ITHACA, N.Y. -- The football team (6-3, 3-2 Empire 8) extended the nation's second-longest streak to 39 straight winning seasons by stunning the #14/25 Alfred Saxons (7-1, 3-1 Empire 8) with a 31-10 win Saturday. Ithaca hosts Cortland next week at noon in the annual Cortaca Jug game; the game is sold out.
The Bombers kept Alfred – ranked 11th nationally in scoring offense – out of the end zone until the sixth play of the fourth quarter and senior quarterback #Brian Grastorf# (Niskayuna/Rexford) tied a career high with four touchdown passes. Junior wideout Thomas Vossler (Saranac Lake/Loon Lake) caught a pair of scoring passes.
Grastorf's 34-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver #Matthew Hannon# (Minsink Valley/Middletown) capped a 13-play, 80-yard drive early in the second quarter that followed a scoreless first quarter. A 23-yard field goal by #Andrew Rogowski# (Canisius/East Amherst), who kicked extra points after all four Bomber touchdowns, followed on Ithaca's next drive. Alfred got on the board midway on a 22-yard field goal with 2:19 left in the half but Grastorf drove the Bombers 66 yards in just 1:28 with Vossler catching his first TD (a 20-yard reception) to cap the drive.
A nine-yard touchdown pass was negated by an illegal forward pass penalty (the quarterback had crossed the line of scrimmage before throwing the ball) on the Saxons' opening drive of the second half and one play later their 26-yard field-goal attempt bounced off the left upright.
The teams traded touchdown passes late in the third quarter with Grastorf throwing a 14-yard touchdown to freshman wide receiver #Joseph Ingrao# (St. Anthony's/Nesconset) – who scored his first career touchdown.
Vossler closed out the scoring with a nine-yard touchdown catch with nine minutes to go. He finished with six catches for 88 yards. Junior wide receiver Dan Ruffrage (Notre Dame/Whitesboro) caught five passes for a team-best 87 yards. Grastorf threw for 254 yards and eclipsed the 3,000-yard career total in his 10th start. His 31 TD passes rank fifth all-time at Ithaca.
Junior #Dan Ruggiero# (Pen Argyl/Pen Argyl, Pa.) ran for a season-high 116 yards for the Bombers.
Sophomore linebacker #Ryan Clarke# (Archbishop Spaulding/West Friendship, Md.) led Ithaca with a career-best 16 tackles, including four for loss. He broke up two passes, including one inside the five-yard line. Sophomore linebacker Joe Gilfedder (Governor Livingston/Berkeley Heights, N.J.) added nine tackles, including a pair for loss. Freshman defensive end #Owen Kugler# (Highland Park/Highland Park, Ill.) and senior defensive end #Adam Drescher# (Christian Brothers Academy/Fayetteville) were both in on two tackles for loss. Junior strong safety David Ahonen (Victor/Farmington) made six tackles and picked off a pass on his own one-yard line.
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