ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The Ithaca College football team continued its winning ways on Saturday October 4, marching into enemy territory to take on the University of Rochester Yellowjackets. In another low scoring slugfest against a conference rival, the Bombers came out on top behind suffocating defense and contributions from backup quarterback Michael Reed.
The game started off slowly, with no scoring in the first half. On the first drive of the game, junior quarterback Matthew Parker threw an interception in Ithaca territory, giving the home team early momentum. However, the Bomber defense picked their quarterback up, setting the tone for the remainder of the afternoon.
First-year quarterback Shawn Bellinger was introduced to the Bomber's defense with a sack for a loss of eight on his first offensive snap by junior linebacker Henry Takacs. This was followed by a four-yard tackle for loss by senior defensive lineman Jon Ramsey. These two negative plays by the Bombers defense erased any Yellowjacket momentum in the early going.
After another Bombers turnover on the second drive, the defense came up big again with a fourth down stop on the Bomber 37-yard line, just outside of field goal range. Takacs continued to make an impact on the game, stuffing Yellowjacket sophomore running back Cole Raux for a seven-yard loss.
The teams traded punts for the remainder of the first half before the Bombers got bailed out by a missed 27-yard field goal by the Yellowjackets as time expired in the first half.
Ithaca was held to three first downs and just 37 total yards in the opening half, but the defense was up to the task and produced 31 tackle for loss yardage and allowed nine yards rushing to the Yellowjackets.
After the Bombers defense forced a three and out to start the second half, the offense was finally able to get on the board with a 43-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Caleb Wandell. This was done with a balanced approach, as running backs Chris Scully and Anthony Mestre combined for 27 yards on the ground. Junior quarterback Michael Reed recorded a 13-yard catch on the drive, the first of his many second half contributions.
After a Parker turnover on the following Bomber drive led to a Rochester touchdown, the coaching staff decided to switch things up, with Reed taking over most of the play calling for the remainder of the second half. Reed has generally been used in a Swiss army knife role for the Bombers, and this is the first time he has seen continuous action under center in a high-pressure situation for the Bombers.
Now with the Bombers trailing for the first time all game, it was up to Reed to get them back in front. He came through, completing a 31-yard pass to sophomore wideout Tian Murray early in the drive to get the Bombers to the Rochester 35-yard line. Three plays later Reed rushed for 14, getting the Bombers into the red zone.
After a Reed rushing touchdown was called back after an illegal formation penalty on the Bombers, Scully rushed for seven, bringing the Bombers back inside the five-yard line. The next play, Reed took it in again and this time it stood and after an extra point from Wandell the Bombers took a 10-6 lead that they would not give up.
The Yellowjackets drove into the end zone on the final drive of the game, but consecutive incompletions from Bellinger from the Bomber 14-yard line sealed the deal, and the Bombers took home their fourth consecutive victory to improve to 4-1 on the season and 3-0 in conference play.
Joe Spirra led the defense with 13 total tackles and two pass breakups, while Sam Tourangeau made 10 tackles, including two for a loss of 12 yards. Henry Takacs had six tackles with two tackles for loss and a sack of eight yards and Jon Ramsey also made six tackles with one for a loss of four yards.
The Bombers will stay on the road next weekend when they take on Saint Lawrence University on Saturday, October 11 at 1pm.