Three Teams Appear in D3Football.com Rankings
After the first week of the season, four Empire 8 football teams are receiving votes in the latest
d3football.com poll. Cortland moved up one spot from the preseason ranking to No. 16, while St. John Fisher College made its debut at No. 24. Alfred University is among teams also receiving votes.
Steven Ferreira passed for 292 yards and two touchdowns and Cortland held off a late fourth-quarter charge by host Heidelberg University as the nationally 17th-ranked Red Dragons opened the season with a 30-28 non-league victory over the Student Princes.
Ferreira finished 21-of-35 through the air and also rushed for a net 47 yards and a touchdown on 18 attempts.
Jon Mannix caught five passes for 132 yards and a touchdown and freshman
Zach Tripodi ran six times for 93 yards and a score. In addition,
Anthony Pintabona grabbed four receptions for 60 yards.
Fisher jumped out to a 26-0 lead and scored two touchdowns in all four quarters, as the Cardinals cruised to a 52-10 win over visiting Olivet College in the NCAA Division III football season-opener for both teams.
Fisher racked up 500 yards of total offense and scored touchdowns on six of its first seven drives (the lone non-touchdown-producing drive came with Fisher gaining possession at its own 15 with 25 seconds left in the half), while the defense forced three turnovers and recorded five sacks.
Fifth-year senior quarterback
Matt Naton was 11-for-16 for 205 yards and four touchdowns, while junior
Mike Collichio led the way with five grabs for 89 yards and one score.
James Chambers (10 carries for 92 yards) and
Tony Fusco (18 carries for 89 yards) led the ground game and combined to score three touchdowns.
The Alfred University football team built a 14-point fourth-quarter lead, then held on to defeat visiting Husson University, 35-28, Saturday afternoon in the Saxons' season opener.
After a back-and-forth affair that found the teams deadlocked at 21-21 after three quarters, Alfred scored 14 unanswered points to open the fourth and go up 35-21. Husson wouldn't go away, scoring with just over three minutes left to draw within a touchdown. The Eagles had one more chance, but after taking over at their own 15 with 1:31 left, turned the ball over on downs.
Alfred outgained Husson, 358 yards to 329.
Tyler Johnson threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns, with
Brendan Buisch hauling in three catches for 94 yards and senior wide receiver
Emile Frigon catching three passes for 56 yards.