ITHACA, N.Y. – The nationally ranked No. 9/8 Ithaca College football team improved to 6-0 on the season and 3-0 in the Liberty League with a dominating, 34-0, shutout victory over Hobart College on Saturday at Butterfield Stadium. Ithaca dealt Hobart its first shutout loss in nearly two decades – 14-0 to Rochester in 2000.
The Bombers produced their best all-around team effort on Saturday, as IC racked up 459 yards of offense with 28 first downs and only punted the ball once. The defense locked down Hobart's offense to 201 yards and held the Statesmen to 5-of-12 on third down conversations and 0-for-3 on fourth down attempts. IC's defensive unit also tallied four sacks for 20 lost yards, seven tackles for loss (32 yards) and six pass breakups.
Hobart entered the game as the least penalized team in the Liberty League with just over 40 yards of penalties per game, but on Saturday, the Statesmen were flagged 12 times for 119 yards.
After a scoreless first quarter, Ithaca found the end zone twice in the second period on a 35-yard touchdown reception by junior Andrew Vito and a 9-yard grab by senior Will Gladney. Both touchdown passes came from senior Joe Germinerio.
Between the touchdowns by IC, Hobart had a chance to get on the board with just over two minutes before halftime, but a 32-yard field goal attempt by Kyle Hackett sailed wide right. The Bombers would then break out their two-minute offense and marched down the field on 10 plays, which was capped off by a one-handed grab by Gladney.
Ithaca's first scoring drive covered 85 yards on five plays and took just 1:33 of clock.
In the second half, the Bombers received the opening kickoff and started their drive at the 41-yard line. Twelve plays later, sophomore Donte Garcia scooted into the end zone from 11 yards out after Germinerio fumbled the snap and found Garcia on a pitch to the left side to make the score 21-0 with 9:57 on the clock.
On the ensuing kickoff, Hobart notched a return of 30 yards, but sophomore David Nieto forced and recovered the fumble at the Statesmen 33-yard line to give the Bomber offense terrific field position.
Two minutes later, freshman Nicholas Bahamonde booted a 32-yard field goal to extend IC's lead to 24-0 with 7:39 to go in the quarter.
Hobart answered with a long drive on its next possession and moved inside Ithaca's 10-yard line but turned the ball over on downs.
Ithaca put the game away with a 91-yard scoring drive on six plays to increase the difference to 31-0. Germinerio connected with Vito for 27 yards and then senior Kendall Anderson rushed for 18 yards on the next play to move into Hobart territory. After a holding penalty, Germinerio found sophomore Jacob Cooney for 16 yards and then carried the ball 10 yards to wind out the third quarter. On the first play of the fourth stanza, Germinerio and Gladney hooked up for a 28-yard touchdown to give Ithaca a 31-point lead.
Bahamonde tacked on another field goal, this time from 30 yards out, with exactly 9:00 to go for the final points of the contest – 34-0. After another turnover on downs by the Statesmen, senior Isaiah D'Haiti racked up 16 yards on two carries and then a pass interference call on Hobart moved Ithaca into the red zone. The drive stalled there, but Bahamonde moved to 8-for-8 on the season in field goals with the 30-yard boot.
Germinerio finished the game with his fourth straight 300-yard passing game as he went 27-for-37 for 337 yards and three touchdowns. Germinerio also led IC with 45 yards rushing.
Gladney caught six passes for 111 yards and two scores, while Vito had eight grabs for 106 and a touchdown to moved into second all-time on the career receptions list behind Gladney.
D'Haiti had 34 yards on the ground, while sophomore Michael Anderson notched 55 yards on three receptions.
On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore Ed Longest paced IC with eight total tackles (three solo) and two sacks for 13 yards. Sophomore Joey Philippi logged seven tackles, as did classmate Miles Hayes, who also had a tackle for loss. Senior Nick Garone and sophomore Anthony Robinson each recorded six stops and a tackle for loss. Senior Noah Hill and sophomore Rajay Channer each notched a tackle for loss – Hill also had a pass breakup and sack – and junior Antonio Valle produced a sack.
Robinson, junior Khiry Brown, sophomore Cade McDermott, freshman Nate Geloff and sophomore Dan Weiss all had pass breakups in the win.
The Bombers are on the road next Saturday, October 26, as they travel to the University of Rochester for a 12:05 p.m. kickoff at Fauver Stadium.
No. 9/8 Ithaca Blanks Hobart in Home Liberty League Showdown, 34-0
/seasons/2019/boxscores/20191019_qhvq.xml
2019
Hobart
0
Ithaca
34
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobart (5-2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ithaca (6-0) | 0 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 34 |
Oct 19, 2019