BROCKPORT, N.Y. – The No. 22 College at Brockport football team is gearing up for their biggest rival this week, as they prepare for the thirteenth annual Courage Bowl against St. John Fisher College on Saturday.
DATE – TIME: September 16th, 2017 – 6 p.m.
LOCATION: Growney Stadium – Pittsford, N.Y.
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Game Notes
This will be the fourth time the Golden Eagles will participate in the Courage Bowl after first appearing in the game during their inaugural season as part of the Empire 8 in 2014. Fisher has not lost the Courage Bowl since the games inception thirteen years ago, but the last two contests have been decided by less than five points combined.
Brockport is off to one of the best starts in program history in 2017, having outscored their first two opponents by a combined 45 points. After appearing in the d3football.com top-25 poll last week following their victory over No. 14 Hobart, they moved up again this past weekend, sliding up three spots to No. 22. A victory this Saturday would give Brockport their first 3-0 start to a season since 2012.
The 31-0 shutout over Ithaca was the first time the Green and Gold have blanked the Bombers since the 2002 season, and marked a clear shift to the dominant
Mike Fox defense that was present for 12 years at Fisher. Last season against Hobart and Ithaca, the Brockport defense allowed 69 combined points, and was plagued by the passing game, giving up a combined 673 passing yards and eight touchdowns through the air. Now, with just a year under his belt, Fox's defense has allowed just 20 points, 210 passing yards-per-game, and has yet to surrender a passing touchdown against the same two opponents.
The offensive unit has been just as dominant as the defense, as they're currently ranked second in the conference and 18th in the nation in total offense, averaging 522.5 yards-per-game. On Saturday against Ithaca, Brockport racked up 442 yards from scrimmage (268 passing, 174 rushing), earning the offensive line a spot on the d3football.com Team of the Week.
They were blocking for QB
Joe Germinerio, who earned Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Week with a performance that saw him account for 359 yards of offense and three touchdowns. His primary target was
DaQuan Hubbard, who currently ranks in the top-20 nationally in receiving yards (245).
St. John Fisher is 0-2 on the year, having lost to Washington and Jefferson in week one and Hobart in week two. The Cardinals have not started a season 0-3 since 2001, which was the last time they finished the year with a losing record.
Brockport will be back at home next Saturday, September 23rd when they host another Empire 8-foe in Utica College for a game beginning at 4 p.m.
Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Golden Eagle scores and awards by following @BportAthletics on Twitter and by liking the "Brockport Golden Eagles" Facebook page.
