ITHACA, N.Y. – The nationally ranked No. 23/24 Ithaca College football team got back on track and spoiled the perfect season for No. 11/13 Union College with an impressive victory in a Liberty League showdown at Butterfield Stadium on Saturday as part of Senior Day and Family Weekend. With the win, Ithaca improves to 8-1 on the season and 5-1 in the Liberty League and has clinched a share of the regular season title. The loss for Union ends the Dutchmen's hopes of winning the Liberty League outright as they fall to 8-1 overall and 4-1 in league play.
Union could play spoilers next weekend, however, as the Dutchmen take on RPI on November 13. A win for Union will secure the NCAA automatic bid for the Bombers.
Saturday was arguably the best game IC has played all season long. IC owned a 347-to-292 edge in yards and held Union to under 50-percent passing (13-for-28) on defense. The Bombers racked up 150 yards on the ground and threw for 197. IC also forced three turnovers in the victory on two fumbles and an interception, to go along with three sacks.
On special teams, Nicholas Bahamonde set a new school record for most field goals in a season and tied a record for most field goals in a game. Bahamonde went a perfect 4-for-4 to match the school mark set back in 1966 by Sandor Szabo. His four makes of 33, 28, 20 and 37 yards gives him 16 on the season, surpassing the previous record of 13 set back in 2011 by Andrew Rogowski.
IC jumped out to a 10-0 lead after the first quarter and took that advantage into halftime.
In the first quarter, IC received the opening kick but went three-and-out. Union then punted the ball back to the Bombers after three plays.
After a 28-yard punt return by Michael Anderson set up IC at its on 44-yard line, the Bombers moved into Union territory on runs of 13 and nine yards by Jalen Hines. A 24-yard completion from A.J. Wingfield to Andrew Vito spotted IC inside the 10-yard line, and three plays later, Wingfield found Billy Tedeschi for a 4-yard touchdown with 8:37 to go in the quarter to give IC a 7-0 lead. The touchdown grab was the first career score for Tedeschi.
With 24.7 seconds remaining in the quarter, Bahamonde booted his first field goal of the contest from 33 yards out, giving the Bombers a 10-0 edge.
IC outgained Union, 127-10, in the first quarter.
The Dutchmen received the ensuing kickoff and began their drive with 17 seconds left in the first quarter. As the second period got underway, Union ran 18 more plays to move down to the IC 19-yard line before the drive stalled and Union had to settle for a 36-yard field goal attempt. The kick was shanked left and short, resulting in no points, and culminated a drive that took nearly 10 minutes off the clock (9:47 – 19 plays for 54 yards).
The first half would close on punts from both teams.
Union received the kick to start the second half but quickly gave the ball back to IC on a fumble on the third snap from midfield. Jalen Martinez forced the fumble and Ashton Herd scooped up the loose ball and returned it 15 yards down to the Union 35-yard line.
Ithaca would end up settling for a 28-yard field goal to extend its lead to 13-0 with 11:07 remaining in the third. On the drive, Wingfield moved IC into field goal range with a 23-yard completion to Dan Mason.
Union was unable to put any points on the board in its next drive but pinned the Bombers back all the way to their own 1-yard line after a 50-yard punt from Andrew Lau.
Hines gave IC some breathing room with a 4-yard run on first down and then Wingfield found Hines for a 49-yard completion to flip the field and spot IC at the Union 46. Three runs from Donte Garcia moved the Bombers up to the 29 and then Jake Williams put IC inside the five with three carries for 11 yards, which also included a pass interference call on Union. The Bombers would end up putting three more points on the board, 16-0, as Bahamonde connected from 20 yards with 4:10 to play.
The Dutchmen continued to by stymied by the IC defense on the next drive and punted after a three-and-out.
With the Dutchmen reeling, Wingfield found Mason for a 6-yard completion but another 15 was tacked on for roughing the passer. Wingfield then scrambled for 15 yards down to the Union 28. It was all Williams from there, as he ran for 24 yards on the next three snaps to spot IC at the 4-yard line heading into the fourth quarter.
Williams needed two more touches in the fourth to build IC's lead to 23-0 with 14:22 remaining in the contest.
Union responded quickly on the ensuing possession to get on the board in what would be the Dutchmen's only score of the game. Will Bellamy hit Andre Ross Jr. for a 57-yard touchdown pass just two minutes later.
Starting to gain some momentum, Union forced IC to punt deep in its own territory on the next drive, but the Bombers ended any comeback hope as Derek Slywka intercepted Bellamy on the next play and returned it 28 yards with 10 minutes to go.
IC would have to punt but pushed Union back to its own 6-yard line after a punt from Wingfield with 6:23 on the clock. The Dutchmen would turn the ball over on downs and IC capitalized with a 37-yard field goal from Bahamonde with 2:21 left.
Union's slim hopes came to an end with under 30 seconds left as Sha'zie Sullivan fumbled at the IC 17-yard line. Michael Roumes forced and recovered the fumble to solidify the Bomber victory.
Wingfield finished 19-of-31 for 197 yards passing and one touchdown. He also ran for 16 yards.
Hines racked up 62 yards on the ground on 18 touches, while Williams had 39 yards on eight carriers with a score. Garcia added 33 yards on the ground.
Andrew Vito recorded four receptions for 53 yards, while Hines had one grab for 49. Julien Deumaga finished with 39 yards on two catches and Mason had five receptions for 33 yards.
On defense, Miles Haynes led the charge with 11 total tackles, while Martinez notched 10 stops. Roumes registered eight tackles, while Ed Longest earned seven tackles with 1.5 sacks for 10 yards and 2.5 tackles for a loss of 17 yards. Isaac Hadac got in on the action with six tackles and a sack. Ben Stola and Jason Haber each tallied five stops.
The Bombers conclude the regular season with the 62nd Cortaca Jug Game at No. 15 Cortland next Saturday, November 13. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. The Red Dragons are this year's Empire 8 Conference champions and will bring a perfect 9-0 record to their home field next weekend.
No. 23/24 Ithaca Knocks No. 11/13 Union from Unbeaten Ranks with Emphatic, 26-7, Win
/seasons/2021/boxscores/20211106_eo8x.xml
2021
Union
Ithaca
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union (8-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| No. 20 Ithaca (8-1) | 10 | 0 | 6 | 10 |
Nov 06, 2021