Eight Picks Pace St. John Fisher To School-Record 10th Straight Win
Nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College improved to 7-0 on the year with a 41-14 win over visiting Hartwick College on Saturday. Fisher recorded a College-record eight interceptions in the win from seven different players.
The win marks Fisher’s 10th consecutive win, dating back to last October and sets a new College-record for longest winning streak. The victory also ties the College-record for best start to a season.
With the loss, Hartwick falls to 2-4, 0-3.
Fisher, ranked 17th in the AFCA poll and No. 18 in the D3football.com poll, used three first-half interceptions to take a 17-0 lead into the locker room.
After an interception by Brenden Moore at the Hartwick 30, Ryan Kramer put the Cardinals up for good with a 21-yard touchdown run just two plays later.
The Cardinals tacked seven more onto its lead, as Tim Bailey faked an inside hand-off and scored on a quarterback-keeper from four yards out with 12:52 left in the second quarter.
Zach Dolan intercepted a pass by running back Anthony Casimano deep in Hartwick territory late in the first half. Fisher had first-and-goal from the Hartwick 2, but was forced to settle for a 19-yard field goal from Chad Monheim.
Fisher took the opening drive of the second half 67 yards and pushed its lead to 24-0 with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Bailey to Ryan Francis.
The Hawks, however, did not go away and answered with a two-yard run from Casimano, capping an eight-play 65-yard drive with 6:29 left in the third.
After a Fisher fumble, Hartwick drove 73 yards on 11 plays and made it 24-14 on a one-yard run from Casimano on the final play of the third quarter.
Fisher came right back though. After a 62-yard kickoff return by Francis, Kramer scored on a 14-yard swing pass from Bailey, making it 31-14.
The next five drives for Hartwick (all in the fourth quarter) ended on interceptions.
Shawn Masood recorded his second interception of the game at the Fisher 50 with 12:40 left in the game and Adam Burdick intercepted a pass and returned it 25 yards just two minutes later.
Mike Leavell picked off a deep pass and returned it 50 yards to the Hartwick 35. Four players later, Kramer scored on a three-yard run to give Fisher a 38-14 lead with six minutes left. The touchdown was Kramer’s third of the game, a new personal-best for the sophomore.
Travis Tones picked off a pass and returned it to the Hartwick 15, setting up a 26-yard field goal from Monheim to close out the scoring.
Tyler Schier sealed the win with an interception at the Fisher 5 with just under two minutes left.
For Fisher, Bailey accounted for three touchdowns (two passing, one running) and finished 27-for-38 for 232 yards.
FuQuan Borum gained 92 yards on 20 carries, while Kramer rushed for 38 yards on 10 attempts. Ryan Schmidt finished with a career-high 12 receptions for 88 yards. Kramer added five catches for 42 yards, while seven different players also caught a pass.
Fisher will return to action at 1 p.m. next Saturday at Alfred University. The Saxons are 5-1 on the year and 2-0 in the Empire 8. They are the last team to beat Fisher, as Alfred posted a 31-28 win at Fisher back in October 24, 2009.