St. John Fisher College’s Tim Bailey and Andy Episcopo have been honored by the Empire 8 Conference for their outstanding efforts on the gridiron. Bailey has been named as the Empire 8 Conference’s Offensive Player of the Week, while Episcopo was tabbed as the Conference’s Defensive Player of the Week, following Fisher’s 34-7 win at Springfield College on Saturday.
With the win, Fisher improves to 5-3 overall and 3-1 in the Empire 8, while Springfield, who entered the game ranked No. 1 in the New England Football Coaches Poll, falls to 7-2, 3-2.
Fisher can clinch a share of the Empire 8 Conference title with a win at Hartwick College next Saturday, but also needs Alfred University to lose to Utica College, to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. The Cardinals have won a share of the Empire 8 title three times in the last five years.
Bailey set the Fisher record for total offense in a game, racking up 417 yards. He passed for 338 yards and three touchdowns on 21-of-30 attempts with no interceptions. He also ran the ball eight times for 79 yards, including a career-long 59-yard run. The junior quarterback broke the old record of 389 yards, which he set last year.
While Bailey directed an offense that produced 533 yards of total offense, Episcopo and the Fisher defense held Springfield, who ranks 15th nationally in total offense and second nationally in rushing offense, to just 183 yards of total offense. The Pride rushed for 154 yards – nearly 225 yards below their season-average and scored their lone touchdown with less than three minutes left in the game.
Episcopo, a senior linebacker, led the Cardinals with 11 tackles on the day. He also forced a fumble and was in on two tackles for losses.
For the season, Bailey has started in all eight games and has thrown for just under 2,000 yards (1,964) on 158-for-252 passes. He has also thrown for 15 touchdowns and just five interceptions, four of which came in one game. For his career, Bailey ranks second at Fisher in completions (352) and passing yards (4,573). He also ranks third in career touchdown passes with 36.
Episcopo leads Fisher with 84 tackles, 29 more than any other player on the team. He also leads the team with three forced fumbles and 10 tackles for losses. For his career, Episcopo has 184 tackles and needs just 16 more to become the 11th player at Fisher to record 200 tackles in a career.