SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Ithaca College football program got back on track Saturday afternoon at Frank Bailey Stadium in Schenectady, as the Bombers blanked Union College, 24-0. Ithaca forced four interceptions in the contest and held the Dutchmen, who were averaging 36 points per game, scoreless for the first time since 2007. The victory for Ithaca also extends its winning streak over Union to nine in a row.
Ithaca is now 4-2 on the season and 1-1 in the Liberty League, while Union falls to 4-2 and 0-2 in league action.
The Bomber defense once again showed up to play as they recorded four interceptions and three sacks, and suffocated the Union offense to just 185 yards, which was 233.6 yards lower than its season average. Ithaca also held the nation's third leading receiver, Andre Ross Jr., to four catches for 18 yards. Ross Jr. entered the game averaging 154.2 yards per game.
Equally as exciting, junior Will Gladney set the Ithaca College career record for receiving yards in the game as he hauled in eight catches for 153 yards and two touchdowns. Gladney surpassed Dan Ruffage '12, who posted 1,951 yards during his career at IC. Gladney now has 1,953 yards to his credit and is now 14 receptions shy of setting that career mark (151), which is also owned by Ruffage.
Union received the opening kick of the game but quickly went three-and-out as a 25-yard completion was negated on a holding penalty.
On the Bombers' first possession of the game, Ithaca moved the ball into Union territory on its third play on a 25-yard completion from sophomore Wahid Nabi to junior Will Gladney. After a nine-yard gain by junior Nick Cervone on the ground and a six-yard catch by sophomore Andrew Vito, Nabi and Gladney hooked up again for a 29-yard touchdown connection to give IC a 7-0 lead with 10:24 left in the first quarter.
The teams would trade punts over the next two drives, but IC regained possession after an interception by senior Ralf Silva on Union's second play with 5:00 remaining in the quarter.
Ithaca was unable to capitalize on the turnover and had to punt near midfield with just under three minutes to go. Freshman Clarke Bittner pinned Union deep in its own territory with a 42-yard punt down to the six-yard line.
Three plays later, Will Bellamy was picked off again by the IC defense, this time by senior Pat Mingoue at the Union 17-yard line to set up the Bomber offense with terrific field position.
The Bombers wasted no time to increase their lead to 14-0 as junior Isaiah D'Haiti carried the ball three times and scored on a two-yard jaunt for his sixth touchdown of the season. On first down, D'Haiti ripped off a 13-yard run and then rushed for a pair of two-yard runs for the score with 39 seconds to play.
As the second quarter got underway, Union was held to negative yards on its initial drive and had to punt again.
Ithaca took over with 13:42 on the clock and pushed the ball down inside the Dutchmen five-yard line on a 44-yard completion from Nabi to Gladney on the first play after a timeout. IC moved down to the one-yard line before settling for a short field goal attempt, but freshman Brian Fallon's try was blocked to keep the Bomber advantage at 14-0.
Union could not pick up a first down in the shadow of its own goal post and had to punt once again, which provided Ithaca with great field position once again. The Dutchmen punt travelled 42 yards to the 44-yard line.
IC once again used the big play from Gladney for 36 yards to establish a goal-to-go situation but turned the ball over on a fumble by sophomore Hayden Frey after he carried the ball 11 yards down to the two-yard line.
The Dutchmen were forced with a daunting task again and were unable to create any breathing room for their goal line and had to punt for the fifth time in the half. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Dutchmen moved the ball up to the Union 28-yard line with 5:16 left in the half.
On first down, Nabi found Vito for 23 yards and then hit Gladney for a five-yard strike, which resulted in a touchdown and gave the Bombers a 21-0 advantage less than a minute later.
Gladney finished the first half with 139 yards on five catches and a pair of scores. Nabi went 10-for-14 for 185 yards.
Union put together its best drive of the game on the ensuing possession as the Dutchmen drove 36 yards on nine plays to the Ithaca 35-yard line, but the drive stalled on a fourth down sack by senior Brien Pacheloc.
Ithaca took over with 1:47 left in the half but had to punt three plays later. Minogue sent a 42-yard boot down to the Union 16-yard line and then the Dutchmen ran out the clock on a six-yard run.
The Bombers outgained Union, 251-102, in the first half and held a 10-4 advantage in first downs.
IC started the second half with possession but had to punt after a three-and-out.
Union moved up the ball up near field after a first down completion, but once again turned the ball over on the third interception of the afternoon by the Bomber defense. Senior Ryan Bronson stepped in front of this Bellamy pass and returned the ball back into Union territory to the 47 with 10:41 to go in the third quarter.
Ithaca was stuffed by the Union defense and had to punt, which placed the Dutchmen at their own 14-yard line.
Union would pick up one first down before punting again, but got the ball back a few plays later on the second fumble of the day on the Ithaca offense with 4:40 to go in the third quarter.
The Dutchmen moved down to the Ithaca 10-yard line by the end of the third quarter, but turned the ball over on downs less than a minute into the first period of play.
IC quickly moved up to midfield on a 31-yard completion to freshman Jacob Cooney and a 12-yard grab by fellow freshman Billy Tedeschi.
After a Union timeout, Ithaca faced a third-and-10 at the Union 49-yard line. Nabi scrambled outside the pocket and picked up a few yards before sliding down. A Union defender hit Nabi late for a 15-yard penalty to continue the drive at the 30-yard line.
A pair of incompletions and a no gain on a run set up a fourth down situation for IC, but Nabi moved the sticks with an 11-yard completion to Tedeschi.
The Bombers would end up settling for another field goal try, and this time, Fallon drilled a 42-yard attempt to extend IC's lead to 24-0 with 8:53 left in the game. The 42-yard boot is a career-long in the young career for Fallon and the longest for an IC kicker since Max Rottenecker '16 booted a 50-yard in 2014.
Just over two minutes later, senior Rob Daly recorded the fourth interception for the Bombers defense at midfield and gave the IC offense possession at its own 49-yard line with 6:46 left.
On the third play after the sudden change, Nabi connected with Gladney for 14 yards on third-and-three. The reception yardage for Gladney moved him into first all-time at Ithaca for career receiving yards with 1,953. He surpassed the previous record of 1,951 yards set by the previously stated Ruffage.
A few plays later, Fallon came up just shy of a 50-yard field goal with 3:40 remaining.
Union had to punt in its final possession on the game and the Bombers ran out the clock behind four carries by freshman AJ Clifford for 16 yards.
Ithaca finished the afternoon with 376 yards of offense, including 279 threw the air by Nabi, who went 19-for-28 and two touchdowns. Vito finished with 45 yards receiving, while D'Haiti led the running game with 30 yards on the ground.
The defense was led by nine tackles from junior Nick Garone and six by Minogue. Pacholec finished with two sacks, while senior Brian Gill added another. Bronson and senior Marc Barbieri each notched five tackles in the win.
The Bombers return home next Saturday, October 20, for a 1 p.m. kickoff against the University of Rochester. IC will then conclude its home slate the following Saturday, October 27 versus St. Lawrence University for Senior Day.