Box Score Frostburg, Md. -- The Ithaca College football team (3-0, 1-0 Empire 8) opened Empire 8 play with a 40-21 rout of host Frostburg State (2-2, 0-1 Empire 8) Saturday. The Bombers' 40 points were their highest total in 30 games.

The Bombers blew open a close first-half game with a 56-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Phil Neumann to senior wide receiver Joseph Ingrao with one second left in the first half, then scored 30 points in the second half on their way to the win.

Neumann and Ingrao both enjoyed career-best performances in Ithaca's passing attack. Neumann threw for 249 yards (three more than his previous personal best, which came in last year's win over Frostburg State). Ingrao posted career-high totals of 11 catches for 161 yards; his receiving yards were the program's 13th-highest single-game total and the most since Kyle Crandall gained 162 yards in a 2008 win over Springfield. Ingrao raised his career total to 90 catches, good for 13th on the program's all-time list. He's five catches away from a spot in the top 10.

Senior Clay Ardoin ran for a game-high 118 yards and rushed for a pair of touchdowns. His 49-yard score midway through the third quarter put Ithaca up 20-7 and his 22-yard touchdown with 6:49 left in the game closed out the Bomber scoring.

Neumann threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to junior tight end Jared Prugar, senior Jarrett Naiden ran for a four-yard touchdown and sophomore Garrett Nicholson kicked his second field goal and added three of his four extra points to round out Ithaca's second-half offensive outburst.

Ingrao's touchdown catch capped a quick scoring drive following a Frostburg State touchdown that gave the Bobcats their only lead of the game. After the hosts took a 7-3 lead with only 47 seconds left before intermission, Neumann completed three passes to the senior wideout, with completions of five and 18 yards preceding the long touchdown throw.

Ithaca took the second-half kickoff 70 yards in 13 plays with Nicholson kicking his second field goal of the game to cap the drive. He opened the game's scoring with a 29-yard field goal following a 20-play, 76-yard drive late in the second quarter.

The Bombers scored on their first three possessions of the fourth quarter. Naiden's touchdown came one play after senior linebacker Zach Matuszak intercepted a Bobcat pass and returned it to the Frostburg State four-yard line.

Senior linebacker Will Carter led the Bomber defense with 13 tackles (one short of his career high), including seven solo stops. His career total of 156 leaves him 44 away from becoming the 29th Bomber to reach 200.

Junior strong safety Tom Scanlon was in on a career-best eight tackles and junior linebacker Josh Duggan's personal-high four tackles included the first sack of his career. Senior tackle Ben Smith also recorded his first sack for the Bombers, whose three sacks in the game raised their three-game season total to 13.

Neumann completed 17 of 27 passes, raising his career total to 127 completions. That total matches the program's 10th-highest figure.

Ithaca continues Empire 8 play next Saturday, hosting the Utica Pioneers in a 1 p.m. game at Butterfield Stadium.

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