Box Score
Ithaca, N.Y. -- Senior wide receiver Jeff Welch (Ithaca/Ithaca) caught 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. The Bombers finish the season 9-2 and the visiting Corsairs close with a 7-4 record.
Welch caught touchdown passes of five and 17 yards, finishing with seven receptions 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 record.
Donovan capped Ithaca’s first two drives with touchdowns, scoring on an 11-yard run and a 10-yard run. He added a five-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter. His 165 rushing yards were the most by a Bomber in a postseason game since all-American Paul Parker ran for 208 in Ithaca’s 1988 Stagg Bowl win over Central.
The Corsairs, who were playing in a postseason game for the third straight season, trailed 22-0 after 21 minutes but closed the gap to 22-12 late in the third quarter. The Corsairs could not convert an extra
point after either touchdown; a two-point conversion following the second score was negated by an offensive pass interference penalty and Ithaca thwarted their subsequent attempt when sophomore safety Charlie Stephens (Staples/Westport, Conn.) knocked down the pass in the end zone.
Donovan and Welch capped Ithaca’s next two drives with touchdowns as the Bombers opened a 36-12 lead.
Junior quarterback Josh Felicetti (Central Bucks East/Doylestown, Pa.) threw for 261 yards for the Bombers, including a pair of touchdown passes. His yardage total was seven short of the school’s single-game postseason record. Ithaca’s leading receiver was senior fullback Jamie Free (The Gunnery/Brookfield, Conn.), who posted career-best totals of seven catches for 98 yards.
Ithaca’s defense was led by junior linebacker Chris Medici (Sanford H. Calhoun/Merrick), who recorded career-high totals of 12 tackles and two sacks. He forced two fumbles and recovered one himself, setting up a 25-yard field goal by sophomore Brett Kitenplon (Admiral Farragut Academy/Seminole, Fla.). Junior middle linebacker Jose Colon (Thomas R. Proctor/Utica) added 10 tackles. Senior defensive end Bryan Steele (Hudson Falls/Hudson Falls) and freshman safety Ryan Terlecki (Pennsbury/Fairless Hills, Pa.) each recorded nine tackles. Terlecki’s total was a career high. Steele, who was in on two of Ithaca’s three sacks, notched a career-high four tackles for loss.
