ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The nationally ranked No. 15/17 Ithaca College football team improved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the Liberty League with a 37-14 victory at the University on Rochester on Saturday at Fauver Stadium. Ithaca recorded 30 first downs in the win and 577 yards of offense – 337 passing, 240 rushing – to elevate its record against UR to 4-0 all-time.
The Bombers won the coin toss, elected to receiving the first half kick, and proceeded to march right down the field to take a 7-0 lead just 3:31 into the contest. On the 10-play, 71-yard drive, IC opened with a 31-yard completion from A.J. Wingfield to Jacob Cooney. After a timeout, the Bombers rattled off five plays of seven yards or fewer to move into a goal-to-go situation. On second down, Wingfield found Michael Anderson for a 5-yard touchdown grab for the initial score of the contest.
Rochester was forced to punt on its first drive of the game on a three-and-out. After a 47-yard punt and 15-yard return by Anderson, the Bombers returned to the field to being their drive at midfield.
IC quickly moved the ball again, as a pass interference and three more plays pushed the Bombers into the red zone. The drive came to a halt, however, as Wingfield was intercepted at the 1-yard line.
Once again, Rochester went three-and-out and the ensuing punt traveled just 15 yards to give IC possession at the UR 25-yard line.
The Bombers were unable to gain a yard on the first three plays but elected to go for it on fourth down. On that snap, Wingfield connected with Julien Deumaga for a 25-yard score to extend IC's lead to 14-0 with 5:15 left in the quarter.
UR answered early on in the second quarter with a 2-yard run by Sean Casey to run Ithaca's lead in half at 14-7. UR put together a 15-yard, 75-yard drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock.
On the ensuing IC drive, Conner Hayes began the possession with a 7-yard run and then Wingfield hit Cooney for a 36-yard completion down to the UR 8-yard line. The Bombers gave the ball back to UR as a fumble at the 1-yard line was recovered by the Yellowjackets in the end zone for a touchback.
The Bomber defense was able to keep UR from moving the ball after the sudden change and forced the third three-and-out of the half. IC took over its own 47-yard line after a hold on the punt.
Ithaca regained its 14-point lead, 21-7, on a 4-yard run by Wingfield on 4th-and-1 with 7:27 remaining in the half. The Bombers traveled 53 yards over 11 plays on that scoring drive.
The Bombers added a field goal late in the half, with 1:56, to go on a 34-yard attempt by Nicholas Bahamonde to make the score 24-7.
Bahamonde then marched back onto the field with three seconds on the clock and booted his second field goal of the half, this time from 32 yards out, to send IC into halftime with a 27-7 advantage.
IC tacked on another score late in the third quarter as Wingfield hit Jalen Hines for a 47-yard completion with 3:14 remaining in the period.
IC's leads reached 30 points with 10:55 to go in the contest as Bahamonde connected on his third field goal of the game – another 32-yard try.
Rochester scored the final touchdown of the Liberty League matchup on a 41-yard run with just over four minutes to remaining.
Wingfield threw for 310 yards and three touchdowns on 26-of-33 attempts, while Hayes and Max Perry were both 2-for-3. Hayes passed for 15 yards and Perry threw for 12 yards.
Cooney led the receivers with 74 yards on three catches, while Andrew Vito had 64 yards on six catches. Deumaga finished the game with 35 yards on three receptions, while nine more players caught at least one pass in the game.
On the ground, Hines ran for 54 yards on 13 attempts and caught one pass for 41 yards. Hayes rushed for 53 yards on seven carries and Wingfield recorded 30 yards on the ground.
Defensively, Michael Roumes led the way with seven total tackles, while Miles Haynes had six tackles. Akap Takor recorded an interception for the Bombers as IC limited Rochester to 231 yards of total offense.
Ithaca is on the road again next Saturday, as the Bombers travel to St. Lawrence in Canton, N.Y. for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
No. 15/17 Ithaca Posts 577 Yards of Offense in 37-14 Win at Rochester
/seasons/2021/boxscores/20211009_zt6x.xml
2021
Ithaca
37
Rochester
14
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 20 Ithaca (5-0) | 14 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 37 |
| Rochester (1-4) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
Oct 09, 2021