PITTSFORD, N.Y. – St. John Fisher trailed nationally ranked SUNY Cortland by a touchdown for most of the second half but came up empty on two chances to engineer a game-trying drive in a 28-20 loss on Saturday at Grady Field at the SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex.
The Cardinals fell to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the Empire 8 Conference with the loss, their eighth straight to the Red Dragons. Cortland, ranked 11th nationally by the American Football Coaches Association and 12th by D3football.com, improved to 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the E8. The Red Dragons have won 38 consecutive games against conference opponents.
St. John Fisher's defense limited a high-powered Cortland offense to 299 total yards (4.9 yards per play) and 15 first downs, both season lows. The Red Dragons' 28 points marked their second fewest this season.
Graduate senior safety Eric Sparkman led the Cardinals with 11 tackles, and junior linebacker Jack Tanoory set a season high with 10 stops. Junior defensive back Micah Harshfield returned an interception for a touchdown and made seven tackles, including six solo stops.
Most of Cortland's offensive production came on the ground, as the Red Dragons amassed 195 yards and four touchdowns rushing on 45 attempts. Quarterback Mike Rescigno rushed for 103 yards and three scores, while running back Ethan Gallo accounted for 67 yards and a score. Rescigno completed just 6-of-16 passes for 104 yards, the fewest passing yards the Cardinals have allowed this season.
St. John Fisher punted six times, committed one turnover and produced a season-low 246 yards. Senior quarterback Ryan Whitney completed 15-of-29 passes for 139 yards with one touchdown and an interception and rushed for 79 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Senior wide receiver Jackson Cusack led the Cardinals with seven receptions for 59 yards, and freshman wide receiver Marc Dellaquila caught two passes for 22 yards and his first collegiate touchdown.
How It Happened
Cortland's Joe Galea intercepted Whitney's first pass of the day on the third play from scrimmage and returned it 32 yards to the Fisher 1-yard line. Gallo scored on the next play to give the Red Dragons a 7-0 lead.
After the teams traded empty possessions, the Cardinals' offense produced its best drive of the day, a 15-play, 73-yarder capped by a one-yard touchdown run from Whitney on 4th-and-goal to tie the game early in the second quarter. The Cardinals converted on three third downs during the drive with a pair of Whitney rushes, including a 13-yard gain on 3rd-and-7 from the Cortland 19, and a 20-yard catch-and-run by Cusack.
The Red Dragons drove 73 yards on just six plays on their next possession and regained the lead on a 13-yard touchdown run by Rescigno. On the final drive of the first half, which began with 1:50 left at the Fisher 44-yard line, Rescigno ran for a 4-yard touchdown as time expired to give Cortland a 21-7 lead.
The Cardinals stayed within striking distance in the second half thanks to their defense, which held Cortland scoreless on its three third-quarter possessions and its first drive of the fourth. The Red Dragons' second possession of the half ended with Harshfield's 42-yard pick-six that cut the deficit to 21-14.
Cortland drove well into Fisher territory on the ensuing possession before turning the ball over on downs. Senior defensive lineman Ty Rader made the drive-ending play, stopping Rescigno a yard short of a first down on a 4th-and-2 run from the 29.
With a chance to tie the game, the Cardinals crossed midfield on the first play of the fourth quarter thanks to a 15-yard personal foul penalty against the Red Dragons. Three plays later, Whitney connected with Maier for six yards on third-and-five to extend the drive.
What appeared to be a promising possession quickly unraveled, however, as a holding penalty pushed the Cardinals back 10 yards. Fisher gained just two yards over the next three plays and punted on fourth-and-19 from the 36.
The Cardinals made a fourth straight stop to keep the score at 21-14, but another holding penalty stalled the ensuing drive and Fisher quickly punted the ball back to the Red Dragons. Cortland went back ahead by two touchdowns on Rescigno's third score of the day nearly four minutes later.
Fisher pulled within a score with 1:15 remaining when Whitney found Dellaquila for a 14-yard touchdown pass to cap an 11-play, 77-yard drive. The Cardinals missed the extra point, leaving the score at 28-20.
Cortland recovered Fisher's onside kick attempt and, with the Cardinals down to one timeout, was able to kneel out the remaining time.
Game Notes
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Whitney has rushed for a touchdown in seven consecutive games. He's the first Fisher player to have a streak that long since All-American running back Mark Robinson rushed for a score in eight consecutive games in 2006.
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Whitney has 16 career rushing touchdowns, one shy of the program record for a quarterback. Ryan Kramer (17 TDs as a QB) holds the top mark (Kramer finished his career with 26 total rushing scores but scored nine of them as a tailback/receiver in 2010).
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Whitney has recorded a passing and rushing touchdown in the same game nine times since he became the Cardinals' starting quarterback in 2024.
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Harshfield recorded the Cardinals' first pick-six since Nov. 2, 2024, when DeAndre Green returned an interception 42 yards for a TD against Alfred.
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Harshfield has intercepted passes in back-to-back games. He's the first Fisher player to record interceptions in consecutive games since Justin Rodriguez in 2022.
Up Next
The Cardinals host Utica at 2 p.m. next Saturday, Oct. 31, at Growney Stadium.
