Courtest of St. John Fisher Athletics

St. John Fisher College broke a 20-20 tie with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and picked up a 34-20 win over SUNY Cortland in the ECAC Northwest Bowl Championship on Saturday at Fisher's Growney Stadium.

Fisher quarterback Tim Bailey was named as the Bowl's Most Outstanding Player. The junior completed 24-of-41 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns. He also led Fisher in rushing with 70 yards and scored Fisher's first touchdown of the game.

The Fisher defense came up big late in the game, forcing Cortland to turn the ball over (two interceptions, one fumble and once on downs) on its final four possessions.

Cortland led 20-13 after a two-yard touchdown pass from Alex Smith to defensive end Bryan Wiley, who lined up as a tight end on a first-and-goal play, with 5:06 left in the third quarter.

Fisher (7-3), however, came right back and tied the game up at 20-20 with Paul Deckard scoring on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Bailey with 2:48 left in the third quarter.

After a 52-yard kickoff return by Cortland, Dave Vosburgh forced a fumble on the first play of the ensuing drive, with Andre Bliss recovering the ball at the Fisher 27.

The Cardinals took the lead for good, driving 73 yards on 10 plays with Dan Witkowski scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a 23-yard pass from Bailey with 14:05 left in the game.

Cortland, who was tied with Fisher 6-6 after the first quarter, 13-13 at the half and 20-20 after three quarters, drove deep into Fisher territory on its next possession, but Vosburgh came up with an interception at the Fisher goal line. On Cortland's next possession, which started at the Fisher 39, Mike Leavell intercepted a pass at the Fisher 27 with just over five minutes left.

plunging into the endzone for a two-yard run, making it 34-20 with 2:19 left. Cortland's final possession ended on a sack from The Cardinals marched 65 yards over the next three-plus minutes with senior Brad CarltonChris Sawyer at the Fisher 34-yard line.

Fisher took the game's opening drive 70 yards with Bailey scoring on a 10-yard run, making it 6-0.

The Red Dragons scored the next 13 points, taking advantage of short fields. Eric Hajnos scored on a four-yard pass from Smith with 5:12 left in the first quarter, capping an eight-play, 41-yard drive. Hajnos and Smith hooked up again with 5:45 left in the second quarter in a nine-play, 42-yard drive.

Fisher tied the game up on its last possession of the second quarter, with the Cardinals driving 80 yards on 14 plays with Ryan Schmidt scoring on an 11-yard pass from Bailey on a key third-and-goal play.

For Cortland (7-4), Smith completed 25-of-41 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns. Hajnos finished the game with 11 catches for 90 yards, while Wayne Wheeler snagged four passes for 37 yards. Eight other players also made at least one reception. Running back Dom Sair led the Red Dragons on the ground with 76 yards on 20 carries. D.J. Romano led the Cortland defense with 11 tackles and three pass breakups.

For Fisher, Carlton gained 44 yards on 20 carries and caught seven passes for 52 yards. Deckard also finished with seven catches for 68 yards, while Schmidt caught five balls for 61 yards.