Nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College improved to 6-0 on the year and 2-0 in the Empire 8 Conference on Saturday, as the Cardinals picked up a 34-10 win over visiting Ithaca College (4-2, 1-1).
Fisher, ranked 17th in the AFCA poll and No. 20 in the d3football.com poll, has now won nine straight games dating back to last October, tying the College-record for most consecutive wins.
Quarterback Tim Bailey went 23-for-36 for 362 yards and four touchdowns in the win, while the Fisher defense held Ithaca to just 219 yards of total offense, including 22 rushes for a net of -7 yards.
Ryan Schmidt and Ryan Kramer totaled 21 catches for 349 yards.
Fisher scored the first 13 points of the game. On its second possession of the day, Fisher drove 89 yards on 10 plays with Francis catching an eight-yard touchdown pass in the back of the endzone from Bailey, giving the Cardinals a 6-0 lead.
During that drive, Bailey became the College’s all-time leader in passing yards at Fisher.
A little over one minute into the second quarter, the Cardinals pushed their lead to 13-0 as FuQuan Borum plowed his way into the endzone, scoring on a seven-yard run.
Ithaca scored its only points of the first half on the ensuing possession, as Andrew Rogowski kicked a 33-yard field goal with 7:20 left in the half.
Fisher pushed its lead to 20-3 with a 53-yard bomb from Bailey to Francis.
Ithaca cut Fisher’s lead to 20-10 with 5:58 left in the third quarter on a 2-yard pass from Rob Zappia to Thomas Vossler.
The Bombers appeared to have gained the momentum of the game, but the Cardinals regained control, as Bailey hit Schmidt for a 57-yard touchdown reception on a third-and-14 play just two minutes later.
Fisher closed out the scoring with Bailey hitting Tom Kukuk on a three-yard pass with 7:08 left in the game for Kukuk’s first career TD.
Fisher totaled 478 yards of total offense. Borum led the Cardinals in rushing with 68 yards on 16 carries. Kramer gained 44 yards on seven attempts.
Schmidt led all receivers with nine catches for 160 yards, while Kramer added seven catches for 101 yards (both career-highs). Francis finished with five catches for 88 yards.
Dave Vosburgh led a Fisher defense that held Ithaca scoreless on three possessions inside the Fisher 10 with 10 tackles. Joe Leavell added eight tackles and two sacks.
On the offensive side, Ithaca’s Rob Zappia threw for 226 yards (26-49). Dave Ahohen led the Ithaca defense with eight tackles.