.
Chance leads all Fisher pass catchers and running backs with six total touchdowns this season, four rushing and two receiving.
Eye On The Quarterback
Since becoming the Cardinals' starting quarterback in Week 3, junior Mason Lister has completed 61% of his passes for 1,112 yards with eight touchdown passes to just three interceptions over six games. Lister has also rushed for 219 yards and two touchdowns on 69 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.
Other Notes To Know
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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 seven games, Brantley leads the Cardinals in catches (24) and yards (437).
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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.
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Senior running back Deante 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.
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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, stands atop the team with 42 solo stops and is tied for the team lead with 58 total.
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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 58 total tackles, 39 solo tackles, two fumble recoveries and two fumbles forced. 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.
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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 vs. Utica
Series Snapshot: The Cardinals own a 16-7 all-time record against Utica but enter Saturday's contest having lost the last six meetings in a row. Fisher won the first 15 games in the series, which began in 2001.
Last Meeting: The Cardinals ended the 2024 season with a 35-20 loss to Utica at Growney Stadium. Quarterback Ryan Whitney passed for 297 yards with two touchdowns, with one to wide receiver Jackson Cusack, who set career highs that day in catches (9) and yards (99).
Last Win: The Cardinals, in the longest game in program history, outlasted Utica 39-36 in a five-overtime affair on Oct. 14, 2017. The game lasted nearly four hours and featured 169 total offensive plays for 678 combined yards.
The Cardinals' offense gained all but 26 of its yards in the game on the ground, amassing 241 yards on 52 rushes, the second-most attempts in a game in program history. Running back James Chambers had 123 yards and two scores, while quarterback Johnathan Letta churned out 71 yards and found the end zone once.
Fisher also blocked a punt and recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown that night. The Cardinals have not returned a blocked punt for a score since.
Scouting Utica | By Jackson Gallivan, St. John Fisher Student Assistant
Utica On Offense: The Pioneers boast a prolific passing offense, as they rank eighth nationally and first in the Empire 8 with an average of 355.3 yards per game through the air. The Pioneers are 25th nationally and first in the E8 in total offense, averaging 457.1 per game. Utica averages nearly 35 points per contest, third in the conference.
Utica On Special Teams: Utica has had an uncanny knack for blocking kicks and punts. The Pioneers have blocked six kicks (third most in DIII) and four punts (most in DIII) through seven games this season.
Four Utica Players To Watch
#0 Antonio Cianfarani (Sr., WR) - Cianfarani earned third-team All-E8 honors last season after catching 28 passes for 394 yards with three scores. He has been even better this year already with 32 grabs for 548 yards with five scores.
#6 Bryce Palmer (Sr., WR) - Palmer leads the Empire 8 in catches (56) and receiving yards (647). He's also hauled in five touchdown passes. Palmer has gone over 100 yards receiving in four games, most recently in a win over SUNY Morrisville (10 for 109 with a TD).
#9 Logan Frederick (Sr., TE) - Frederick has been one of the top receiving tight ends in the country, as he's snagged 37 passes for 486 yards with six touchdowns, tied for the second most in the Empire 8. He had eight catches for 124 yards and a touchdown last week against Alfred and nine catches for 135 yards with a score against Cortland on Oct. 4.
#18 Tyler Szalkowski (Sr., QB) - Szalkowski, a Division I transfer, has been one of the best quarterbacks in DIII this season. He's completed 70% of his passes for 2,424 yards – fifth in DIII and first in the E8 – with 21 touchdowns to just three interceptions. Szalkowski passed for a Utica record 528 yards with four touchdowns in a season-opening victory over Washington and Jefferson.
