ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College football team turned in one of its best performances of the season on Senior Day at Butterfield Stadium on Saturday, as the Bombers dispatched Union College, 20-3, to move into first place in the Liberty League standings. With the win, Ithaca snapped Union's seven-game winning streak and extends its own head-to-head matchup in wins over the Dutchmen to eight in a row. The Bombers are now 6-3 on the season and 4-1 in the Liberty League.
Ithaca held Union to just 188 yards of offense and forced three turnovers, while amassing 346 yards and held onto the ball for nearly 33 minutes. The Bombers held a distinct edge in first downs, 23-11, and threw for 200 more yards than the Dutchmen, 284-83.
Ithaca received the opening kickoff and started its possession at the 16-yard line. The Bombers quickly faced a third down, but freshman Wahid Nabi found classmate Andrew Vito for a 12-yard gain to continue the drive. On the ensuing snap, senior Tristan Brown broke through the line for a 12-yard run to move the chains once again.
After a sack of Nabi on 2nd-and-4, sophomore Will Gladney hauled in a 12-yard reception on a crossing route to move the sticks once again to the Union 41-yard line. Three plays later, Nabi hit Vito for another third down conversion down to the 34-yard line, but Ithaca's drive would stall on an interception by Union at the 18-yard line.
Ithaca's drive lasted 13 plays, covered 57 yards and used 5:48 of clock.
Union answered with a 22-play, 70 yard drive that culminated with a 29-yard field goal from Jonathan Schaible. Union took over with 9:12 left in the first quarter and scored at the 12:23 mark of the second for an 11:49 drive. Throughout the possession, running back Connor Kinzelmann picked up four first downs. The drive stalled on 3rd-and-6 from the 11, as senior Dan Loizos notched a tackle for loss on a sweep.
Ithaca would tie the game up on its next possession on a 21-yard field goal by junior David Prudhomme with 7:24 remaining in the half. Three plays in, Nabi connected with senior Frank Martino for an 8-yard catch on 3rd-and-4 to extend the drive. After a 6-yard scramble by Nabi set up another first down, he found Vito for a 19-yard strike down to the Union 18. Senior Jared Bauer moved Ithaca inside the 10 with a 9-yard reception, but the drive bogged down there to set up Prudhomme.
Neither team was able to move into scoring position over the final 7:18 of the first half, and the League foes went into the locker room deadlocked at 3-3.
Through the first 30 minutes of action, Ithaca held a 1-yard advantage in yards gained, 134-133, which meant that the Bomber defense held Union to 55 yards of offense in the second half (39 in the third quarter, 16 in the fourth).
Union took the second half kickoff up to its own 38, but quickly went 3-and-out. The Dutchmen would pin IC back to its own 12 with a 42-yard punt with 13:12 left in the third quarter.
The Bombers continued to rack up third down conversion on the ensuing drive, as Vito moved the chains with a 3-yard catch on 3rd-and-2 to start things off. Ithaca once again continued the drive with a pass interference call on 3rd-and-16, and then Gladney picked up a 3rd-and-3 with a 6-yard gain up to the Union 45. On the next play, Nabi found Vito down the middle of the field off play-action for a 52-yard strike down to the Union 3.
Ithaca had three cracks at the end zone, but was pushed back to the 16 after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Prudhomme came back onto the field for a 33-yard attempt and sent his kick straight through to give the Bombers a 6-3 lead with 6:15 to play in the third quarter, which was the lone score of the stanza.
In the final quarter of play, Ithaca was once again pinned deep off a punt to its own 11. The Bombers went 3-and-out, but junior Pat Minogue boomed a 41-yard punt to flip the field to Union's 39. On the first play from scrimmage, junior Aaron Francis made a leaping interception at the Ithaca 29 to get the Bomber offense right back on the field.
Ithaca was unable to capitalize on the turnover and had to punt the ball back to Union once again. The Dutchmen narrowly converted a 4th-and-1 at their own 42, but two plays later, Loizos forced a fumble at midfield and senior Jordan Schemm fell on the loose ball at the IC 48 with 7:55 to go in the game.
It took Ithaca three plays to move deep into Union territory as a 6-yard catch from Gladney and 4-yard run from Brown moved the ball across midfield. A facemask on the Dutchmen defense pushed the ball down to the 27, and then Nabi hit Bauer for a 19-yard completion down to the 8. On the same play, Union was called for two penalties to give IC a first down at the 1-yard line. Brown plunged over the goal line two plays later to extend Ithaca's lead to 13-3 with 4:57 to play.
On the ensuing kickoff, sophomore Joe Spor punched the ball out of the Union returner's arm and freshman Khiry Brown scooped it up at the Union 42.
Ithaca was faced with a 4th-and-3 with 3:12 remaining after a Union timeout, and the Bombers put the game away with a 21-yard connection from Nabi to Vito to spot the next first down play at the 14.
Sophomore Isaiah D'Haiti pushed the ball inside the 10 with back-to-back runs, and appeared to score on a 6-yard jaunt, but it was called back due to a holding penalty. Up to the task from the 16-yard line, D'Haiti took the handoff, broke outside to the left and scampered into the end zone to give the Bombers the 20-3 victory.
Union turned the ball over on downs on its next possession and the Bombers ended the contest in victory formation.
Nabi finished the game 30-for-40 passing for 284 yards, while Vito hauled in 12 catches for 132 yards. Gladney notched 10 grabs for 82 yards, while Brown and D'Haiti combined to rush for 81 yards on 24 carries.
Ithaca was 8-for-15 on third down conversion and a perfect 4-for-4 on red zone opportunities.
Defensively, Loizos led the way with 12 tackles and a forced fumble. Schemm was close behind with 11 stops, including a half-sack. Sophomore Noah Hill recorded four tackles, two of which were for a loss and one sack. Junior Matt Riccitelli also registered four tackles with a half-sack.
The Bombers conclude their regular season next Saturday, November 11 at 12 p.m. for the 59th annual Cortaca Jug Game at Butterfield Stadium. Although it is a non-conference contest, Ithaca can clinch the Liberty League's automatic bid with a Union victory over RPI, which is also scheduled to kickoff at 12 p.m. in Schenectady.
Ithaca Moves Atop Liberty League Standings with 20-3 Win over Union on Senior Day
/seasons/2017/boxscores/20171104_4gdd.xml
2017
Union
3
Ithaca
20
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union (7-2) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Ithaca (6-3) | 0 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 20 |
Nov 04, 2017