Game Notes: Football Hosts Rochester On Alumni Weekend

St. John Fisher (2-0, 0-0 Empire 8)

Head Coach: Ed Raby Jr. (2nd year at Fisher, 7th year overall)

Raby's Career Record: 9-4 at Fisher, 29-26 overall (includes four seasons at SUNY Morrisville)

2026 Results: 38-8 W vs. FDU Florham, 30-10 W @ St. Lawrence

Team Captains: Ryan Whitney (Sr., QB), Jackson Cusack (Sr., WR), Timothy VanderBrink (Sr., DB) and Jack Tanoory (Jr., LB)

• Roster
• Coaching Staff
• Schedule
• Stats

University of Rochester (1-1, 0-0 Liberty League)

Head Coach: Chad Martinovich (8th year at Rochester, 17th overall)

Martinovich's Career Record: 61-98 (includes nine seasons at MIT)

2026 Results: 38-20 L vs. Case Western, 21-10 W vs. SUNY Morrisville 

• Roster
• Coaching Staff
• Schedule
• Stats

The 2026 Season In Photos

Setting The Scene

The Cardinals improved to 2-0 last Friday with a 30-10 victory over St. Lawrence under the lights at Leckonby Stadium.

The Cardinals piled up 426 yards of offense, averaged nearly seven yards per play, gained 29 first downs, and finished 7-of-10 on third down and 2-of-2 in the red zone. Quarterback Ryan Whitney threw multiple passing touchdowns and scored a rushing touchdown for the second straight week. The senior connected on 25 of 34 passes (73.5%) for 253 yards and two touchdowns, and ran nine times for 36 yards and a score.  

Sophomore running back Christian Beason led the Cardinals with a career-high 93 yards rushing and scored a touchdown on 17 attempts. Junior wide receiver Gavin Horton set career highs in receptions (9) and receiving yards (86), while senior wide receiver Mykel White and senior tight end Nate McGoldrick each had receiving touchdowns.

Fisher’s defense held St. Lawrence to 208 yards (3.9 yards per play), including just 81 yards rushing. St. Lawrence quarterback Oliver Cheer struggled to get into a groove, completing only 50% of his throws for 127 yards and a touchdown.

Top Numbers And Notes From Fisher's 2-0 Start…

• This marks the second consecutive season that the Cardinals have started 2-0. They hadn’t started 2-0 in two straight seasons since 2019-21.
• The Cardinals have allowed just 18 points through their first two games, the fewest they have surrendered in the first two weeks of a season since 2011. That year, they allowed just 10 points in the first two weeks (7 to Buffalo State, 3 to the University of Rochester). 
• The Cardinals held FDU-Florham to 47 yards rushing in Week 1 and St. Lawrence to 81 yards rushing in Week 2. Fisher hadn’t held its first two opponents under 100 yards rushing since 2019. 
• The Cardinals held FDU-Florham to 252 total yards and St. Lawrence to 208 total yards. You have to go back to 2006 to find the last time Fisher limited each of its first two opponents to fewer than 260 yards. That year, King's College managed 109 yards in Week 1, while Rochester posted 246 yards in Week 2. 
• The Cardinals’ offense has been remarkably efficient through two games on third down and in the red zone. Fisher ranks seventh nationally in 3rd-down conversion percentage (61.9%, 13-of-21) and is tied for second nationally in red-zone success (100%, 6-of-6 with 5 TDs). 
• This marks the first time the Cardinals have scored on every trip to the red zone over a stretch of two games or more since 2023 (11-of-11 against Keystone, Wilkes and Brockport). Fisher hadn’t started a season with back-to-back perfect red zone performances since 2016 (8-of-8 against Olivet, 3-of-3 against Springfield). 
• Fisher has outscored its first two opponents by 50, 68-18. That’s the Cardinals’ largest scoring margin to open a season since 2016 (56 points, 87-31). 
• The Cardinals have gained 30 more first downs (52-32) than their opponents, with 25 coming through the air, 23 on the ground and four via penalty.

With A Win Over U of R… 

The Cardinals would… improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2019… record their 13th 3-0 start since 2000… improve to 12-8 all-time against the Yellowjackets… improve to 10-4 overall under Ed Raby Jr., who would become the first coach in program history to reach 10 wins in his first two years at Fisher… finish unbeaten in non-conference play for the first time since 2016.

Whitney Off To A Stellar Start

Ryan Whitney has been superb while leading the Cardinals’ offense to back-to-back games with at least 30 points and 400-plus yards of total offense. The senior quarterback has completed 68% of his passes (39-of-57) for 573 yards with six touchdowns and rushed for 102 yards and a pair of scores on 26 carries. 

In Fisher’s 38-8 victory over FDU-Florham in Week 1, Whitney had arguably his finest collegiate game, accounting for nearly 400 yards on his own with five total touchdowns. He completed 61% of his passes (14-of-23) for 320 yards with a career-high four touchdown passes and added 66 yards rushing and another score on 16 attempts. 

• Whitney has eight touchdowns – six passing, two rushing – through Fisher’s first two games. He’s the first Cardinal to have that many scores in the first two weeks of a season since quarterback Matt Naton (7 passing, 1 rushing) in 2016. 
• Whitney became just the second quarterback in school history to account for five total touchdowns in a season-opening game in the Cardinals’ win over FDU-Florham. Tim Bailey threw for five touchdowns in 2010 against Brockport. 
• Whitney became just the second Fisher quarterback in the last 20 seasons to pass for 300-plus yards in a season-opening game. He joined Joshua Michaels (354 yards against Washington & Jefferson in 2017) on that list. 
• Whitney has rushed for 60 yards or more in six career games, including in four of the Cardinals’ last five games since last November.
• Whitney threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Mykel White and a 72-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Horton against FDU. It marked his second collegiate game with two touchdown passes longer than 40 yards. 
• Four of Whitney’s six touchdown passes through the first two weeks have been completions of 25 yards or more. 
• Whitney has completed more than 70% of his passes in three of his last four games dating back to the end of last season. He completed a career-best 78.9% of his passes in a win over Alfred State on Nov. 15, 2025.
• Whitney is tied for fourth nationally in passing touchdowns (6) and points responsible for (48). 
• Whitney is tied for seventh nationally in total offensive yards per game (337.5)

The Cardinal Notebook

• Junior linebacker Jack Bierman was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week after setting career highs in tackles (10), tackles for a loss (4) and sacks (2) in the Cardinals’ win over FDU-Florham. Bierman joined safety Timothy VanderBrink and linebackers Jack Tanoory and Kyle DaMore as the fourth Cardinal to be named to the D3football.com Team of the Week under head coach Ed Raby Jr. Last season marked the first during which Fisher had three national weekly honorees since 2014.   
• Against FDU, Bierman became the first Fisher player to have four or more tackles for a loss in a game since John Cleary (4 vs. Bridgewater) in 2019. It was just the 10th time since 2010 that a Fisher player had at least that many tackles for a loss in a game. 
• Senior wide receiver Jackson Cusack caught five passes for a career-high 144 yards and a touchdown against FDU-Florham. Cusack needs just two more receiving touchdowns to tie Will Blake, Dan Witkowski and Mike Fusilli for 10th in program history.  
• Senior kicker Logan Larratta has made all five of his field goal attempts since becoming the Cardinals’ starter at the end of last season. He drilled a career-long 40-yard attempt in the victory over St. Lawrence. 
• Junior wide receiver Gavin Horton set career highs in catches (9) and yards receiving (86) against St. Lawrence. 
• Three of senior wide receiver Mykel White’s six catches have gone for touchdowns. He’s the fifth Fisher player in the last 16 years to have three or more receiving touchdowns in the first two weeks of a season. The others on that list include Ethan Curtis (2023), Mike Collichio (2016), Kevin Francis (2013) and Ryan Schmidt (2010 and 2011). 
• The Cardinals’ offensive front has been sound to start the season, as it has surrendered just one sack in 120 plays. For comparison, the Cardinals allowed five sacks in their first two games last year and 15 over their first two contests in 2024. 
• Junior cornerback Micah Harshfield set career highs with seven tackles and three pass breakups.

Vosburgh, Balcerzak To Be Honored Friday

A pair of program greats – former head coach Paul Vosburgh and offensive lineman Corey Balcerzak – will be inducted into the St. John Fisher Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday. The Fisher football program now has 32 St. John Fisher Hall of Famers. 

Corey Balcerzak '12

A two-time All-American offensive tackle, including as a d3football.com first-team honoree in 2011, Balcerzak played in 33 games and made 30 starts for the Cardinals from 2008-11. He earned All-Empire 8 honors three times, twice as a first-team selection, and d3football.com All-East Region recognition two times, garnering first-team accolades his senior year.

Balcerzak helped lead some of the most explosive offenses in program history, as the Cardinals averaged at least 29 points and 345 yards per game during Balcerzak's three seasons as a starter (2009-11). In 2010, Fisher led the Empire 8 and ranked in the top 10 in DIII in scoring (43.3 points per game) and total offense (486.7 yards per game). 

The Cardinals won the Empire 8 in 2009 and went on an NCAA Tournament run in 2011 that included victories over Johns Hopkins and Delaware Valley. They won ECAC Bowl games in 2008, 2009 and 2010. 

Paul Vosburgh, Head Football Coach From 1991-2024

Named Empire 8 Coach of the Year twice and National Coach of the Year in 2006, Vosburgh went 181-155 in charge of the Cardinals and 192-173-1 overall as a collegiate head coach. 

Vosburgh, the winningest football coach in school history, arrived at Fisher in 1991. Over 34 years, he won six Empire 8 titles and led the Cardinals to the NCAA Tournament five times. His 2006 team authored the best season in program history, as it went 12-2 overall and captured the NCAA Division III East Region title to advance to the national semifinals. Fisher also won six Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) bowl games under Vosburgh's leadership. 

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. The Cardinals had 19 total d3football.com All-America selections under Vosburgh, including seven first-team honorees.  

About Head Coach Ed Raby Jr. 

Ed Raby Jr.’s first season as St. John Fisher University’s head football coach delivered marked improvement and a palpable sense of rejuvenation to a program that had slipped from its once-consistent winning ways. 

The Cardinals authored one of the top turnaround stories in Division III in 2025, finishing 7-4 overall with a 5-2 mark in Empire 8 Conference play for their first winning season since 2016. Fisher, which went 3-7 in 2024, ended the regular season as one of 11 teams in the country with a plus-four jump in victories from the previous year. 

Raby’s team vanquished two of the program’s other nine-year droughts along the way in beating SUNY Brockport in the Courage Bowl – 31-24 in an overtime thriller at Growney Stadium – and qualifying for a postseason game. The Cardinals hosted Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the ECAC Clayton Chapman Bowl to conclude the season. 

The Cardinals took steps forward in all phases in Raby’s first season, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Fisher’s defense went from allowing nearly 30 points and 370 yards per game in 2024 to 20.09 points and 339 yards per game in 2025. 

St. John Fisher finished the year with 10 All-Empire 8 selections and three D3football.com Team of the Week honorees – safety Timothy VanderBrink and linebackers Kyle DaMore and Jack Tanoory. Fisher hadn’t had three different players earn weekly recognition from D3football.com in a season since 2014. 

Raby became the eighth head football coach in St. John Fisher history in February 2025 after eight years at SUNY Morrisville. He spent four years as SUNY Morrisville’s head coach – the first two as the interim – and led the Mustangs to a pair of ECAC Bowl appearances. He joined the Morrisville staff in 2017 as defensive coordinator and safeties coach under the leadership of head coach Curt Fitzpatrick, a 2004 St. John Fisher graduate who won a Division III national title at SUNY Cortland in 2023. 

Following Fitzpatrick’s departure for Cortland in February 2020, Morrisville named Raby its interim head coach. The Mustangs went 2-8 overall (1-5 Empire 8) in 2021, the first season after the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the 2020 season, before improving significantly in 2022. They finished 7-4 (3-3 Empire 8) and reached the ECAC Robert M. Scotty Whitelaw Bowl. 

Morrisville had its best season under Raby in 2024, going 7-4 overall (5-2 Empire 8) and beating Stevenson University 21-18 in the Robert M. Scotty Whitelaw Bowl. The Mustangs’ five conference wins marked the program’s most E8 victories in a single season. 

The Mustangs consistently boasted stingy defenses under Raby’s direction. In 2022, the Mustangs allowed just 11 points per game, the fewest in the Empire 8, and 290.6 yards per game, the third-fewest in the conference. They ranked third in scoring defense (18 points per game) and total defense (310.7 yards per game) this past season. 

As head coach of the Mustangs, Raby produced 48 All-Empire 8 selections, including eight first-teamers. Linebacker Ernesto Mitchell earned Empire 8 Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors and became the first Morrisville player to be named an All-American by D3Football.com in 2022. 

Raby arrived at Morrisville after three years at Allegheny College, where he served as the defensive line coach for two seasons and the linebackers coach for one. He coached tight ends and defensive linemen at Alfred University in 2014. 

Raby, who was a defensive lineman, played collegiately at Division III Alma College for four years (2009-12). He earned his master’s degree in business administration from Alfred University in 2014.

Assistant Coaches

Brees Segala – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach (Read Bio)

Nolan Foley – Offensive Line Coach/Recruiting Coordinator (Read Bio)

Hayden Ricci – Special Teams Coordinator/Linebackers Coach (Read Bio)

Will Blake – Wide Receivers Coach (Read Bio)

Jayden Prina – Tight Ends Coach/Video Coordinator (Read Bio)

Daulton Newbury – Running Backs Coach (Read Bio)

Alex Day – Assistant Offensive Line Coach (Read Bio)

Mason Lister – Offensive Assistant (Read Bio)

Alessandro DeRosa – Defensive Backs Coach (Read Bio)

Amir Massey – Cornerbacks Coach (Read Bio)

Harris Williams – Strength & Conditioning (Read Bio)

Series History: St. John Fisher vs. Rochester

Series Snapshot: Saturday's game will mark the 19th meeting between St. John Fisher and the University of Rochester but just the second since 2012. The Cardinals own an 11-8 lead in the series, which dates back to 1989. 

Series Notes: The matchup has been defined by lengthy winning streaks, as the Yellowjackets won the first seven games in the series before the Cardinals began an 11-game winning streak that was snapped last September. 

The programs played each other every year from 2000-2012 and launched the annual Courage Bowl in 2005. One of the premier games in Division III, the Courage Bowl benefits Camp Good Days and Special Times, organizations that support children and teenagers diagnosed with cancer and other diseases. Fisher won the first 12 Courage Bowl games, with eight of those victories coming against the U of R. 

Last Meeting: St. John Fisher overcame a 13-point deficit to take the lead in the fourth quarter, but the Yellowjackets scored late to come away with a 28-21 win at Edwin Fauver Stadium last September. 

In his first collegiate start, Cardinals quarterback Mason Lister threw for 222 yards with two scores and added 117 yards rushing on 18 attempts. Fifth-year senior wide receiver Jaylen Brantley caught six passes for 132 yards, while senior wideout Ethan Curtis hauled in a pair of touchdown receptions. 

Safety Tim VanderBrink and defensive back Colin Clark led the Cardinals' defense with 12 tackles apiece. Cornerback Trent Hill snagged his first collegiate interception and made 10 tackles. 

Rochester quarterbacks Victor Moran and Shawn Bellenger combined for 180 yards passing and three scores. The Yellowjackets also rushed for 171 yards, with running back Cole Raux accounting for 71 of them and a score on 14 attempts. 

The Cardinals trailed 20-7 late in the third quarter but rallied ahead with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns. The Yellowjackets reclaimed the lead with 2:33 to go, as Moran connected with Aidan Papantonis for a two-yard touchdown before Jeremy Tantalo completed a two-point conversion pass. 

Scouting Rochester | By St. John Fisher Athletics Communications Student Assistant Jackson Gallivan

Last Time Out

After starting the season with a loss to Case Western Reserve, the Yellowjackets bounced back last week with a 21-10 home win over SUNY Morrisville. Senior linebacker Jack Diggins had a career day, wrecking Morrisville in the backfield and recording a big interception. The Yellowjackets held their opponent to a mere 3.4 yards per play.

Rochester’s offense amassed 315 total yards and was led by junior running back Cole Raux, who had 171 yards and a touchdown on 21 attempts. Quarterback Shawn Bellenger added two touchdowns through the air, which was enough to propel the Yellowjackets to their first win of the season.

Offensive Overview

After being held to only 34 total rushing yards against Case Western University, the Yellow Jackets exploded with 180 in week two. The other big difference was third down. In Week 1, the Yellowjackets converted only 30% of their chances, while in Week 2 that number jumped to over 50%.

One aspect of the offense that has been off to a slow start is the pass game. Through two games, Rochester has two touchdown passes to three interceptions. Additionally, quarterback Shawn Bellenger has been sacked five times.

Defensive Overview

Rochester’s run defense has been excellent to start the season. The Yellowjackets held their first two opponents to fewer than 100 yards and 3.0 yards per attempt. Most recently, they held SUNY Morrisville to 98 rushing yards on 38 carries, coming out to under 2.5 yards per carry. 

Players to Watch

#7 Jack Diggins (Sr., LB) - Diggins' hot start to the season is no surprise. The senior linebacker was a second-team All-Liberty League selection last year, when he had 78 tackles, including 6 for a loss, three interceptions and two sacks. Through two games this year, he has recorded 22 tackles, including 5.5 for a loss, one sack and an interception.

#2 Cole Raux (Jr., RB) - A second-team All-Liberty League selection in 2025, Raux had 171 yards and a score on 25 carries last week against Morrisville. He totaled more than 700 all-purpose yards with six touchdowns, including five rushing, last year. 

#11 Shawn Bellenger (So., QB) - Bellenger started in eight games as a freshman last season, completing 124-of-218 passes for 1,201 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for three touchdowns. Through two games this season, he has completed 63% of his throws for 265 yards with a pair of touchdowns and three picks.