Football | 9/11/2021 7:00:00 PM
PITTSFORD, N.Y. – If there was a hat trick for football, Anthony Manna would have had one this afternoon as the St. John Fisher College football team handed the visiting Framingham State Rams a 38-7 drubbing in the Cardinals' home opener at Growney Stadium. The Cardinals rolled to 2-0 on the year with the showcase, while the Rams fell to 0-2 in their 2021 campaign.
After exchanging fruitless opening drives, Joe Dotterweich lined up to punt the ball back to Framingham State, but a botched snap forced the graduate student from North Tonawanda to quickly adjust his plans, as he quickly recovered the ball in the backfield and got off an unbelievable kick that landed within the opponent's red zone.
Three drives later, the Cardinals found themselves back in the drivers' seat following a pass interference call, setting them up just 30 yards out. Following three unsuccessful plays, Fisher pulled out of their bag of tricks on fourth down at the 26-yard line, as quarterback Hunter Walsh lateraled to Johnathan Letta, who tossed it right back to Walsh who used a shake-and-bake move for a 21-yard gain. The Fisher Special then gave Dahmir Pross an opportunity to take a hand off for a five-yard carry into the end zone, putting the home squad up, 7-0.
Framingham used six plays at the start of the following possession, but punted into the arms of TySean Sizer, who used his legs to gain 41 yards and put the Cardinals at midfield. Although Fisher had to return the ball to the Rams, they quickly regained it as the Framingham State quarterback mishandled a snap which landed in the hands of Manna, who returned the fumble 39 yards for a defensive touchdown, extending the lead to 14 points.
Before the half, Framingham State had another chance to drive, as nine plays set them up at the Fisher 24-yard line, but Justin Rodriguez stopped that plan in its tracks as the freshman came up with his third interception of the year at the 7-yard line to give Fisher peace of mind.
Immediately out of the half, Walsh got back to work under center as he completed back-to-back passes for 12 yards to Sizer, then for 36 yards to Pat Galer, putting the Cardinals at their opponent's 14-yard line. Fisher was forced to settle for three points, but Dotterweich put the home squad up 17-0.
Following a quick Rams three and out, the tandem of Walsh and Sizer came up big once more as they connected for a 39-yard touchdown on the following drive, pushing the deficit to 24 points.
The following drive, Framingham pushed the ball about 15 yards before Kyle Vachon sped to the quarterback, bringing him down for an 11-yard sack, fueling the rest of the Fisher defense and Manna to his second big play of the game, an interception which he swiped right from mid-air for the Cardinals' second INT of the day.
Both squads were forced into three and outs on their ensuing drives, but Manna wasn't done with his big day as the senior hurried to the backfield to sack the Rams' play caller for a loss of four yards.
Fisher, who decided to start using the clock to their advantage, kept the ball on the ground for the majority of the next drive which began at the Framingham State 22-yard line, in which three Malachi Duvall rushes totaled 13 yards, giving Walsh room to use his legs and scramble for eight yards into the end zone and bring the lead to 31 points.
Framingham State's offense was quickly forced off the field again, and the Fisher offense got back to work with a Pross 24-yard run putting them within striking distance at the Rams' 44-yard line. At the start of the fourth quarter, Pross ran once more for a 14-yard gain and Walsh tossed a dime to Richie Quinn who used his legs to complete an 18-yard passing touchdown and bring the lead to 38-0.
Although the Rams did find the end zone once before the clock emptied, the Cardinals emerged with a 31-point victory, their largest margin of victory since September 3, 2016, in which they defeated Olivet College by 42 points.
The Cardinals get back to work next Saturday, September 18 when they welcome the Hobart College Statesmen to Growney Stadium at 2 P.M. for Alumni Weekend, the first matchup between the two since 2017.