(BOX SCORE)
ROCHESTER, NY— Tim Bailey (East Aurora/East Aurora) was 15 of 20 for 239 yards and two touchdowns and St. John Fisher (1-1) scored 52 unanswered points, pounding visiting Buffalo State (0-2), 55-7, tonight at Growney Stadium.
St. John Fisher dominated all three phases of the game, outgaining Buffalo State 497-292 and blocked two field goals, two punts and forced a turnover on punt coverage. The Cardinals scored on nine of 12 offensive possessions.
Brad Carlton (Schenectady/Monohasen) led four Cardinal running backs to find the end zone with seven carries for 32 yards and a score and had three catches for 45 yards and a touchdown. Andy Episcopo (Webster/Webster Thomas) had a game-high 14 tackles and a fumble recovery.
Kenny Murphy (Lancaster/Lancaster) was 16 of 26 for 237 yards and a touchdown for Buffalo State. Freshman
Eddie Weiser (Grand Island/Grand Island) led the Bengals' defense with nine tackles.
Buffalo State forced the Cardinals to punt on their opening possession, but after
Rob Smith (Rochester/McQuaid) muffed the punt deep in his own territory, Fisher was set up with a second chance. The Bengals' defense held again, and the Cardinals settled for a 30-yard field goal by Chad Monheim (Webster/Webster Thomas) for the first points of the game.
The Bengals answered immediately as Smith erased his blunder, reeling in a 64-yard bomb from Murphy for the score on Buffalo State's first offensive play from scrimmage.
It was all Fisher the rest of the way, including scoring 28 points to close the opening half with a 31-7 advantage. The Cardinals marched 70 yards on six plays capped by a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Christian Zemaitis (Spencerport/Spencerport) on the ensuing possession. After a blocked field goal and a lengthy return set up a short field, the Cardinals pushed their lead to 17-7 after 6-yard scoring run by Carlton. Carlton found the end zone again on the next Fisher possession, this time catching a 13-yard scoring pass from Bailey. The Cardinals continued to pour it on, forcing a Murphy fumble on a sack by Byron Rohn (Williamsville/Williamsville South) in the closing seconds of the half. Bailey hit Eli Hayes (Rochester/Bridgton Academy) with a 14-yard touchdown strike on the next play.
Fisher picked up right where it left off in the second half, blocking a punt on the Bengals' first possession, and then pushed its lead to 38-7 six plays later on a 2-yard touchdown run by Scott Biehl (Westlake, OH/St. Ignatius). Zimaitis scored his second touchdown of the game on a 15-yard run on the Cardinals next possession.
The Cardinals blocked another punt on the Bengals' next series, and took advantage of the short field again, extending their lead to 52-7 on a 3-yard run by Tony DeChario. After another defensive stand, Monheim booted a 35-yard field goal.
Buffalo State has a bye next week before opening it home schedule with its homecoming contest on Sept. 26. St. John Fisher will host cross town rival University of Rochester next Saturday night.
