ITHACA, N.Y. -- The 20th-ranked Ithaca Bombers (7-1, 4-1 Empire 8) held the nation’s leading rushing offense 170 yards below its season average in a 24-7 win over the #14 Springfield Pride (7-1, 3-1 Empire 8). With the win, Ithaca moves into a four-way tie for first place in the Empire 8; the Bombers, Alfred, Springfield and St. John Fisher each have one league loss.
Senior tailback
Jamie Donovan (Sidwell Friends/Washington, D.C.) ran for a game-high 120 yards and two touchdowns to lead Ithaca.
Donovan capped Ithaca’s first drive with a one-yard run and closed out the scoring with a 17-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
The Bombers took the lead before even running a play; Springfield’s first possession lost three yards on three plays and the Pride’s punt was blocked by Ithaca junior
Ray Lake (Corinth/Corinth); junior
Brian Seamus Hogan (La Salle/Jamison, Pa.) recovered the block and returned it eight yards for a touchdown.
The Bomber defense was led by sophomore cornerback
Matt Samela (Staples/Westport, Conn.), who recorded a career-best 12 tackles. Senior defensive end
Quentin Kiah (Elmira Free Academy/Elmira) added a career-best 11 tackles, including two tackles for loss. His second-quarter sack of
Sharpe was just the second given up by the Pride this year. Junior linebacker
Mike Nowak (Ballston Spa/Ballston Spa) also collected 11 tackles with two tackles for loss.
Springfield rushed for 241 yards on 69 carries (the Pride had averaged a Division III-best 388.1 yards per game); the team’s only three second-half possessions ate up 20:34, gaining 152 yards on 46 plays but produced no points. The first drive (17 plays, 45 yards, 8:14) ended when Ithaca junior
Ryan Terlecki (Pennsbury/Fairless Hills, Pa.) blocked a 35-yard field goal attempt. The second ended with an incomplete pass on fourth and 13 from the Bomber 29-yard line and the final drive ended on a
Manning fumble forced by
Samela and recovered by
Terlecki at the Ithaca seven.
Ithac'as defense held the nation’s leading scorer (21.4 ppg) and leading rusher (228.0 ypg) to 74 yards on 24 carries – 154 yards below his average.
Senior
Brett Kitenplon (Admiral Farragut/Seminole, Fla.) kicked a 21-yard field goal and added three extra points for the Bombers.
Sharpe was Springfield’s leading rusher despite his season-low yardage total. Freshman fullback Bret Manning (Acton-Boxborough/Acton, Mass.) added 62 yards on 15 carries. The Pride completed just one pass, misfiring on their last eight attempts.
Ithaca’s defensive stalwarts also included senior linebacker
Tom Blumenauer (Brentwood/Brentwood), senior free safety
Charlie Stephens (Staples/Westport, Conn.) and junior nose tackle
Phil Byers (Gates-Chili/Rochester); all three recorded 10 tackles (
Byers’ total was a career high). Sophomore linebacker
Matt Scalice (North Tonawanda/North Tonawanda) and sophomore cornerback
Jason Chier (Chenango Forks/Binghamton) both collected three tackles for loss.
The Bombers play at Alfred (6-2, 3-1 Empire 8) next week; a Bomber win would clinch at least a tie for their fifth straight Empire 8 title.
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Box Score
