Football | 11/22/2025 8:00:00 PM
PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Four turnovers, including three in the second half, plagued the St. John Fisher football team in a 35-24 loss to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Clayton Chapman Bowl on Saturday afternoon at Growney Stadium.
St. John Fisher dropped to 7-4 overall with the loss, while RPI moved to 8-3. The victory also moved the Engineers to 2-1 in ECAC bowl games against the Cardinals.
Cardinals junior quarterback Ryan Whitney accounted for 367 total yards, with 247 coming through the air and 120 on the ground. He completed 29 of 41 passes (70.7%) with three touchdowns and one interception.
Senior wide receiver Ethan Curtis had a career day with 13 catches for 128 yards, and junior wide receiver Jackson Cusack, a third-team All-Empire 8 selection this season, hauled in six passes for 66 yards with two touchdowns. Fifth-year wide receiver Jaylent Brantley finished with five catches for 20 yards and a score.
Freshman defensive back Garrett Conger made a season-high eight tackles, including one for a loss, and snagged his first collegiate interception. Fellow freshman defensive back Colin Clark made three stops and intercepted his second pass of the season.
RPI running back Kayden White, named Most Valuable Player of the bowl game, rushed for 128 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries. He averaged 11.6 yards per attempt.
Engineers quarterback Anthony DeMatteo finished 13-of-17 passing with touchdown passes to three different players and two interceptions.
The Engineers overcame a 2nd-and-17 on the game's first drive with a 20-yard strike from DeMatteo to wide receiver Robbie Peterson. DeMatteo connected with White for 23 yards two plays later to get the Engineers inside the Fisher 5-yard line before going back to Peterson for a 3-yard touchdown that gave RPI an early 7-0 lead.
After the teams traded punts, Whitney passed for 23 yards and rushed for 38 during a methodical 15-play, 80-yard drive capped by a 30-yard field goal from junior Logan Laratta that made the score 7-3.
RPI had to punt again on the ensuing possession, but its defense made the game's first pivotal play shortly after. Defensive back Garrett Cortez stripped Fisher senior running back Deante Hall of the ball, scooped it up and ran it back 36 yards for a touchdown to extend the Engineers' lead to 14-3.
Resilient all season, the Cardinals didn't let that play sink them.
Whitney completed passes of 23 and 14 yards to Cusack before finding Curtis for a 9-yard gain to get the Cardinals to the RPI 21-yard line. A seven-yard rush and a pass interference penalty got Fisher inside the RPI 10, and on 1st-and-goal, Whitney connected with Cusack for a seven-yard touchdown that made it 14-10.
Whitney and the Cardinals went back to work just a few plays later, as Clark made a toe-tapping interception on the sideline at the Fisher 37-yard line. Whitney fired passes to Curtis for gains of five and 33 yards during a seven-play, 63-yard drive he ended with another touchdown pass to Cusack, that one a 15-yard strike, to give Fisher a 17-14 lead with 36 seconds left in the first half.
The Cardinals, however, lost their momentum quickly in the second half.
On the first play following a 17-yard Fisher punt, White gashed through the Cardinals' defense for a 37-yard touchdown to punt the Engineers back in front, 21-17. White ripped off another explosive run later in the third quarter, weaving through Fisher's defense for a 55-yard gain that got RPI to the 2-yard line. DeMatteo tossed a 3-yard touchdown to tight end Josh Young to put the Engineers ahead by two scores three plays later.
The Cardinals' next drive ended with a Whitney interception deep inside RPI territory, beginning a stretch of three consecutive drives with turnovers for Fisher. In the fourth quarter, junior running back Shane Zaletofsky threw an interception on a trick play and lost a fumble at the end of a nine-yard run inside the RPI 5-yard line.
RPI put the game out of reach with a nine-play, 97-yard drive that DeMatteo ended with his third touchdown pass of the day, an eight-yarder to wide receiver RJ Encarnacion.
Whitney threw his third touchdown pass, a 6-yard strike to Brantley, late in the fourth quarter.
Game Notes
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Curtis set career highs in catches (13) and receiving yards (128).
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Curtis became the first Fisher player to have 10 or more catches in a game since Gabe Maloni had 10 against Utica in 2022.
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Cusack became the first Fisher player to have two receiving scores in a game since Brantley last season against Keystone.
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Cusack is the first Fisher player to have six or more touchdown receptions in a season since Maloni in 2022.
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Whitney rushed for 100 yards for a second consecutive game. He's the first Fisher quarterback to have multiple 100-yard rushing performances since Ryan Kramer in 2011.
A Strong Season
The Cardinals will enter the offseason with plenty of positives to build on after a successful first season under head coach Ed Raby Jr., who came to Fisher from SUNY Morrisville last winter to take over a team that finished 3-7 (2-5 Empire 8) in 2024.
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The Cardinals finished with their best overall (7-4) and Empire 8 Conference (5-2) records since 2016, when they went 8-3 overall and 6-2 in league play.
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Fisher qualified for a postseason game for the first time since 2016 and hosted one for the first time since 2014.
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The Cardinals beat Brockport, which had been receiving votes in various DIII football top-25 polls, 31-24 in overtime on Oct. 4 for their first Courage Bowl win since 2016.
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The Cardinals won two games in November for the first time since 2018. They snapped a 10-game November losing streak with a win over Morrisville on Nov. 8.