UTICA, N.Y. –The nationally ranked No. 19 St. John Fisher College football team recorded its school-record fourth shutout of the season as they cruised past Utica 64-0 in Empire 8 Conference action at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium Saturday.
Fisher (8-1, 4-1 Empire 8) racked up exactly 500 yards of total offense - 331 yards came on the ground. Ryan Hanson, who didn't have a carry until the second half, led the Cardinals with 168 yards on 16 carries and one touchdown. All-American tailback Mark Robinson tallied 48 yards rushing to give him 1,002 yards on the ground this season. James Reile tallied three touchdowns on 70 yards rushing, while third string quarterback Tommy Hammel found pay dirt twice in the fourth quarter on just three carries.
Utica's offensive struggles continue as they tallied 155 yards of total offense. Head Coach Mike Kemp could not find a rhythm on the offensive end due to a non existent rushing attack. Three backs, including Anthony Marzano, Kamaal Mabry, and Alex Conlon combined for 24 yards on 17 carries. Quarterback Nick Martin completed 14 passes for 88 yards, while sophomore Greg Pinelli completed four passes for 36 yards.
The Pioneers defense looked strong out of the gates, but special teams miscues once again led to the beginning of the end for the Pioneers. After two consecutive four-and-out drives,
Ben Atwood's punt attempt was blocked by Anthony Cucit and recovered by Steve Flagler in the end zone to give the Cardinal's a 7-0 lead.
Fisher's offensive attack snowballed from that moment on. After another Atwood punt, the Cardinals used a steady dose of Reile and Robinson to lull the Pioneer defense to sleep. Reile made the score 14-0 on a six yard scamper. Chris Pierri knocked home the extra point and Fisher, who ranks No. 4 in the New York State Division III Football Polls, led 14-0 with 3:47 left in the first quarter.
After a Nick Martin fumble on the ensuing possession, Nick Suchyna hit Tim Marion in stride on a post pattern to corner of the end zone to give Fisher a 20-0 lead. Suchyna completed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Corey Jackson on the Cardinals next possession and the lead grew to 27-0.
Fisher went into the locker rooms at halftime with a 34-0 lead after Reile scored his seventh touchdown of the season on a four yard rush set up by Robinson's 51 all-purpose yards on the drive. Reile would score his final touchdown of the day on the opening drive of the second half to give Fisher a 41-0 lead with 11:56 remaining in the third quarter.
Chris Pierri knocked home a 20-yard field goal attempt to cap the third quarter scoring and the Cardinal's led 44-0.
A Conlon fumble opened up the fourth quarter for the Pioneers, and Hammel scored two consecutive touchdowns after the Utica turnover. Fisher led 57-0. The final score of the day came from two-sport star Ryan Hanson. Hanson carried the ball seven straight times on the drive, capped by an 11-yard touchdown run with 1:44 left on the game clock.
Pioneer free safety Marcus Maroney led all tacklers with 14 on the day. He also tallied a sack, while Michael Sanchez recorded a season-high eight tackles. Corey Jure had six tackles and one sack for the Pioneers and Martin Johnson Robinson made a career-high six stops.
Flagler led the Fisher defense with 11 tackles, while Cucit and Jason Cirulli each tallied six stops. Inside linebacker Gene Lang made seven tackles. Jason Casel made six stops and picked off one pass, while Turell Ahmed collected eight tackles of his own.
Fisher returns to action on November 11th against host Alfred University, while the Pioneers take on visiting Norwich University next weekend on the campus of Utica College. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. The game will be broadcasted live on the Sports Stars Radio Network (1230, 1350, 1480, 1550 AM) and streaming live on the web at http://www.starsradionetwork.com/pages/ucfootball.html.
