PITTSFORD, N.Y. – In a milestone year for the Courage Bowl, the Teddi Trophy fittingly ended up where it started back in 2005.
The St. John Fisher football team added another wild chapter in its history in one of the premier games in Division III, outlasting SUNY Brockport 31-24 in overtime on Saturday afternoon at Growney Stadium. The victory snapped the Cardinals' seven-game losing streak to the Golden Eagles in the Courage Bowl, which reached its 20th anniversary with this year's game. Brockport's seven consecutive wins in the series all came by more than two touchdowns.
The Cardinals, 4-1 overall, moved to 2-0 in Empire 8 play for the first time since 2016. Brockport, which had been garnering votes in the D3football.com Top 25, fell to 3-2 (1-1 Empire 8).
Opportunistic all afternoon, the Cardinals forced three Brockport turnovers, all fumbles, with quarterback Ben Gocella's overtime giveaway being the game's decisive play. Fisher quarterback Mason Lister, who finished 16 of 22 for 222 yards with two scores, fired the go-ahead touchdown strike to senior wideout Ethan Curtis a few plays earlier.
But perhaps none of that happens without the play made by Fisher sophomore Jack Tanoory with just under 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
After Lister's perfectly placed 4-yard touchdown to junior wide receiver Jackson Cusack and an extra point tied the game at 21, Brockport moved into Fisher territory quickly and came as close as it could have to taking the lead. A 21-yard Gocella rip to Luke Lockhart got them to the 36, and three plays later, an 11-yard connection between Gocella and Nathan Williams got them to the 11.
Tanoory delivered his moment on the next play.
Gocella fired a quick screen pass to Sal Weller, who made a defender miss and had nobody between him and the end zone. Tanoory, who blitzed Gocella from his linebacker position on the play, sprinted from the opposite 12-yard line and caught Weller just in time, knocking the ball out of his hands as he neared the goal line. The ball bounced through the end zone, which resulted in a touchback, allowing Fisher's offense to take over at its 20.
Aided by a 15-yard Brockport pass interference infraction early in the drive, the Cardinals' offense methodically moved down the field. A 15-yard rush by senior running back Camden Chance and a pair of chain-moving catches for junior tight end Nate McGoldrick, including a 22-yarder, got the Cardinals to the Brockport 14.
Fisher churned out seven more yards over three consecutive rushing plays to set up Dominik Greco's 24-yard field goal that made the score 24-21 with 1:56 left.
The Golden Eagles started the subsequent drive at their 35-yard line and once again motored down the field. Gocella went 7 of 9 passing for 45 yards to get Zach McGowan in position for a game-tying field goal, which he drilled from 34 yards as time expired in regulation.
The Cardinals started overtime with the ball and regained the lead when Lister, on 2nd-and-goal from the 4, found a slanting Curtis in the middle of the end zone.
Three plays later, Gocella, on 1st-and-10 from the Cardinals' 13-yard line, lost the football as he dropped back to pass, and Fisher linebacker Tyler Marks pounced on it, kicking off a pent-up celebration nine years in the making.
The first three quarters and change also featured its share of moments that ultimately proved to be pivotal.
Brockport opened the scoring at the end of the first quarter on a 22-yard Xavier Smith catch and run, but the Cardinals responded just more than two minutes later. Following a 48-yard flea-flicker from Lister to Curtis, Chance rumbled for a 13-yard score to get Fisher on the board.
Golden Eagles running back Isaiah Simmons put the Golden Eagles back in front (14-7) about two minutes later with a 24-yard run. And after Fisher produced three empty plays on the subsequent series, the Golden Eagles, with their offense clicking, were set to get the ball back.
Until the first big mistake of the day happened.
Daniel Mennah muffed a 45-yard Kieran Patel punt, and the Cardinals jumped on the ball at the Brockport 36.
While the Cardinals did not immediately capitalize on that play, it kept Brockport at arm's length, and they eventually pulled even just before halftime. Senior running back Deante Hall, who got a push from his offensive line, scored from six yards out to cap a seven-play, 56-yard drive with 45 seconds left in the half.
The Golden Eagles took a 21-14 lead midway through the third quarter on Gocella's 3-yard touchdown to Mannah, but a Fisher finish that will last in Courage Bowl lore unfolded from there. The Cardinals seized their biggest win in years, one big moment at a time.
Game Notes
-
Fisher improved to 13-7 in Courage Bowl games. It won the first 12 before Brockport began its seven-game run of dominance.
-
At 4-1, the Cardinals are off to their best start since the 2016 team began 6-1.
-
The Cardinals hadn't played in an overtime game since beating Utica 39-36 in five extra frames on 10/14/2017.
-
Curtis had the best game of his collegiate career, setting personal bests in catches (8) and yards (109). He leads the team with three touchdown receptions through five weeks.
-
Tanoory led the Cardinals with a career-high 14 tackles, 13 of which were solo stops. His forced fumble was the first of his career.
-
Hall became the first Fisher player to rush for a touchdown in five straight games since running back James Chambers in 2017. Chambers found the end zone in six consecutive games that season.
-
Fisher has forced at least three turnovers in three of its four wins this season (FDU-Florham, Alfred and Brockport). This marks the first time since 2019 that Fisher has forced three-plus turnovers in three separate games.
-
Greco's field goal in the fourth quarter marked the first of his collegiate career.
Up Next
The Cardinals face Hartwick at 3:30 p.m. next Saturday in Oneonta.
