PITTSFORD, N.Y. - Cortland scored 31 straight points between the second and third quarters to overcome an early deficit and the nationally ranked Red Dragons defeated host St. John Fisher, 31-7, to remain in first place in the Empire 8 standings.
 
Cortland, ranked 17th nationally by the AFCA and 22nd by D3football.com, improved to 6-1 overall with its sixth straight victory and is 5-0 in the Empire 8. St. John Fisher dropped to 5-2 overall and is now in a three-way tie for second in the conference at 3-1 along with Brockport and Utica.
 
St. John Fisher quarterback Mason Lister entered the game with no interceptions in five appearances this fall, but Cortland picked him off three times - one interception each by Nazair Jean-Lubin (Freeport), Sonny Mayo (Mastic Beach/William Floyd) and Alessandro DeRosa (Webster/Webster Schroeder). The Jean-Lubin and Mayo interceptions led to Red Dragon scoring drives.
 
Cortland running back Ethan Gallo (Minisink/Minisink Valley) ran 22 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Mike Rescigno (Arlington) completed 10-of-15 passes for 119 yards and two scores and rushed 15 times for 88 yards, narrowly missing on reaching the 100-yard rushing mark for the sixth straight game. Sam Cotton (Fulton/G. Ray Bodley) caught five passes for 102 yards and Joe Iadevaio (Massapequa/Plainedge) and Jacque LaPrarie (Smithtown/Smithtown West) each had a TD reception.
 
DeRosa finished with six tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and 1.5 tackles for loss. Anthony Luciano (Loudonville/Shaker), Aidan Lochner (Ravena/Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk) and Joseph Russo (Hasbrouck Heights, NJ) recorded five tackles apiece, with Russo registering a sack. Cole Callard (Medina) made all four of his PAT kicks along with a 22-yard field goal among two attempts.
 
For Fisher, Lister finished 12-for-21 passing for 115 yards and the three interceptions. Camden Chance ran 17 times for 139 yards and a TD and Jackson Cusack had four receptions for 46 yards. Gavin Motto and Tim Vanderbrink finished with nine and eight tackles, respectively.
 
Cortland finished the game with a 373-292 advantage in total offensive yardage.
 
The teams were scoreless through one quarter, with Fisher missing a 39-yard field goal on the game's opening drive and Cortland being forced to punt after advancing to the Fisher 37-yard line. The Cardinals capitalized on their next drive by marching 85 yards on just six plays. Chance ran for 56 yards on the second play of the series, and he eventually ended the drive with a 1-yard TD run to give Fisher a 7-0 lead.
 
Cortland responded with an 11-play scoring drive covering 56 yards. Facing 4th-and-goal at the Fisher 2-yard line, the Red Dragons elected to go for it and Rescigno found LaPrarie on a 2-yard TD pass to the back left of the end zone to tie the game.
 
Jean-Lubin intercepted a pass at the Cortland 15-yard line on the next drive by the hosts, giving the ball to the Red Dragons at their own 38-yard line with 3:09 left. Gallo kept the ensuing drive alive with a 13-yard run on 3rd-and-6 near midfield. Cotton caught a 28-yard pass to the 1-yard line two plays later, and Gallo ran in on the next play to give Cortland a 14-7 lead with 33 seconds left. Fisher, however, used a Brantley 45-yard kickoff return to start its next drive at the Cortland 48-yard line and eventually moved to the 21-yard line, but the Cardinals missed a 38-yard field goal on the final play of the half.
 
Cortland scored on its first three possessions of the third quarter to take control. Resicgno threw a 1-yard TD pass to Iadevaio to cap the opening drive. Mayo's interception set up Cortland at the Fisher 33-yard line on the next series and the Red Dragons turned that into a Callard 22-yard field goal. On Cortland's next possession, Rescigno connected with Cotton for a 42-yard pass to the Fisher 3-yard line six plays into the series, and two plays later Gallo ran in from two yards out to finish the scoring. Fisher's final drives ended on a punt, a DeRosa interception and a turnover on downs.
 
Cortland travels to new Empire 8 member Alfred State next Saturday at 1 p.m. for the first-ever meeting between the schools. Cortland can actually clinch its fifth straight Empire 8 title with a win over the Pioneers combined with a Brockport loss at home to Alfred University. Cortland's final league game is home versus Brockport on Nov. 8.