Golden Eagles' Rally Falls Short Against #15 St. John Fisher

[DJRamFan]

Brian Wise tops 100 yards rushing, Walther reaches milestone

PITTSFORD, NY- Running back Brian Wise (Newfane, NY/Newfane) rushed a season-high 26 times to produce the first 100-yard rushing performance for the SUNY Brockport football team (2-4; ACFC 2-1) this season, but the Golden Eagles dropped a 28-14 decision this evening to 15th ranked St. John Fisher (5-1) at Growney Stadium. The loss was the first on the road to the Cardinals in eight trips, with the closest game being a 38-35 victory in the 2002 season.

Trailing 21-0 with 14:21 remaining until halftime, Brockport had possession at their own 30 yard-line, and went on 11-play, 70-yard drive that spanned 3:56. Wise ran the ball nine times for 58 yards on the drive, including four runs of 10 yards or more.

Running back Garet Lynch (Valley Stream, NY/Springfield Gardens) capped the drive, pounding his way into the Fisher end zone from the one-yard line to pull the Golden Eagles to within 21-7, with 10:25 remaining in the opening half. On the following kickoff, Adam Lanctot (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon) popped up an onsides kick that Brockport recovered their own 47-yard line just four seconds later.

On the second play of Brockport's possession, quarterback Zack Luke (Cambridge, NY/Cambridge) connected with Wise to give the Golden Eagles a first down at the Fisher 28-yard line. Three plays and two Brockport time-outs later, Luke found Matt McCormick (Peru, NY/Peru) for a 28-yard touchdown pass, cutting the deficit to 21-14 with 8:17 left in the half.

Following a holding penalty on the Cardinals' next possession, Brockport continued to build momentum, when Steve Marriott (Fairport, NY/Fairport) intercepted a tipped Suchyna pass at the Brockport 44-yard line. The teams traded punts, and went into halftime with the Cardinals maintaining a 21-14 advantage.

Wise paced the Golden Eagles offense in the opening half, rushing for 94 yards on 19 carries, while James Reile sprinted for 150 rushing yards and two touchdowns for the Cardinals.

After the St. John Fisher defense forced Brockport to punt on its first possession in the second half, the Cardinals began their first drive of the second half at their own seven yard-line. The Cardinals drove to their own 46 yard-line, before their drive was short circuited by back-to-back sacks from Dale Buck (Oakfield, NY/Oakfield Alabama) and Damian Aliseo (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South).


After a scoreless third quarter that saw an exchange of punts that tipped field position in favor of Fisher, the Cardinals took possession to start the fourth quarter at their own 42 yard-line, and drove to the SUNY Brockport one yard-line. The drive consumed 4:54 over 11 plays, and was highlighted by a leaping reception by Noah Fehrenbach at the Brockport 21. Four plays later, Fisher set up a first-and-goal at the Brockport four yard-line, and after a three-yard scamper by Reile, the Cardinals were stopped at the Brockport one yard-line three consecutive times on solo tackles by John Walther (Dansville, NY/Dansville), Nate Bowerman (Farmington, NY/Victor), and Adam Collister (Lewiston, NY/Lewiston Porter).

After the Fisher defense forced a Golden Eagle punt on the subsequent possession, Fehrenbach returned Colin Hoffmann's (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) punt to the Brockport 30 yard line with 8:35 left in the game.

Fisher capped the drive with a five yard-touchdown run on a cutback by Reile to extend the Cardinal lead to 28-14.

On the following Brockport drive, the Golden Eagles faced third-and-25 from their own 15 yard-line, when Luke lofted a 25-yard strike to McCormick to the Fisher 40-yard line for the conversion.

Later on that drive, Brockport faced a fourth and five from the Fisher 28 yard line, when Luke's pass intended for Mike Smith (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder) at the Cardinal 17 yard-line was batted down by Steven Stepnick to give Fisher the ball with just over three minutes remaining.

After the team's exchanged punts to open the game, the Cardinals faced a third-and two from their own 34-yard line when Reile broke a 66-yard touchdown run off the left side to give Fisher a 7-0 lead with 7:43 remaining in the opening quarter.

Nick Suchyna started Fisher's next possession in Brockport territory and scampered 15 yards to the Golden Eagle 30-yard line. Three plays later, a third down-Suchyna pass intended for Adam Menter was deflected, and caught by Reile to give the Cardinals a first down at the Brockport 13-yard line. One play later Suchyna found Fehrenbach in the left corner of the end zone on a fade pattern to give St. John Fisher a 14-0 lead with 2:24 remaining in the first quarter.

After Brockport took possession following a Cardinal punt to open the second quarter, quarterback A.J. Covella (Rochester, NY/Spencerport) was intercepted by Stepnick on the second play from scrimmage, giving Fisher the ball at the Brockport 34 yard-line. On the first play of the Cardinal's drive, Reile struck again, this time running for 34 yards off the right side to push Fisher's advantage to 21-0.

The Cardinals amassed 434 yards of offense, while limiting the Golden Eagles to 253, and held a 268-to-98 yard advantage on the ground. Brockport's defense held Fisher to a 33 percent conversion rate on third downs, well below their conversion rate of 58 percent for the season.

Wise finished the game with 113 yards rushing. And 51 yards receiving on five catches. Luke completed 13 of his 26 attempts for 159 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.
Walther tallied his seventh straight game with at least 10 tackles, making 10 stops, including one for a loss, bringing his career total to 300. Only three other players in the history of the Brockport football program have reached that milestone: Steve Cook (399), Dave Robbins (398), and Blase Salomone (333).

Suchyna hit 16 of his 23 passing attempts for a 166 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Reile churned out 246 yards rushing on 35 carries, along with 59 receiving yards on four catches. Fehrenbach made eight catches for 94 yards.

The SUNY Brockport football team will be back in action on October 22, when they host Wesley College. Kickoff will be at 1 p.m.