BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Junior quarterback Phil Neumann tossed a pair of touchdown passes as he completed 13-of-22 pass attempts for 125 yards to lead the Ithaca College football team to a 24-0 non-conference victory over host Moravian College at Rocco Calvo Field Saturday to open the 2012 season.
The Bombers earned their 15th straight opening day victory and closed the series with the Greyhounds to a 4-3 Moravian advantage. All seven of those games have been played in Bethlehem but this was the first meeting between the schools since 1948.
The Greyhounds received the opening kickoff of the year and the teams would trade punts on the first five possessions of the game.
Ithaca started its third possession of the contest at its own 22. The Bombers would put together a 16-play, 78-yard drive that took 8:16 off of the clock. Neumann found junior tight end Jared Prugar with a 19-yard touchdown pass to finish off the drive and open the scoring. Sophomore kicker Garrett Nicholson added the extra-point for Ithaca for a 7-0 lead with 13:15 left in the second quarter.
On the ensuing drive, Moravian sophomore quarterback Jimmy Lahue hit freshman wide receiver Will McLaughlin with a 22-yard pass on the opening play before the drive stalled. Lahue completed six-of-14 passes for 53 yards, and he added another 13 yards rushing on five carries in his debut with the Greyhounds before an injury forced him out of the game in the second quarter.
The Bombers received the opening kickoff of the second half and drove 68 yards on 11 plays with senior running back Clay Ardoin finishing off the drive with a one-yard leap. Nicholson's extra-point pushed Ithaca's lead to 14-0 with 9:17 left in the third quarter.
Moravian would punt on its opening possession of the second half but the Greyhounds would get the ball right back when sophomore defensive back Rick Sinnig intercepted a Neumann pass at the Ithaca 41-yard line. Moravian ended up turning the ball over on downs after the takeaway.
Ithaca would push its lead to 21-0 with a seven-play, 65-yard drive that Neumann capped off with a 24-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Joseph Ingrao. Nicholson's PAT pushed the Bombers' lead to 21-0 with just three seconds remaining in the third quarter. The Bombers controlled the ball for nearly 38 minutes in the game including 11 and a half minutes in the third quarter.
Nicholson missed a 27-yard field goal attempt with 12:20 to play before he connected on a 35-yard field goal with 5:32 remaining to end the scoring in the game.
On the next possession for Moravian, the Greyhounds would move into the red zone behind freshman quarterback Ryan Davies, the third quarterback of the game for Moravian due to injuries. The drive ended at the Ithaca three-yard line when freshman wide receiver Jimmy McCarthy was unable to hold onto a pass from Davies, and the ball fell into the hands of Ithaca junior defensive back Tom Scanlon for an interception.
Davies was six-for-12 for 59 yards while freshman Corey Clemons played briefly after Lahue was hurt before he headed to the sideline with an injury himself.
Junior wide receiver Vinny Reed caught five passes for 44 yards for the Greyhounds while McLaughlin pulled in two passes for 33 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Sam Boyer added two receptions for 19 yards for the Greyhounds. Senior running back Joe Tegan had 17 yards on two carries.
Ardoin led the Ithaca rushing attack with 206 yards including an 84-yard run on the next to last play of the game and a touchdown on 19 carries while senior running back Jarrett Naiden added 114 yards on 22 attempts. Ingrao led the Ithaca receivers with seven receptions for 68 yards.
Moravian senior defensive back Travis King returned the opening kickoff of the game 22 yards to tie the school record with his 53rd career kickoff return, and he added three punt returns for 25 yards, seven tackles, a tackle for loss, a pass break-up and a forced fumble before having to leave the game with an injury early in the second half.
Sophomore linebacker Kevin Bracken and junior defensive back Brendan Lesko each had ten tackles to lead the Moravian defense with Bracken adding a pass breakup. Senior defensive back Rocco Del Priore, who made the transition to defense this season after three years on the offense, had nine tackles while senior defensive back Rees Judge added six stops. Freshman linebacker Brendan Downey had six tackles and a pass breakup in his collegiate debut.
Senior linebacker Will Carter led Ithaca's defense with six tackles, a sack and a pass breakup while sophomore linebacker Chris Williams added five tackles, one and a half tackles for loss and a sack. Sophomore defensive lineman Joe Ricotta had four stops with a sack for the Bombers.
Greyhounds' senior punter/kicker Tyler Thompson (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin HS) punted ten times for an average of 35.4 yards per punt while Ithaca punter A.J. Vallone punted four times with an average of 44.8 yards.
Moravian will open its 2012 Centennial Conference season on Saturday, September 8th when the squad welcomes McDaniel College to Rocco Calvo Field. Kickoff is set for 2:00 p.m. on Take a Kid to the Game Day with all children 14 and under free. There will be activities and games for the kids throughout the contest.
Box Score (Final)
Ithaca College vs Moravian College (09/01/12 at Bethlehem, Pa.)
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
Ithaca College 0 7 14 3 24 Record: (1-0)
Moravian College 0 0 0 0 0 Record: (0-1)
Scoring Summary:
2nd 13:15 IC Jared PRUGAR 19 yd pass from Phil NEUMANN (Garrett NICHOLSON kick), 16-78 8:16, IC 7 - MOR 0
3rd 09:17 IC Clay ARDOIN 1 yd run (Garrett NICHOLSON kick), 11-68 5:43, IC 14 - MOR 0
00:03 IC Joseph INGRAO 24 yd pass from Phil NEUMANN (Garrett NICHOLSON kick), 7-65 3:58, IC 21 - MOR 0
4th 05:32 IC Garrett NICHOLSON 35 yd field goal, 8-52 3:52, IC 24 - MOR 0
IC MOR
FIRST DOWNS 22 8
RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 51-331 22-34
PASSING YDS (NET) 125 112
Passes Att-Comp-Int 22-13-1 27-12-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 73-456 49-146
Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards 4-24 3-25
Kickoff Returns-Yards 1-14 4-96
Interception Returns-Yards 1-0 1-0
Punts (Number-Avg) 4-44.8 10-35.4
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 7-44 1-15
Possession Time 37:49 22:11
Third-Down Conversions 7 of 15 3 of 14
Fourth-Down Conversions 0 of 1 0 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances 3-5 0-1
Sacks By: Number-Yards 5-27 2-6
RUSHING: Ithaca College-Clay ARDOIN 19-206; Jarrett NAIDEN 22-114; Josh OLIVER
1-13; Rakim JONES 2-3; Michael MOON 1-3; TEAM 4-minus 2; Phil NEUMANN 2-minus 6.
Moravian College-Joe Tegan 2-17; Jimmy Lahue 5-13; Luke Gotzon 4-6; Vince Reed
1-3; Ryan Davies 5-minus 1; C.J. Billera 3-minus 2; Corey Clemons 2-minus 2.
PASSING: Ithaca College-Phil NEUMANN 13-22-1-125. Moravian College-Jimmy Lahue
6-14-0-53; Ryan Davies 6-12-1-59; Corey Clemons 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING: Ithaca College-Joseph INGRAO 7-68; Pete HAINES 2-24; Jared PRUGAR
1-19; Steve DelMORO 1-6; JJ CRANDALL 1-4; Rakim JONES 1-4. Moravian
College-Vince Reed 5-44; Will McLaughlin 2-33; Sam Boyer 2-19; Jimmy McCarthy
1-7; C.J. Billera 1-5; Albie Moran 1-4.
INTERCEPTIONS: Ithaca College-Tom SCANLON 1-0. Moravian College-Rick Sinnig 1-0.
FUMBLES: Ithaca College-Steve DelMORO 1-0. Moravian College-None.
Stadium: Rocco Calvo Field Attendance: 1825
Kickoff time: 1:00 PM End of Game: 3:24 PM Total elapsed time: 2:24
Officials: Referee: Jason Soistman; Umpire: Troy Hickman; Linesman: Anna McPhilomy;
Line judge: Joe Letizia; Back judge: L. Kauffman; Field judge: Patrick Wills;
Side judge: Steven Renn; Scorer: Moravian SID;
Temperature: High-80s Wind: light Weather: sunny
SACKS (UA-A): Ithaca College-Joe RICOTTA 1-0; Zach MATUSZAK 0-1; Chris WILLIAMS
1-0; Joe ARMELI 0-1; Will CARTER 1-0; Jake SANTORA 1-0. Moravian College-Luke
Trexler 1-1; Nick Melillo 0-1.
TACKLES (UA-A): Ithaca College-Will CARTER 4-2; Chris WILLIAMS 3-2; Joe RICOTTA
3-1; Brandon CHEESEMAN 2-1; Jake SANTORA 2-1; Skylar GRIFFENBERG 1-2; Josh
LIEMER 2-0; Tom SCANLON 2-0; Brian GARVEY 2-0; Zach MATUSZAK 1-1; Joe ARMELI
1-1; Mike VULCANO 1-0; Logan MURPHY 1-0; Dan CIMINO 1-0; Matt COSTELLO 1-0; Ben
SMITH 1-0; Brian HARDENBERG 1-0; Chris STRAND 1-0; Sam CARNEY 0-1; Skyler
SCHLENKER 0-1; Johnny GORTON-PARKER 0-1. Moravian College-Kevin Bracken 4-6;
Brandon Lesko 1-9; Rocco Del Priore 4-5; Travis King 4-3; Rees Judge 4-2;
Brendan Downey 1-5; Tyler Potterton 2-3; Rick Sinnig 2-3; Jake Hildebrand 1-4;
Andrew Richmond 1-2; Luke Trexler 1-2; Nick Melillo 0-3; Ryan Pysher 2-0; Chris
Souders 1-1; Ed Buoye 1-1; Chris McGrath 0-2; Chernoh Shaw 1-0; Richard Kugel
1-0; Albie Moran 1-0; Fran Corbett 0-1; Gene Molisso 0-1; Adonis Cannon 0-1.
Game Starters:
Ithaca College
POS
WR 19 Joseph INGRAO
LT 74 Pat STEPHENSON
LG 73 Matt HARTZ
C 64 Nate HEMINGWAY
RG 63 A. BENVENUTO
RT 77 Dylan RAMPA
TE 80 Steve DelMORO
WR 81 JJ CRANDALL
QB 12 Phil NEUMANN
RB 20 Jarrett NAIDEN
FB 25 Jared PRUGAR
POS
DE 93 Joe RICOTTA
NT 97 Dan SHELDON
DE 98 S. SCHLENKER
OLB 51 Zach MATUSZAK
ILB 52 Jake SANTORA
ILB 45 Will CARTER
OLB 36 Chris WILLIAMS
CB 3 Mike VULCANO
FS 42 Josh LIEMER
SS 41 Tom SCANLON
CB 32 Brian GARVEY
Moravian College
POS
WR 24 Albie Moran
WR 3 Vince Reed
LT 68 J. DiGiacomo
LG 75 N. Fitzsimmons
C 58 Daniel Smith
RG 67 Jim Tersigni
RT 72 Ryan Starkman
WR 81 Will McLaughlin
QB 7 Jimmy Lahue
FB 32 Mike Corman
RB 10 C.J. Billera
POS
DE 49 Fran Corbett
NT 65 Ryan Pysher
DE 54 Nick Melillo
OLB 31 Tyler Potterton
ILB 44 Jake Hildebrand
ILB 48 Kevin Bracken
OLB 34 Luke Trexler
CB 11 Rees Judge
FS 30 Travis King
SS 9 Brandon Lesko
CB 5 R. Del Priore
Player participation:
Ithaca College: 1-Joel LYNCH, 4-Vito BOFFOLI, 6-Matt COSTELLO, 8-Tyler NEWMAN, 13-Jeff KINCAID, 15-S. GRIFFENBERG, 17-Joe ARMELI,
22-Sam CARNEY, 24-G. NICHOLSON, 26-Rakim JONES, 27-Clay ARDOIN, 37-AJ VALLONE, 39-Pete HAINES, 43-Michael MOON, 46-C. STREMMEL,
48-J GORTON-PARKER, 50-B. HARDENBERG, 53-Bobby GARONE, 54-B. CHEESEMAN, 55-Dan CIMINO, 59-Josh DUGGAN, 71-Pat JOYCE,
75-Ben SMITH, 86-Josh OLIVER, 88-Jordan SMITH, 94-Logan MURPHY, 99-Chris STRAND.
Moravian College: 2-Corey Clemons, 4-Jimmy McCarthy, 6-Ryan Davies, 8-Luke Loughery, 15-Sam Boyer, 17-Jason Fuehring,
18-Tyler Thompson, 19-Chris McGrath, 21-Joe Tegan, 26-Trevor Yashur, 27-Rick Sinnig, 36-Luke Gotzon, 38-Richard Kugel,
40-Brendan Downey, 43-Chris Souders, 52-Ed Harper, 57-Brayan Arroyo, 63-Gene Molisso, 64-Max Neis, 85-Jacob McKee,
87-A. Racobaldo, 88-Chase Zimnik, 89-Anthony Dolan, 92-Ed Buoye, 95-Chernoh Shaw, 96-Dan Bracken, 97-Adonis Cannon,
98-Andrew Richmond.