Football | 11/15/2025 10:39:00 PM
PITTSFORD, NY – After falling behind 14-7 late in the first quarter, the St. John Fisher football team rattled off 34 unanswered points the rest of the way en route to a 41-14 Senior Day drubbing of Alfred State on a rain-soaked Saturday afternoon at Growney Stadium.
The Cardinals improved to 7-3 overall and 5-2 in the Empire 8 with the victory, their best marks to close a regular season since going 8-2 overall and 6-2 in conference play in 2016. Fisher declared for an Eastern College Athletic Conference Bowl game and will learn Monday whether it has been selected for one.
Alfred State ended its season 5-5 overall and 3-4 in Empire 8 play.
The Cardinals, for the second straight week, could not be stopped on the ground, as they gashed the Pioneers for 309 yards and three touchdowns on 38 attempts. The performance marked Fisher's first 300-yard rushing game since racking up 328 yards in a victory over Hartwick in 2023.
Junior Ryan Whitney amassed the second-most rushing yards ever by a Fisher quarterback in a game (152) and scored a touchdown on 13 carries. He also went an efficient 15 of 19 passing for 129 yards with two touchdown tosses, one each to junior wide receiver Jackson Cusack and senior wide receiver Chase Vincenzi.
Senior running back Deante Hall amassed 107 yards on the ground and found the end zone twice on 15 attempts. Fellow senior running back Camden Chance had 46 yards on seven rushes.
Junior linebacker/safety Kyle DaMore led the Cardinals' defense with a career-high 14 tackles, recorded a sack and snagged his team-leading second interception of the season. Junior linebacker Colin Faust also set a career high in tackles, making 13 stops. Junior defensive lineman Ty Rader and sophomore defensive back Matthew Bennett each had two tackles for a loss.
The Pioneers needed just 1:11 to open the scoring on the game's first possession, as running back Noah Currier ripped off rushes of 16 and five yards before breaking free for a 57-yard touchdown on the third play from scrimmage.
Whitney completed 5 of 6 passes for 41 yards and rushed twice for 29 yards as the Cardinals methodically marched down the field to tie the game on their first possession. He capped the nine-play, 72-yard drive with a seven-yard touchdown strike to Cusack.
Alfred State kept the frenetic first-quarter pace going on the subsequent drive, reaching the St. John Fisher 3-yard line on a 43-yard Elijah Georges catch-and-run on a 3rd-and-10 from the St. John Fisher 46-yard line. Three plays later, quarterback Justin Horvath pitched a shovel pass to tight end Liam Rogers to put the Pioneers back in front.
The Cardinals' road grading of the Pioneers commenced after that with 24 second-quarter points.
Fisher picked up 71 yards, all on the ground, during a 10-play drive that Hall capped with a three-yard touchdown that tied the game at 14 early in the second quarter.
After Alfred State turned the ball over on downs on its next drive, the Cardinals needed just two plays to take their first lead of the game, as Whitney connected with fifth-year wide receiver Jaylen Brantley for 10 yards before scampering for a 59-yard touchdown.
Later in the quarter, after the teams traded punts, the Cardinals pummelled their way down the field again. Hall gained 27 yards on three carries and scored a 19-yard touchdown to put Fisher ahead by two scores, 28-14, with 48 seconds left in the half.
DaMore set the Cardinals up for more points before halftime, returning an interception 28 yards to the Alfred State 32-yard line with less than 30 seconds remaining in the quarter. After Lister found Vincenzi for 14 yards and Hall rushed for two, junior Logan Laratta drilled a 33-yard field goal as time expired to make it 31-14.
The Cardinals cruised down the field to start the second half, as Whitney rushed for 14 yards before Chance gained 20 on two carries, one of which yielded an extra 15 yards with an Alfred State personal foul. Whitney capped the four-play, 66-yard drive with an 18-yard touchdown to Vincenzi that put the game away.
After a lightning delay that lasted more than an hour, Laratta drilled his second field goal, that one from 34 yards, to make it 38-14 late in the third quarter.
Alfred State running back Noah Currier, one of the top offensive players in Division III, finished with 163 yards rushing on 29 carries. The Cardinals held him to 85 yards on 26 carries (3.2 yards per attempt) after the first drive.
Pioneers quarterback Justin Horvath completed 20 of 31 passes for 141 yards.
Game Notes
-
Whitney and Hall became the first pair of Fisher players to rush for 100 yards in a game since Peyton Nolan and Giovanni DiCaprio did so against Hartwick in 2023.
-
Whitney's 59-yard touchdown marked the Cardinals' longest run of the season.
-
Laratta became the first Fisher player to make two field goals in a game since Kyle Farewell against Utica last November.
-
The Cardinals have rushed for 200-plus yards in two straight games for the first time since 2023.
-
The Cardinals have rushed for 568 yards and four touchdowns over the last two games.
-
The Cardinals' 568 yards are their most over a two-game stretch since they had 635 over games against Utica and Alfred State in 2014.