Box Score ALFRED, N.Y. -- The nationally-ranked Ithaca College football team scored on its first two drives of the second half and defeated Alfred 17-6 on Saturday at Yunevich Stadium. Two touchdown passes from Tom Dempsey to Vito Boffoli, sandwiched around a short field goal from Garrett Nicholson turned a 6-0 halftime deficit to a 17-6 Ithaca lead. Ithaca improved to 3-0 on the season, 2-0 in the Empire 8, and handed Alfred (3-1, 1-1 Empire 8) its first loss of the season.
 
The Bombers received the second-half kickoff and started their comeback with a long return by Trevon Perez-Tucker, whose return covered 39 yards and set Ithaca up at their own 48. A long pass downfield drew a pass intereference call to move Ithaca into Alfred territory. Dempsey completed two passes to Boffoli on the drive, the last of which was an 18-yard touchdown completion with 12:57 left in the quarter.
 
The Saxons drove to midfield on their ensuing possession, but the drive was halted when Chris Williams intercepted a pass and returned it into Alfred territory. The Bombers took advantage of the game's first turnover with a drive that ended with Garrett Nicholson's 22-yard field goal to make the score 10-6 in Ithaca's favor.
 
Another long Alfred drive deep inside of Ithaca territory ended when the Saxons didn't convert a fourth-and-11 play late in the third quarter.
 
Ithaca capped the game with a four-play 51-yard touchdown drive that ended on Dempsey's 11-yard touchdown pass to Boffoli with 11:14 left in the game.
 
Alfred drove into the red zone midway through the fourth quarter, but Ithaca defensive backs knocked away four-straight pass attempts in the endzone to preserve the 11-point lead. Ithaca took possession at its own 5-yard line with six minutes left and drove out for one first down before punting. On the punt return, Camden Baker forced a fumble by the returner, which was recovered by Trevon Perez-Tucker at the Alfred 33.
 
The Bombers ran the clock inside of one minute before punting again and sent Alfred back at its own 25 with less than a minute left in the game. A late Alfred drive ended with an interception by Sam Carney.
 
Ithaca outgained Alfred 153-113 in the first half, but the Saxons held a 6-0 lead at halftime. Two first-half Ithaca drives came to end when the Saxons stopped the Ithaca offense on fourth-and-short conversion attempts. Alfred scored on a 6-yard touchdown pass in the final minute of the first quarter, but missed the extra-point attempt.
 
Dempsey was 20-for-27 passing in the game for 219 yards and two touchdowns. Boffoli caught eight passes for 102 yards, the first 100-yard receiving game of the season by an Ithaca player. Andrew Tabbert had four catches (45 yards) and Ben Cary caught three passes for 25 yards.
 
Tristan Brown had 39 yards on 15 carries, while Shawal Abdur-Rahman totaled 20 yards on 12 attempts.
 
The Ithaca defense and special teams forced three Alfred turnovers, and the Bombers didn't turn the ball over. Ithaca had seven tackles for loss.
 
Kenneth Bradley led Ithaca with 10 total tackles, and Sam Carney, Mark Recio and Noah Poskanzer had five tackles each. Schnayder Termidor had two sacks. Carney and Williams had interceptions for the Bombers.
 
Ithaca returns home to Butterfield Stadium for an Oct. 4 game against Utica, which begins at 1 p.m.
 
BOMBER NOTES
 
* It was Ithaca's first win at Yunevich Stadium since 2008.

* Ithaca outscored Alfred 10-0 in the third quarter. For the season, Ithaca has outscored its opponents 31-0 in the third quarter of games.
 
* Alfred entered the game averaging 32.3 points per game. Ithaca held Alfred to just the one first-half touchdown.
 
* Ithaca won by the identical score of 17-6 in the 2013 meeting between these teams at Butterfield Stadium.
 
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