No. 5 St. John Fisher Tops University of Rochester, 37-21

Fifth-ranked St. John Fisher College defeated visiting University of Rochester 37-21 on Saturday night in Courage Bowl III - a football game dedicated to the children of Camp Good Days - in front of 5,887 fans at Fisher's Growney Stadium.

 

With the win, Fisher improves to 3-0 for the sixth straight year, while Rochester falls to 0-2.

 

Fisher scored 37 points, despite gaining just 252 yards and controlling the ball for just over 23 minutes.   Rob Kramer (Oneida), who started the game 1-for-7, finished the game 9-for-17 for 143 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.  Ryan Hanson (Fulton) led Fisher's rushing with 23 carries for 95 yards and two touchdowns.

 

Rochester, who controlled the ball for just under 37 minutes (36:54), was led by Matt Bielecki (Ballston Lake), who gained 98 yards on 31 carries.  Quarterback Adam Barrett (Avon) threw for 160 yards on 18-of-33 passing with two touchdowns.  The Yellowjackets converted on 11-of-23 third-downs and 3-of-8 fourth-downs, but was plagued by 10 penalties for 90 yards.

 

J.J. Vanderstyne (Victor) led the Yellowjackets in receiving with six catches for 51 yards. Pedro Sosa (Rochester) and Tom Malczewski (West Seneca) each had one touchdown catch.

 

Fisher jumped out to a 20-0 lead.  Hanson scored on a four-yard run late in the first quarter and Jimmy Smith (Oneida) caught his first of two touchdowns on the day - a 25-yarder with 7:08 left in the second quarter.  After an errant snap over Barrett's head was recovered by Fisher's Dan Pollock (Fulton) near midfield with 1:12 left, the Cardinals extended their lead on a 29-yard pass from Kramer to Tim Marion (Warwick) with just 27 seconds left in the half.

 

The Yellowjackets, however, regained momentum and scored after a desperation-pass from 32-yards out was batted up in the air by a Fisher defender and into the waiting arms of Malczewski as time expired.

 

Fisher's Kyle Piccirilli (Albion) converted on a 28-yard field goal to give Fisher a 23-7 lead early in the third quarter, but the Yellowjackets drove 59 yards on 15 plays and scored eight points as Barrett and Sosa hooked up from 10 yards out, and again on the ensuing two-point conversion to make 23-15 with 4:04 left in the third.

 

Rochester pulled to within two points as Jim Milks (East Aurora) intercepted a pass at the Fisher 4 and rumbled into the end zone, but the two-point conversion failed.

 

The Yellowjackets attempted an on-sides kick on the following play, chipping the ball over the left side of Fisher's front line, and appeared to recover the ball, but an illegal touching penalty awarded the Cardinals the ball at the Rochester 44.

 

It took Fisher just five plays to regain a two-score lead, as Smith caught a 14-yard pass with 10:02 left. 

 

After Fisher stopped the Yellowjackets on fourth-and-one from their own 15, Hanson finished the scoring with a 15-yard run with 3:57.