Ty Godinho rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown against the Cardinals, but St. John Fisher spoiled Senior Day with a 20-12 win. (Photo by k. colton / SPORTSPICS.net)

November 8, 2003

GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart football team took a 12-7 lead into the locker room at halftime, but two big, second half plays by St. John Fisher and 96 yards in Statesmen penalties helped the Cardinals to a 20-12 victory at Boswell Field this afternoon in front of a season-high 3,290 fans. St. John Fisher improves to 6-3, while Hobart falls to 4-4.

The Cardinals went three and out with the first possession of the second half, and the Statesmen took over on their own 38 yard line. Junior running back Jack Holleran (Choate Rosemary Hall/Sharon, Mass.) picked up five yards on a rush on first down. Hobart tried to go back to Holleran, who lined up at wide receiver, on second down, but junior inside linebacker Mike Fox (Caldonia-Mumford/Caldonia, N.Y.) read the backward pass perfectly, stepping in front of the offering and running 36 yards untouched for a score. The point after try was no good, leaving Fisher a 13-12 lead.

Fox finished with a game-high 15 tackles (8 solo).

St. John Fisher’s second big play came early in the fourth quarter. Facing fourth and nine at the Hobart 28, the Cardinal coaches elected to go for the first down rather than attempt a long field goal in the Boz’s windy conditions. Thanks to some confusion in the Statesmen secondary, junior wide receiver Eric Praetorius (Jamesville-DeWitt/Fayetteville, N.Y.) was left uncovered, hauling in a TD pass from senior quarterback Greg Roland (St. Joseph’s/North Tonawanda, N.Y.) for the afternoon’s final score.

Roland finished the afternoon 16-of-32 for 193 yards. Sophomore wide receive Noah Fehrenbach (Marcus Whitman/Rushville, N.Y.) was Roland’s primary target, making six catches for a game-high 97 yards.

Fisher took a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter on a 2-yard run by sophomore running back Craig Fitzpatrick (G. Ray Bodley/Fulton, N.Y.). The Statesmen answered five minutes later on a seven-yard run by junior running back Ty Godinho (Lancaster/Lancaster, N.Y.). The extra point attempt was blocked, leaving the visitors a 7-6 advantage.

Godinho posted his third 100-yard rushing game of the season, 14th of his career, with 103 yards on 23 carries.

Hobart took the lead with just 15 seconds remaining in the first half on a 17-yard pass from senior quarterback Craig Swanson (Jamestown/Jamestown, N.Y.) to junior wide out Rick Piñero (Smithtown/Hauppauge, N.Y.).

Swanson completed 16-of-24 for 116 yards, but was intercepted twice in the second half, snapping a streak of 132 consecutive pass attempts without an INT. Junior wide receiver Dan Suozzi (New Hampton/New Canaan, Conn.) led the Statesmen with six catches for 51 yards.

Senior inside linebacker David Szentesy (Lackawanna/Lackawanna, N.Y.) led the Hobart defense with 11 tackles.

Hobart closes out the regular season at 1 p.m., on Nov. 15, at Rensselaer. St. John Fisher ends its regular season on the same day at home against Utica at 1 p.m.