ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Hartwick College football team fell to St. John Fisher University, 27-13, Saturday afternoon at Growney Stadium in a closely fought Empire 8 battle. The Hawks opened the scoring with a field goal and rallied to tie the game at 13-13 in the third quarter before the Cardinals scored two late rushing touchdowns to pull away.
Junior
Nicholas Massaregli (Pelham, N.Y./Pelham Memorial) led the Hartwick offense with 118 rushing yards on 14 carries, including a 10-yard touchdown run. He also recorded three receptions for 17 yards. Freshman
Ty'lyn Blackwell-Williams (Nyack, N.Y./Tappan Zee) completed 17-of-25 passes for 136 yards, while senior
Miles Sinclair (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by the Sea) led the Hawks with four receptions for 57 yards. Senior
Latrell Willis (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley) added four catches for 32 yards, and senior
Miles Perry (Ilion, N.Y./Central Valley Academy) finished with four receptions for 25 yards.
Freshman
Landon Smith (La Plata, Md./North Point) accounted for Hartwick's other points, converting field goals from 42 and 37 yards, finishing the day 2/3 on his field goal attempts, and also adding an extra point. The Hawks finished with 237 yards of total offense.
Defensively, sophomore
Lincoln Lynch (Ilion, N.Y./Central Valley Academy) led Hartwick with eight tackles and one sack, while junior Christopher Acompara-Miller (Huntington Station, N.Y./Huntington) had six tackles, including a forced fumble, a sack and one tackle for loss. Senior
Robert Kennedy (Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y./Hastings) and senior
Joseph Algieri (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington) each recorded five tackles, while junior
Colby Phraner (Walton, N.Y./Walton) also finished with five tackles and one sack. Hartwick's defense recorded four sacks and forced two fumbles, recovering one.
St. John Fisher finished with 456 yards of total offense, including 273 passing yards and 183 rushing yards. The Cardinals recorded 18 first downs to Hartwick's 12. Penalties were frequent on both sides, with Hartwick committing seven for 67 yards and St. John Fisher committing eight for 55 yards. The Hawks also surrendered five sacks and lost one fumble.
Hartwick falls to 1-5 overall and 0-4 in Empire 8 play, while St. John Fisher moves to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in conference action. The Hawks are off for their bye week during the upcoming week, and return to action Saturday, Oct. 24, they host Alfred State College at Wright Stadium for a 3 p.m. kickoff.
Hartwick opened the scoring with a 42-yard field goal from Smith at 12:35 of the first quarter, capping a four-play drive that began after a 58-yard kickoff return by sophomore
Javion Gaddy (Albany, N.Y./Albany). St. John Fisher answered with an eight-play, 82-yard drive, taking a 7-3 lead on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Whitney to Jackson Cusack with 4:25 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Cardinals added two field goals in the second quarter, connecting from 37 yards with 13:12 remaining and from 31 yards with 15 seconds left in the half to take a 13-3 advantage into the break.
Hartwick responded in the third quarter, as they drove 42 yards in seven plays, finishing the possession with Massaregli's 10-yard touchdown run at 9:21. Smith's extra point cut the deficit to 13-10. After the Hartwick defense forced a punt, the Hawks put together a six-play, 66-yard drive that ended with Smith's 37-yard field goal with 1:13 remaining, tying the game at 13-13.
St. John Fisher regained the lead on its next possession, scoring on a 71-yard touchdown run by Whitney with 19 seconds left in the third quarter. The Cardinals added another long rushing score early in the fourth, as Whitney broke free for an 80-yard touchdown run with 11:21 remaining to make it 27-13.
Hartwick continued to battle but could not close the gap, as the Cardinals held on for the 27-13 victory.
