Game Leaders
Team Stats
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Turnovers
Time of Poss.
ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University football team (5-4, Empire 8 4-3) dropped their Empire 8 finale to the St. John Fisher Cardinals 28-14 in Yunevich Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Nas Smith (Auburn, NY/Auburn) and junior Aaron Griffin (Queens, NY/Holy Cross) paired up for 145 yards rushing on the day.
The Saxons opened the game strong, forcing a turnover on SJFC's first drive. Junior Nick Milgate (Hilton, NY/Hilton) capped off the defensive series hopping onto a fumble by the Cardinal's quarterback, Alejandro Utset. AU set up shop on the SJFC 17-yard line before Smith rushed the ball into the end zone on the first play from scrimmage, putting the Saxons up, 7-0 only four minutes into the game. SJFC tied the game up with 3:44 left in the first quarter, taking advantage of a shanked punt.
The Cardinal's dominated the second quarter, scoring 14 unanswered points. Their first touchdown was a pick-six by Demarre Nelson, who returned the ball 25 yards for the score. The second was a 16-yard pass from Utset to Pat Galer following another interception for SJFC. The Cardinal's maintained the 21-7 lead into halftime.
The Saxons looked to bounce back in the third quarter when sophomore Raeqwon Greer (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) wrangled in his fifth interception of the 2018 season on SJFC's opening drive of the half. The Saxons marched 27 yards before Griffin topped the drive off with a six-yard rushing touchdown – his second of the season. The Cardinal's answered back nearly three minutes later, capitalizing on another botched punt, setting them up on AU's 15-yard line. Cam Cleveland scored on the first play from scrimmage, increasing Fisher's lead, 28-14.
Two drives later, AU began to move into SJFC territory before they were halted by the Cardinal's defense that eventually sacked junior quarterback Ben Burk (Lakewood, NY/Southwestern). SJFC milked the clock down the stretch, shutting AU out for the remainder of the game.
Smith led the Saxons with 79 yards rushing and a touchdown while Griffin ran for 66 yards and a touchdown. Burk threw for 77 yards on 4-of-23 (17.4%) passing and four interceptions. First year Steven Moretti-Ransom (Ontario, NY/Wayne) had two receptions, including one for 42 yards.
Senior Cole Reed (Gratz, PA/Upper Dauphin Area) had 14 total tackles including 2.5 tackles for a loss. He remains atop the Empire 8 Conference standings with 109 tackles in 2018, setting a career-high. Milgate and junior Leo Pamphile (Spring Valley, NY/Spring Valley) had seven tackles each. Sophomore Raymond Johnson (Binghamton, NY/Binghamton) had 1.5 tackles for a loss.
The Saxons will close the 2018 regular season with a trip to Rochester, NY to take on the YellowJackets of the University of Rochester. Kickoff is at 12PM in Fauver Stadium.