St. John Fisher College 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.
For Olivet, who went 9-1 last year, senior quarterback Braden Black was 19-for-31 for 213 yards with Mitchell Bailey catching eight passes for 101 yards. The Comets finished with 55 rushing yards on 37 carries.
After turning Olivet over on downs on the game's opening possession, Fisher marched 59 yards on six plays with Collichio slicing through the Comets' secondary for a 19-yard touchdown with 6:32 left in the opening half.
Just over three minutes later, Fusco scampered into the end zone on a 15-yard run to put the Cardinals up 14-0 after one.
Christopher Biryla intercepted a pass to start Fisher's third drive of the game. A diving 38-yard reception from Dylan Harrington deep in Olivet territory set up tight end Wyatt Stehle's first career touchdown, with the sophomore scoring from three yards out from the right-flat.
Olivet nearly got on the board on its next possession, but Biryla forced a fumble at his own 1-yard-line with Anthony Lee, who led defense with 10 tackles, recovering the ball in the end zone.
Fisher took the ensuing drive 80 yards on 12 plays with Chambers breaking the plane on a two-yard plunge.
The Cardinals went 68 yards on seven plays on the first drive of the second half to take a 33-0 lead. After a 44-yard scramble from Naton on third-and-16, freshman-transfer Will Blake scored on a 12-yard pass from Naton.
After the Comets got on the board, Fisher responded with William Coon scoring on a 13-yard pass from Naton with five minutes left in the third.
Fusco scored his second touchdown of the game in the opening moments of the third quarter, finishing a three-play, 75-yard drive. A career-long 62-run from Chambers started the drive.
Sophomore Anthony Rinaldo (seven carries, 41 yards) closed out the scoring for the Cardinals, plunging into the end zone from one yard out for his first collegiate score. Freshman quarterback Collin Fiutko engineered the 10-play, 80-yard drive.
Defensively, Lee led the Cardinals with 10 tackles, while DJ Logory and David Carroll each made nine stops. Chris Smith and Just Rivera were each credited with seven tackles.
Preseason All-American Alec Mortillaro intercepted his first pass of the season and the eighth of his career, moving into 10th place on Fisher's career list.
Zachary Forbes and Cole Ansley-Purpura were each credited with a sack, while Randy Marcellus, Nelson Burke, William Riechert, Carroll, Smith and Rivera each earned a half-sack.
Fisher returns to action at 2 p.m. next Saturday at Springfield College. It will be the last non-conference game of the 2016 season and the first contest in a three-game road-trip.
St. John Fisher College Wins In Convincing Fashion
/seasons/2016/boxscores/20160903_pb7l.xml
2016
Olivet
10
St. John Fisher
52
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olivet (0-1) | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| No. 22 St. John Fisher (1-0) | 14 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 52 |
Sep 03, 2016