ASST. SPORTS EDITOR
MIKE SPIER

On Nov. 12, Cardinals’ quarterback Rob Kramer received the birthday present he was hoping to get.

The day after the Empire 8 Conference co-champion St. John Fisher Cardinals beat Alfred University 41-13, they were selected to host Liberty League champion Union College (7-2) in the first round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs on Nov. 18.

“It’s great to be in the playoffs and then being at home for it is even better,” said Coach Paul Vosburgh, whose team is making their second playoff appearance in three years. “Union is a great team so we are going to have to get ready for a big game next week.”

Twenty-second ranked Union’s two losses came from Springfield on the first game of the season, 38-30, and the RPI Engineers on the last game of the regular season, 24-19. The winner of the Fisher-Union game has the possibility of traveling to Springfield (9-1) for a second round match-up if the Pride defeats Curry College (11-0). The  sixteenth ranked Cardinals lost to Springfield 55-38 on Oct. 21 when junior quarterback Chris Sharpe ran for seven touchdowns.

Earning the bid against the Saxons wasn’t an easy task. In order to secure the at-large bid, the Cardinals had to beat a dangerous Alfred team that wanted to repeat last year’s 13-7 upset that crushed Fisher’s hopes of getting into the playoffs. The Saxons were also playing for high stakes. They may have taken the Cardinals’ at-large bid if they won.

“It was sweet revenge,” said Kramer, who made his first start since the game against Springfield. “It was a team effort and we feel great after this win. We just need to carry that emotion into next week. The real playoffs begin now.”

The Cardinals set the momentum of the game on the first drive as they went 65 yards on nine plays, ending with senior tailback Mark Robinson barreling in for a one yard touchdown. The Saxons would answer back in the second quarter when former Cardinals’ quarterback Paul Keeley set up a 23-yard field goal with a 55-yard pass to junior tight end Matt Gibbins.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Alfred scored a touchdown with junior tailback Elmer Newsome’s nine-yard scamper into the end zone, making the score 10-7 in their favor.  Keeley completed 17 of 41 passes with 238 passing yards and three interceptions.

“Keeley is the key to their offense and we hated to lose him when he transferred to Alfred,” Vosburgh said. “He’s a very good kid and that was a decision that he made for himself.”

Keeley wasn’t as sharp as normal. After a punt by sophomore Ricky Tatar pinned Alfred back at their own three-yard line, Keeley threw a pass right into the hands of junior defensive back Steve Stepnick. The interception marked the twelfth in his career, passing Tim Beadnell for the most interceptions in Fisher’s Division III history.

“Everybody was always saying, ‘Oh, you’re tied and it is the hardest to get that last one,’” said Stepnick, who played in his first game since being injured in the Brockport game. “It feels good that I finally got it and it’s even better that it helped the team in that situation.”

Fisher knew that they had to take the turnover to their advantage. After the interception, Kramer hit junior tight end Chris Harmon with a seven-yard touchdown pass to put Fisher back in the lead, 13-10.

After Alfred turned the ball over on downs on its next possession, Fisher drove 67 yards in six plays with Robinson running for his second touchdown with 2:16 remaining before halftime.

Fisher wasn’t quite done scoring before halftime yet.

Cardinals’ senior linebacker Gene Lang intercepted a Keeley pass at the Alfred 26-yard line with 55 seconds left in the half and two plays later, Kramer found sophomore wide receiver Tim Marion for a 13-yard touchdown pass to give Fisher a 27-10 lead going into halftime.

“The turnovers before halftime hurt us quite a bit because Fisher was able to turn those into points,” Alfred head coach Dave Murray said. “Fisher played a heck of a football game today and all the credit needs to go to them.”

Robinson ran for his third score of the day in the third quarter while Marion made the final blow to the Saxons in the fourth quarter when he made a 58-yard punt return for a touchdown.

“On that play [sophomore wide receiver] Jimmy Smith made a really nice block that freed me up,” Marion said. “Everyone blocked really well on that play and I basically walked right into the end zone because of that.”

After compiling 339 yards of total offense, only allowing 238 yards to the Saxons, and the team finally healing from injuries, Defensive Coordinator Blaise Faggiano feels Fisher is ready for Union.

“Being at home will be huge for us and coming off a win against a tough team like Alfred will give us an advantage,” he said. “The kids are pretty confident right now and are playing as well as they can.”

Email address: mts07751@sjfc.edu