LAST WEEK: Senior wide receiver Jeff Welch (Ithaca/Ithaca)ught a pair of touchdown passes to earn game Most Valuable Player honors and sophomore running back Jamie Donovan (Sidwell Friends/Washington, D.C.) ran for three touchdowns and 165 yards as the 18th-ranked Bombers closed out the season with a 36-19 win over Massachusetts-Dartmouth in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Northwest championship.

OFFENSIVE RECAP: Welch caught touchdown passes of five and 17 yards and finished with seven catches for 89 yards. His two touchdown catches tied a Bomber postseason record and he finishes his career with 22 postseason catches in seven games, good for second on the program's all-time playoff list. Donovan capped Ithaca's first two drives with touchdown runs of 11 and 10 yards and added a five-yard scoring run on the first play of the fourth quarter. His 165 yards were the most by a Bomber in a postseason game since Paul Parker ran for 208 in Ithaca's 1988 Stagg Bowl win over Central and his 29 carries were one short of the school's single-game postseason record. Junior quarterback Josh Felicetti (Central Bucks East/Doylestown, Pa.) threw for 261 yards - seven short of Ithaca's postseason record - and two scores, completing 20 of 31 passes. Ithaca's leading receiver was senior fullback Jamie Free (The Gunnery/Brookfield, Conn.), who posted career-high totals of seven catches for 98 yards. Junior side receiver Justin Esposito (Fayetteville-Manlius/Manlius) caught four passes for 50 yards. Ithaca's offensive line -sophomore left tackle Brett Monnat (Ogdensburg/Ogdensburg), junior left guard Joe Scalice (North Tonawanda/North Tonawanda), senior center Mike D'Amico (Geneva/Geneva), right guard Mark Hedglin (Abington Heights/Clarks Summit, Pa.) and senior right tackle Chris Swiss (Haddam Killingworth/Higganum, Conn.) - did not allow a sack.

DEFENSIVE NOTES: Junior linebacker Chris Medici (Sanford H. Calhoun/Huntington) led the Bombers with career-high totals of 12 tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles. He recovered one of the fumbles himself to set up a Bomber touchdown. Junior middle linebacker Jose Colon (Thomas R. Proctor/Utica) had 10 tackles. Senior defensive end Bryan Steele (Hudson Falls/Hudson Falls) and freshman free safety Ryan Terlecki (Pennsbury/Fairless Hills, Pa.) added nine tackles each. Terlecki's total was a career-high. Steele was in on two sacks among his career-best four tackles for loss. Senior defensive tackle Jeff Kasarjian (Cazenovia/Cazenovia) - who sang the national anthem before the game - recovered a Corsair fumble to set up Donovan's second touchdown. Senior cornerback Matt Tosh (Abington Heights/Clarks Summit, Pa.) and sophomore cornerback Joe Napoleone (Greece-Arcadia/Rochester) each intercepted a pass. Sophomore strong safety Charlie Stephens (Staples/Westport, Conn.) forced a fumble.

SPECIAL TEAMS REPORT: Sophomore Brett Kitenplon (Admiral Farragut Academy/Seminole, Fla.) kicked a 25-yard field goal and kicked three extra points in five attempts. Junior punter Nick Aiello (Allegany-Limestone/Allegany) punted three times; none of his kicks were returned. Junior Dustin Ross (Salamanca/Salamanca) and sophomore Tim Stezzi (Council Rock/Langhorne, Pa.) each recorded two special teams' tackles. Stephens knocked down a two-point conversion pass attempt. Welch averaged 31.0 yards per return on a pair of kickoff returns.

ITHACA IN THE ECAC POSTSEASON: The Bombers were making their sixth appearance in an ECAC postseason game and have won four of the games. Two other games have been at home: Ithaca hosted Plymouth State in 1987 (losing 13-12) and beat Hartwick 40-6 in 1998. The team's other two ECAC postseason appearances came in 1984 (winning 35-14 at Norwich), 1996 (winning 27-20 over Worcester State in a game played at Worcester Polytechnic Institute) and 1999 (losing 31-7 at Union).

NATIONAL RANKING: In the final regular-season national statistics released by the NCAA (through games of Nov. 13), sophomore Kelly Gordon (Ausable Valley/Ausable Forks) ranks ninth in kickoff return average (29.1), sophomore placekicker Brett Kitenplon ranks 22nd in field goals per game (0.9) and junior quarterback Josh Felicetti ranks 27th in total offense (244.0 ypg).
      As a team Ithaca ranks 12th in turnover margin (+1.4), 12th in total defense (240.8 ypg), 13th in scoring defense (13.1 ppg), 14th in rushing defense (86.8 ypg), 20th in scoring offense (38.4 ppg) and 24th in total offense (438.0).

POLL POSITION: The Bombers are ranked 18th in D3football.com's final regular-season poll and ninth in Football Gazette's final regular-season poll
      Ithaca was seventh in Sports Illustrated's preseason poll, 10th in Football Gazette's preseason poll and 13th in D3football.com's preseason poll.

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: Saturday was the final game for Ithaca's 23 seniors. The 31st consecutive class to participate in a playoff game, the group helped the Bombers to a 37-10 record, including trips to the NCAA quarterfinals in 2001 and 2003.

MAKING THE GRADE: Two Bombers have been named to the GTE District I College Division All-Academic Team: senior guard Mark Hedglin and junior linebacker Dustin Ross. The District I All-Academic Team 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. First-team selections to the nation's eight all-district teams are eligible for academic all-America honors. Hedglin and Ross were both named to the academic all-district team last year as well; where they were joined by Cory Coady who went on to earn first-team academic all-America honors. Only one school had more players named to the first team than Ithaca's two first-team selections. Hedglin, Ross and the other 22 first-team members advance to the national ballot. The Academic All-America Team will be announced on Dec. 1.

EMPIRE 8 UPDATE: This season marked the third year of Empire 8-sponsored football, but the first time that the league champion earned an automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs. The addition of Norwich and Springfield as affiliate members brings the league's total to seven football playing members.
      The Bombers tied St. John Fisher for the Empire 8 title; the league championship was Ithaca's third straight.
      Ithaca and Springfield tied for first in the inaugural Empire 8 preseason coach's poll. Ithaca received three first-place votes, the most of any school.
      The Bombers won the inaugural Empire 8 title and repeated as conference champion last year, posting a 4-0 league record each season. The Bombers 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 70-24-2 (.740) advantage against the conference's current members.
      The Bombers own an Empire 8 record of 13-1 in the three years that the league has sponsored football. Ithaca's double-overtime loss at St. John Fisher was the team's first Empire 8 loss ever and snapped a nine-game Empire 8 winning streak and a 20-game winning streak in league games that dated back to a 1983 loss at Hobart (when the two teams were members of the Empire 8's forerunner, the Independent College Athletic Conference).
      Five of the conference's seven teams received postseason invitations: St. John Fisher plays at Delaware Valley Saturday in an NCAA regional semifinal game, Springfield beat Fitchburg State in the ECAC North Atlantic championship and Alfred and Norwich met in the ECAC Northeast Championship.

ITHACA ITEMS: Ithaca's win over Springfield clinched the program's 34th straight winning season --- the nation's eighth-longest active streak of winning seasons (sixth-best among Division III schools).
      In the past 14 years, the Bombers are 36-18 (.667) in November (27-15 in the regular-season), including 24-12 under Mike Welch.      Saturday's game was Ithaca's first against Massachusetts-Dartmouth and the 20th time that Ithaca has faced a first-time opponent in the postseason; the Bombers have posted a record of 12-8 in those games, 2-1 in ECAC postseason competition. The last time the Bombers faced an opponent for the first time in the postseason was 1996, when Ithaca beat previously undefeated Worcester State in the ECAC playoffs. The last 19 times the Bombers have faced a new opponent they are 16-3.
      Jamie Donovan's 165 rushing yards marked his fifth 100-yard effort of the season (the most since all-American Jeff Wittman had eight in 1992).
      The Bombers have had 227 100-yard rushing efforts in the past 44 seasons. Ithaca owns a record of 94-7 since 1984 in games that feature a 100-yard rushing performance.
       Josh Felicetti's 200-yard passing game was the 14th of his career, extending his school record.
      Four Bombers - freshman Tayer Ashkar (West Genesee/Camillus), Josh Felicetti, junior Jeff O'Hara (Wyomissing/Wyomissing, Pa.) and Jeff Welch -- threw touchdown passes this season; the only other time four Bombers threw a touchdown pass in the same season was 1984 (Jeff Flanders, Steve Kass, Jay Ludwig and Mike Middaugh).
      Three Bombers - sophomore cornerback Joe Napoleone, junior linebacker Dustin Ross and sophomore safety Charlie Stephens -scored on interception returns this fall, marking the first time since 2000 (Ron Amato, Tommy Kenney and Mark McDonough) that Ithaca has returned three interceptions for touchdowns. The school record of four was set in 1973 (two by Gary Giroux and one by Chuck Kroll and current Bomber assistant coach Gary Bucci).
      Ithaca's three interception return touchdowns, combined with a fumble recovery touchdown by linebacker Chris Medici give the Bombers four defensive touchdowns this fall, matching the school record set by the 1973 team.
      Saturday's game marked the 21st time - and second week in a row - since 1972 that the Bombers face a team coming off a bye; Ithaca is 17-4 in those games, with a streak of 12 wins in 14 tries wins the past two weeks.
      The Bombers have only played two games against members of the New England Football Conference, beating Fitchburg State 84-0 in 1984 and defeating previously unbeaten Worcester State 27-20 in an ECAC postseason game in 1996.
      Only six of Ithaca's last 52 opponents have scored more than 21 points.
      Saturday's win gives the Bombers nine victories for the 15th time, including five times in Mike Welch's 11 years as head coach.

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.	St. John Fisher (10 first-place votes)	65	9-1	1
2.	Hobart (four first-place vote)	57	8-1	2
3.	ITHACA	46	8-2	3
4.	Brockport	25	6-4	4
5.	Union	14	6-3	NR
	Also receiving votes: Alfred, 3.

RECORD WATCH: Senior defensive tackle Alex Shafiro (New Rochelle/New Rochelle) raised his career total to 17 sacks, finishing his career in a fourth-place tie with all-American defensive tackle Bob Mason (1985-87) on the program's all-time list (statistics from playoff games do not count toward single-season or career statistics). Senior defensive end Bryan Steele is tied for eighth on the same list with 14 career sacks and junior middle linebacker Jose Colon is tied for 17th, with 10 career sacks (sack totals are not available before 1983).
       Junior quarterback Josh Felicetti broke a pair of Ithaca career records, raising his totals to 5,380 passing yards and 418 completions. His totals are one more than the previous record in each category (Mike O'Donovan's 5,379 yards from 1995 to 1998 and Brian Young's 417 completions from 1998 to 2001). Felicetti owns Ithaca's highest career completion percentage (.596) and ranks third in career touchdown passes (46). His career pass efficiency rating of 139.3 is the highest of any Bomber with at least 10 pass attempts per game.
       Felicetti's season total of 2,172 passing yards is the fourth-highest single-season figure by an Ithaca quarterback. His .618 completion percentage is second on the program's single-season list and his pass efficiency rating of 139.3 is the third-highest mark by a Bomber.
       Sophomore running back Jamie Donovan finished his first season with 1,059 rushing yards, good for fifth on the program's single-season list. He is the sixth Bomber to run for 1,000 yards in a season and the fastest Ithaca player to reach that career total. The 27th Bomber to reach 1,000 career yards, he ranks 25th on the program's all-time rushing list. His 12 rushing touchdowns this year are Ithaca's fifth-best single-season mark.
       Senior wide receiver Jeff Welch, the fourth Bomber to catch 100 career passes, finished his career fourth in all-time receptions with 103. With 15 career touchdown catches, Welch finished tied for third on the school's career list (with all-American Bill Bryant, who is now the athletic director at Welch's scholastic alma mater, Ithaca High School) and he ranks fifth with 1,566 career receiving yards. With 43 catches this fall, he ranks ninth on Ithaca's single-season list.
       Junior wide receiver Justin Esposito raised his career total to 83 career receptions, moving into a tie for 10th on Ithaca's all-time list. He will enter his senior season 11 catches away from sixth place and 17 away from becoming the fifth Bomber to catch 100 career passes. Esposito also became the 14th Bomber to gain 1,000 career receiving yards; his current total is 1,125 yards.
       Senior fullback Jamie Free finishes his career with 75 catches, good for 15th on Ithaca's all-time list. His total is one short of the record for Ithaca backs (and first among fullbacks). Free caught 37 passes this fall, a school record for running backs and fullbacks. He also raised his career total to 102 points, becoming the 23rd Bomber to score 100 career points.
       Senior tight end Vince Dargush (Amsterdam/Amsterdam) finished his career with 59 catches, matching the second-highest career total by a Bomber tight end (he is tied for 18th overall on Ithaca's career receptions list). His 10 career touchdown catches are third among Ithaca tight ends. Dargush's 41 catches this fall set a school record for tight ends (breaking the record of 40 set by all-American Jeff Erne in 1999).
       Sophomore placekicker Brett Kitenplon raised his career total to 120 points, good for third among Bomber kickers and tied for 12th overall. Kitenplon's two field goals give him 16 in his career; that total is second all-time trailing only Matt Sullivan (29 from 1988 to 1991). Kitenplon is fourth in career extra points (72).
       Junior punter Nick Aiello has raised his career total to 2,961punting yards, good for eighth on Ithaca's career list. His career average of 37.0 yards per punt is Ithaca's third-highest figure.
       Junior linebacker Dustin Ross raised his career total to 216 tackles, good for 19th on the program's all-time list. He is the first Ithaca player to record his 200th career tackle as a junior since all-American linebacker Gerry Gerbis in 1983.
       Senior cornerback Matt Tosh finished tied for 10th on Ithaca's list for career interceptions after raising his career total to nine.
       Sophomore cornerback oe Napoleone intercepted five passes this year, matching the 11th-highest single-season total by a Bomber and the most by an Ithaca player since cornerback Anthony Melville's five interceptions in 2001.

2004 RESULTS (9-2, 5-1 Empire 8)

		W-L	IC-OPP
9/11	BUFFALO STATE (4-6)	W	45-0
9/18	at Hartwick (1-8) *	W	47-8
9/25	at St. John Fisher (10-1) *	L	38-45 (2OT)
10/2	LYCOMING (3-7)	W	49-7
10/9	at Norwich * (7-4)	W	31-7
10/16	BROCKPORT (6-4)	L	20-21
10/23	UTICA (3-7) *	W	52-14
10/30	20-SPRINGFIELD (8-2) *	W	31-7
11/6	at Alfred (8-3) *	W	24-0
11/13	at Cortland (5-4)	W	47-22
11/20	MASS-DARTMOUTH (7-4)	W	36-19
*Empire 8 game	Team's national ranking (at time of game indicated).	^ECAC Northwest Championship game	Team's 2004 record in parentheses

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Please contact Ithaca sports information director Mike Warwick in the sports information office at (607/274-1401) or mwarwick@ithaca.edu, or at home (607/257-9720).