MILTON, Mass. – The Ithaca College football team earned its first win of the 2024 season and tied a school record for first downs in a 38-13 victory at Curry College on September 28. Ithaca racked up 35 first downs in the win to match the previous record set against Albany in 1993.
Ithaca picked up 19 first downs on the ground, 14 through the air and two more on penalties. The Bombers rushed for 224 yards on 47 attempts and threw for 262 yards as three quarterbacks saw action in the win. IC also did not punt in the game.
IC was extremely efficient throughout the matchup as the Bombers went 7-for-10 on third downs and scored six times in seven trips to the red zone.
The Bombers won the toss and deferred to the second half and Curry began its opening drive at the 29-yard line. The Colonels marched right down the field to the IC 15-yard line, but the drive stalled, and a missed 32-yard field goal kept the game scoreless with 9:27 left in the quarter.
IC used the ground attack on its initial offensive possession and finished the 15-play drive off with a 1-yard touchdown run by Jake Williams to take a 7-0 lead with 3:45 to go. On the drive, IC rushed 11 times for 57 yards, most of which came from Jalen Leonard-Osbourne, who had 38 yards on four carries. Matthew Parker went 2-for-2 on the drive for 14 yards, while Colin Schumm completed one pass for nine yards.
Ithaca turned the ball over on downs on its next drive following a sack, but Curry missed another field goal with 9:45 remaining in the half.
Following the miss, IC picked up a fourth down conversion at its own 38-yard line and then Parker hit Ben Marinaccio for a 44-yard completion down to the Curry 13-yard line. After runs from Williams and Schumm, the Bombers took a 14-0 lead on a 1-yard run by Yaneik Gallego with 5:33 to go.
IC capped off the first half with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Schumm to Nicholas Lang with 13 seconds on the clock to make it 21-0. On the drive, Schumm connected with Sam Kline, who saw action for the firs time this season, for 12- and 17-yard gains.
In the second half, IC extended its lead to 24-0 on a 27-yard field goal by Baldin with 9:07 in the third before Curry got on the board with 3:10 remaining to make it 24-6 after a failed two-point conversion.
Ithaca's only trip into the red zone that did not result in points was due to a fumble inside the 5-yard line on the first play, but IC got the ball back on an interception by Andrew Swierbut on the ensuing snap and scored five plays later on a 4-yard run by Leonard-Osbourne with 12:54 left in the contest to make it 31-6.
Just over six minutes later, Nicholas Matos hauled in a 20-yard reception from Schumm for IC's final touchdown of the game to push the difference out the 32 points at 38-6.
Curry scored in the final minute to account for the 38-13 final.
Schumm went 11-for-15 for 143 yards and two touchdown passes, while Parker was 7-for-8 for 108 yards. Leonard-Osbourne led the rushing attack with 110 yards on 18 carries, while Williams had 93 yards on 19 attempts.
Lang was the top receiving target with 67 yards on six catches and Marinaccio had 59 yards on three grabs. Andrew Mellis caught two balls for 40 yards.
Defensively, Jake Connolly logged 11 total tackles and one for a loss. Danny Portas finished with seven tackles and Ty Boland and Jake Green each had six tackles. Joe Spirra broke up two passes and added five tackles, while Jack Conners also notched five tackles.
Ithaca heads to Hobart next Saturday, October 5 and returns to Butterfield Stadium on October 12 against Rochester.
Ithaca Ties School Record for First Downs in 38-13 Win at Curry
/seasons/2024/boxscores/20240928_ug55.xml
2024
Ithaca
38
Curry
13
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ithaca (1-2) | 7 | 14 | 3 | 14 | 38 |
| Curry (1-3) | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 13 |
Sep 28, 2024