Box Score

CORTLAND, N.Y. -- The 54th annual Cortaca Jug game once again came down to the closing minute of play and Cortland made a goal-line stand to stop the Bombers at the one yard line in a 16-10 Cortland victory over the Ithaca football team Saturday at the Cortland Stadium Complex in front of 7,635 fans. Ithaca wrapped up its regular season with a 6-4 record and 18th-ranked Cortland improved to 8-1.

Ithaca trailed 16-10 after a 31-yard field goal by Mike DeBole and started with possession at its own 25 after a touchback on the kickoff and went three and out. A 57-yard punt by A.J. Vallone to the Cortland 16 set the Red Dragons up with 3:31 to play. Cortland was then forced three and out including a tackle in the backfield by linebacker Chris Williams.

Sam Carney took the Cortland punt, broke two tackles and raced down the left sideline 38 yards to the Cortland 20 where Ithaca started its drive with 2:16 remaining. Senior running back Clay Ardoin ran up the middle for 12 yards on first down to the Cortland eight where the Bombers had first-and-goal.

Two plays later, senior wide receiver Joseph Ingrao caught a pass from quarterback Phil Neumann to the three, and on third down Ardoin ran up the middle inside of the one yard line. The fourth-and-goal play was a run to the left side and Ardoin was stopped in the backfield with 31 seconds remaining.

Ithaca led 10-0 in the first half before the nationally-ranked Red Dragons scored 16 unanswered points, including 10 in the fourth quarter. The Bombers got on the board with a 34-yard field goal by Garrett Nicholson in the first quarter, and early in the second quarter Ardoin broke through the line of scrimmage and raced 50 yards for a touchdown to put the Bombers ahead by 10.

The Bomber defense held Cortland to a pair of DeBole field goals (30 and 35 yards) in the first half and Ithaca held a 10-6 lead at the half. Ithaca recorded five sacks in the game and totaled eight tackles for loss against a Red Dragon team that had only allowed six sacks through its first eight games. Senior defensive end Skyler Schlenker had two sacks, and totaled seven tackles in the contest. Josh Duggan was in on two sacks, and had a team-leading 14 tackles in the game. Chris Williams has one sack and 11 tackles.

Cortland went ahead on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Chris Rose to Mike Humphrey with 14:22 left in the fourth quarter before DeBole's third field-goal of the game set up the exciting finish.

Ardoin finished the game with 27 carries for 158 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Phil Neumann was 18-for-27 for 129 yards. Ingrao led Ithaca receivers with eight receptions and 63 yards. A lost fumble in the first half by the Bombers was the game's only turnover.

Ingrao finished his career with 136 receptions, which ranks third all-time at Ithaca and 1,863 yards which is second most in Bomber history. His 71 catches this year is the second-most in a single season by a Bomber receiver, and his 942 yards is the third-best single-season yardage total.

The Bombers have declared for ECAC postseason qualification and will find out about a bid on Sunday night or Monday. Three of Ithaca's four losses were by seven points or fewer and all four came against teams that were nationally-ranked at some point during the year.