ITHACA, N.Y. -- The football team (2-0) jumped out to a 28-7 lead and withstood a late rally by the visiting Union Dutchmen (0-1) to post a 28-20 win Saturday. The Dutchmen scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns in a 4:24 span and had two more possessions after closing to within eight points, but Ithaca didn't allow a first down on either drive.

Senior quarterback Rob Zappia (Greece Athena/Rochester) ran for a touchdown and threw for a career-high 242 yards and senior wideout Thomas Vossler (Saranac Lake/Loon Lake) caught a pair of scores. The Bomber defense forced 10 punts and held Union to two-of-13 efficiency on third down and 14 first downs.

Zappia capped a 10-play, 79-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run – the first of his career – early in the second quarter and threw his first career touchdown pass, covering 13 yards to Vossler, two possessions later. Vossler finished with eight catches for 104 yards; he raised his total to 100 career receptions (he's the seventh Bomber to reach that total) with the milestone catch coming on his second touchdown – a 41-yard reception from senior wide receiver Dan Ruffrage (Utica Notre Dame/Whitesboro) on the opening drive of the second half.

After Ithaca scored its final touchdown on a one-yard run by sophomore Clay Ardoin (Dolgeville/Dolgeville) midway through the third quarter, the Dutchmen rallied, scoring a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns.

The Dutchmen followed their scores by forcing a Bomber punt, but Ithaca ran 6:24 off the clock while running 10 plays. Led by senior end Matt Dibble (Columbia/East Schodack) and junior linebacker Eric Toporoff (Montvale Township/Towaco, N.J.), the Bomber defense forced their seventh three-and-out of the game; the two combined to tackle Union's tailback for no gain on first down, Dibble hit the Dutchmen quarterback to force an incompletion on second down and Toporoff broke through the line to knock down a third-down pass. Union's defense held again but the Dutchmen called their last timeout during Ithaca's final drive and they took over on their own 20 with 73 seconds left. After a botched snap led to a sack by Dibble and sophomore linebacker Will Carter (Westlake/Thornwood), junior cornerback Spence White (Sleepy Hollow/Yonkers) sealed Ithaca's in with a sideline interception and a return to the Union six.

The win snapped a three-game Bomber losing streak to Union and puts Ithaca up 4-3 in the all-time series. The meeting was just the second in Ithaca, where the Dutchmen have never won.

Toporoff led Ithaca's defense with nine tackles (two for loss) and a pair of pass break-ups. Carter, senior defensive end Sean Gil (Sachem North/Holbrook) and junior linebacker Joe Gilfedder (Governor Livingston/Berkeley Heights, N.J.) added seven apiece, with Gilfedder collecting three tackles for loss and Gil recording two.

The Bombers travel to Widener next Saturday.

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