Ithaca scored three first-quarter touchdowns and cruised to a 49-0 win over visiting Utica. With the win, the Bombers, now ranked 18th nationally, clinched both the Empire 8 title and the program's 33rd consecutive winning season. Ithaca has won 11 straight home games. Senior Pete Celebre (Strath Haven/Wallingford, Pa.) scored a pair of first-quarter touchdowns and raised his career total to 1,506 rushing yards, good for ninth on Ithaca's career list. The Bombers scored a touchdown before running an offensive play; after forcing Utica to punt on the game's first possession, junior Matt Tosh (Abington Heights/Clarks Summit, Pa.) returned a Pioneer punt 51 yards for a touchdown. In the second quarter, sophomore quarterback Josh Felicetti (Central Bucks East/Doylestown, Pa.) threw a pair of touchdown passes. He threw a 26-yard touchdown to junior Jeff Welch (Ithaca/Ithaca) one play after a 51-yard punt return by Tosh. One possession later, Felicetti completed a nine-yard touchdown pass to junior fullback Jamie Free (The Gunnery School/Brookfield, Conn.). Freshman fullback Dan Ross (Tonawanda/Tonawanda) scored his first career- rushing touchdown on a one-yard run in the third quarter. The Bombers closed out the scoring on a one-yard run by sophomore Kyle Rutherford (New Milford/Katy, Texas) in the fourth quarter. Rutherford's touchdown, the first of his career, came two plays after junior strong safety Lito Gonzalez (Salem/Salem, Mass.) recovered a Utica fumble at the Pioneer two-yard line. The fumble was forced by junior free safety Andy Thon (Victor Central/Victor). Celebre ran for a game-high 65 yards. Senior running back Caleb Greer-Carney (Concord/Cushing Academy [Mass.]/Concord, N.H.) gained 57 yards and became the 25th Bomber to rush for 1,000 career yards. Utica ran for just 17 yards on 30 carries. Ithaca has outscored the Pioneers 127-0 in the teams' three meetings. Sophomore linebacker Dustin Ross (Salamanca/Salamanca) led Ithaca with eight tackles and collected his first career interception. Sophomore cornerback Bob Higgins (Aquinas Institute/Rochester) intercepted one pass and broke up two others.