LAST WEEK: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) scored on its first two possessions and forced four Ithaca turnovers in a 21-16 win over Ithaca in blizzard-like conditions in the NCAA quarterfinals. The loss ended Ithaca's 14th trip to the NCAA playoffs and ended the Bombers season with a 10-3 record.

OFFENSIVE RECAP: Sophomore quarterback Josh Felicetti (Central Bucks East/Doylestown, Pa.) completed a career-high 23 of 44 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown. Ithaca's first touchdown came on a 26-yard pass from Felicetti to sophomore wide receiver Justin Esposito (Fayetteville-Manlius/Manlius) early in the third quarter. Esposito posted five catches for a team-best 74 yards. Senior running back Pete Celebre (Strath Haven/Wallingford, Pa.) scored Ithaca's second touchdown with 3:42 left in the game on a one-yard run. Celebre gained 25 yards on nine carries. Senior running back Caleb Greer-Carney (Concord/Cushing Academy [Mass.]/Concord, N.H.) ran for a team-high 41 yards on 11 carries. Freshman James Davis (Bridgewater/Bridgewater, N.J.) had a career-best 33 yards on nine carries and also made his first career reception for seven yards. Junior wide receiver Jeff Welch (Ithaca/Ithaca) had five catches for 43 yards. Sophomore wide receiver P.J. Canestrari (Randolph/Ironia, N.J.) had a career-high four receptions and junior fullback Jamie Free (The Gunnery School/Brookfield, Conn.) had three catches. Ithaca's offensive line - senior left tackle Tariq Ahmad (Holmdel/Holmdel, N.J.), sophomore left guard Joe Scalice (North Tonawanda/North Tonawanda), senior center Matt McMahon (Chenango Valley/Binghamton), senior right guard Alex Hill (Bridgton Academy/Gloucester, Mass.) and junior right tackle Chris Swiss (Haddam Killingworth/Higganum, Conn.) - allowed only one sack.

DEFENSIVE NOTES: Senior linebacker Brett Campbell (Oswego/Oswego) and sophomore linebacker Dustin Ross (Salamanca/Salamanca) led Ithaca with seven tackles each. Senior defensive end Cory Coady (Tupper Lake/Tupper Lake) had a career-high six tackles, including a pair for loss. Coady and junior defensive end Bryan Steele (Hudson Falls/Hudson Falls) combined for a sack. Steele also had four tackles and broke up a career-best two passes. Senior cornerback Seth Molisani (Canandaigua Academy/Canandaigua) had five tackles, broke up two passes and intercepted another to become Ithaca's all-time leader with five career interceptions in playoff games. Senior safety Jon Edgcomb (Honeoye-Falls-Lima/Honeoye Falls) broke up two passes and recorded four tackles. Senior middle linebacker Robert Truman (Allegany-Limestone/Allegany) added five tackles and a tackle for loss. Junior cornerback Matt Tosh (Abington Heights/Clarks Summit, Pa.) broke up a pair of passes for Ithaca. Junior defensive tackle Alex Shafiro (New Rochelle/New Rochelle) had a tackle for loss. Senior safety Peter Mayer (Hamilton/Hubbardsville) added five tackles.

SPECIAL TEAMS REPORT: Freshman Brett Kitenplon (Admiral Farragut Academy/Seminole, Fla.) kicked a 21-yard field goal in the second quarter to give the Bombers their first points of the game. Kittenplon converted the extra point after Ithaca's second touchdown. Sophomore Nick Aiello (Allegany-Limestone/Allegany) punted four times, averaging 33.0 yards per punt, including a 39-yard punt in the first quarter. Edgcomb recovered an Engineers fumble on an Aiello punt in the second quarter. Truman blocked and recovered his first career field goal in the third quarter. Welch returned two kickoffs for a career-high 63 yards, averaged 31.5 yards per return (his first return was 31 yards and second return was a season-high 32 yards). Junior Anthony Mucurio (Proctor/Utica) recorded two special teams' tackles.

ITHACA IN THE NCAA PLAYOFFS: The Bombers made their 14th NCAA playoff appearance; Saturday was their 37th NCAA playoff game. The Bombers are 27-10, winning national titles in 1979, 1988 and 1991. The 1974, 1975, 1980 and 1985 teams also played in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, with the 1986 and 1994 teams also reaching the NCAA semifinals. The only schools to play in more NCAA championships are Central [Iowa] (16) and Mount Union, St. John's and Washington & Jefferson (15 each); Augustana has also made 14 playoff trips. The Bombers have played in and won more NCAA playoff games than any school except Mount Union (39-7 in 46 games) and St. John's (28-13 in 41 games).

POLL POSITION: The Bombers were ranked 21st in D3football.com's final regular-season poll and 26th in the final American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) regular-season poll.

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: The Cortland game marked the final regular-season game for Ithaca's 20 seniors. The 30th consecutive class to participate in a playoff game, the group was also part of Ithaca's trip to the 2001 NCAA quarterfinals and has helped the Bombers to a 36-10 record.

POSTSEASON RECORD BOOK:Seth Molisani's interception at Rensselaer was his fifth in NCAA playoff competition, breaking the Ithaca postseason record of four interceptions shared by all-American Joe Palladino (1989-91) and Niall Rosenzweig (1985-86).
_____Molisani moved into ninth place on Ithaca's career playoff tackles list with 40 tackles in six games.
_____Josh Felicetti has passed for 568 yards in postseason games, good for third on Ithaca's career playoff list (47 yards behind Greg Sheeler).
_____The Ithaca offense had 44 passing attempts, breaking the Ithaca playoff record of 40 set in 2001 against Rowan. Felicetti also individually broke the passing attempts record with his 44 attempts on Saturday.
_____Welch has caught 15 career passes in six career playoff games to tie for fourth place with Connor Mulkeen (1998-2002) for career playoff receptions.

ITHACA NCAA PLAYOFFS NOTES: The Bombers faced two NCAA playoff teams during the regular season, beating Brockport 31-10 and losing at Springfield 51-22.
_____The Bombers have won 11 of their 13 NCAA playoff games on the road (winning at Dubuque, Wagner, Susquehanna, Plymouth State, Brockport and twice at Union, Montclair State and Rensselaer). Ithaca was the only road team to win a first-round game this fall; Ithaca and Rensselaer were two of the three visiting teams who won second-round games.
_____Ithaca's second-round game at Montclair State was the fourth NCAA playoff meeting between the Bombers and the Red Hawks; only one NCAA playoff match-up has happened more frequently (Lycoming has played Washington & Jefferson five times in the NCAA playoffs). Ithaca is the only team to post a 4-0 record against the same opponent in NCAA playoff competition.
_____Two other head coaches from the NCAA playoff field have ties to Ithaca: Muhlenberg's Mike Donnelly is a 1975 Ithaca graduate who spent four years as a Bomber assistant and Trinity's Steve Mohr was the offensive line coach on the Bomber staff from 1985 to 1989, helping Ithaca win the national championship in 1988.

ITHACA ITEMS: Ithaca's win over Utica secured the program's 33rd straight winning season. The Bombers own the nation's eighth-longest active streak of winning seasons (sixth-best among Division III schools).
_____Ithaca has played 14 games during the month of December, winning six and losing eight.
_____Ithaca now owns a 2-1 series lead over Rensselaer (the teams have split a pair of NCAA playoff meetings over the past three seasons).
_____Pete Celebre and Caleb Greer-Carney both reached 1,000 career rushing yards during this season, marking the fourth time that two Ithaca teammates have attained the milestone in the same season (Bob Ferrigno and John Nicolo in 1979, Shawn Huth and Mike Scott in 1987, Eric Amorese and Nick Dibble in 1998).
_____Ithaca's win over Montclair State was Ithaca's 10th of the season. Ithaca has won at least 10 games in a season 11 times (twice in the past three years), including 1988 when the Bombers set a school record with 13 wins.
_____The Bombers' six NCAA playoff wins since Mike Welch became head coach in 1994 are two less than the rest of Upstate New York have collected in the same span. In that time, the other 12 upstate schools are 8-16 in NCAA championship competition.

AZTEC BOWL ANNOUNCEMENT: Senior offensive tackle Tariq Ahmad has been selected to play in the 2003 Aztec Bowl, an all-star game featuring 42 Division III players facing a Mexican all-star team. The game will be played Dec. 13 in Cancun, Mexico. Ahmad is the fifth Bomber in the past seven years to be picked to play in the Aztec Bowl. Tight end Chuck Thornton was chosen to play in the inaugural game following the 1997 season, all-American tight end Jeff Erne played in the 1999 game, all-American free safety Ron Amato was picked to the 2000 roster and all-American linebacker Mark McDonough played in the 2001 game.

NATIONAL RANKING: In the final national statistics released by the NCAA (through games of Nov. 15), senior strong safety on Edgcomb ranks 12th in forced fumbles (0.40 per game); sophomore quarterback Josh Felicetti ranks 13th in passing efficiency (153.9); junior Matt Tosh ranks 14th in punt returns (averaging 14.3 yards per return); and sophomore punter Nick Aiello ranks 39th in punting (37.9 yards per punt).
_____As a team Ithaca ranks 18th in pass efficiency defense (86.1), 24th in scoring defense (14.8 ppg) and 33rd in total defense (276.7 ypg).

EMPIRE 8 UPDATE: The Bombers won the Empire 8 title with a 4-0 league record. Ithaca, who won the inaugural Empire 8 title last fall, also won conference titles in the Independent College Athletic Conference (forerunner to the Empire 8) in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987. Ithaca owns a 46-15 (.754) advantage against the conference's current members and have won 17 straight games against the other members of the Empire 8. Ithaca has not lost to an Empire 8 opponent since September 23, 1995 when host Alfred beat the Bombers 13-12.

UPSTATE UPDATE: Ithaca was ranked third in the final Upstate New York poll, as voted on by the region's sports information directors.

				Pvs.
1.	Hobart (7.5 first-place votes)	61.5 points	8-1	3
2.	Cortland (6.5)	59.5	8-2	T 1
3.	Brockport	45	8-2	4
4.	Rensselaer (6)	22	7-2	T 1
5.	Hartwick	18	7-2	5
	Also receiving votes: Ithaca, 4

MAKING THE GRADE: Senior defensive end Cory Coady was a first-team selection to the Academic All-America Team. An English major, Coady earned a spot on the national ballot after being selected to the District I All-Academic First Team (which honors student-athletes with a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.20 from NCAA Division II and III and NAIA Division II schools in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont). He was one of a school-record three Bombers to receive first-team all-district accolades (along with junior guard Mark Hedglin (Abington Heights/Clarks Summit, Pa.) and sophomore linebacker Dustin Ross. Coady is the 12th Bomber to be named an academic all-American and the first since quarterback Mike O'Donovan was a second-team pick in 1998. Ithaca's last first-team academic all-American was guard Pete Burns in 1989.

RECORD WATCH: Senior running back Pete Celebre finishes his career with 1,733 yards (statistics from playoff games do not count toward single-season or career statistics), good for eighth on Ithaca's career list. With 20 rushing touchdowns, Celebre is sixth on Ithaca's all-time list.
_____Senior running back Caleb Greer-Carney finished his career with 1,135 rushing yards, good for 21st on Ithaca's all-time list.
_____Senior linebacker Robert Truman, the 20th Bomber to reach 200 all-time tackles, finishes his career with 244, good for 10th on Ithaca's career list. Truman also finished with a career total to 16 sacks, placing him fifth on the program's career list (sack totals are not available before 1983).
_____Junior defensive end Bryan Steele is tied for 13th on Ithaca's career sack list (12 sacks) and junior defensive tackle Alex Shafiro is tied for 16th on the same list with 10.
_____Sophomore quarterback Josh Felicetti raised his career total to 3,298 passing yards this fall. The fifth Bomber to reach the 3,000-yard mark, he'll enter his junior season trailing all-American Todd Wilkowski (3,339 yards from 1988 to 1991) by 42 yards for fourth place. Felicetti also ranks second in career completion percentage (.581), fourth in career completions (240) and fifth in career touchdown passes (27). With 2,031 yards this fall, he ranks fifth on Ithaca's single-season list. Felicetti's pass efficiency rating of 153.88 is the highest ever for a Bomber (more than 14 points ahead of Brian Young's former school-record 139.56 in 1999); his .592 completion percentage is second and his 19 touchdown passes are tied for third.
_____Junior wide receiver Jeff Welch has caught 55 passes in his career, good for 15th on Ithaca's career list; with 11 career touchdown catches, he is tied for eighth. Welch's 1,010 career receiving yards make him the 13th Bomber with 1,000. Welch will enter his senior season needing 20 receptions to move into the program's top 10.
_____Sophomore wide receiver Justin Esposito has caught 47 career passes, 22nd on Ithaca's all-time list. Esposito and Welch both caught 41 passes this fall; they are tied for ninth on Ithaca's single-season list.
_____Junior fullback Jamie Free has raised his career total to 36 catches. He ranks 29th on Ithaca's all-time list and his total is fifth among Ithaca backs (and first among fullbacks).
_____Junior tight end Vince Dargush (Amsterdam/Amsterdam) caught three touchdowns this fall, tying the fifth-best single-season total for an Ithaca tight end. His 18 catches this season rank seventh on the single-season list and that total is tied for eighth on Ithaca's career list.
_____Senior strong safety Jon Edgcomb forced four fumbles this year, the highest total by a Bomber since linebacker Eric Squires set a school record with six forced fumbles in 1994.
_____Senior cornerback Seth Molisani, senior free safety Peter Mayer and junior cornerback Matt Tosh have each intercepted seven career passes; they are tied for 16th on Ithaca's career list; Tosh will enter his senior season needing two interceptions each to move into the top 10.
_____Freshman placekicker Brett Kitenplon has scored 50 points, tied for 11th among Ithaca placekickers. He will enter his sophomore season two points away from a spot in the program's career top 10.
_____Sophomore Nick Aiello's totals of 47 punts and 1,779 punting yards this fall rank eighth and fifth, respectively, on Ithaca's single-season lists.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Please contact Ithaca sports information director Mike Warwick in the sports information office at (607/274-1401) or mwarwick@ithaca.edu

2003 RESULTS (10-3, 4-0 Empire 8)

		W-L	IC-OPP
9/13	Alfred (5-5) *	W	30-0
9/20	at Hartwick (2-7) *	W	19-18
9/27	ST. JOHN FISHER (8-3) *	W	20-19
10/4	at 21-Springfield (10-1)	L	22-51
10/11	at St. Lawrence (2-8)	W	55-13
10/18	9-BROCKPORT (9-2)	W	31-10
10/25	UTICA (1-9) *	W	49-0
11/1	HOBART (6-4)	W	14-7
11/8	at Buffalo State (2-8)	W	40-14
11/15	CORTLAND (5-5)	L	15-16
11/22	at 13-Brockport (9-2) &	W	14-9
11/29	at 14-Montclair State (9-2) &	W	33-13
12/6	at Rensselaer (11-1) &	L	21-16
*Empire 8 game	Team's national ranking (at time of game indicated).	&NCAA Playoff Game	Tam's 2003 record in parentheses