During the 2014 season, the Ithaca College football team won the Empire 8 championship for the second straight year and advanced into the NCAA Division III tournament for the 19th time in school history.

Despite losing a combined 14 starters on offense and defense, the Bombers are a confident group heading into Saturday's non-conference season opener at Union College.

The game between the Bombers and the Dutchmen can be seen live on Time Warner Cable Sports channel 323. Due to the television broadcast, kickoff is scheduled for 1:07 p.m. Fans can stream the game here and can watch live stats here.

Ithaca, which returns three starters on offense and six on defense, returns plenty of talent in head coach Mike Welch's 22nd season.

Four student-athletes were honored with selections on the American Football Network's Annual USA College Football D-III Pre-Season All-American watch list.

Senior Malik Morris was named to the first-team as a defensive back, while classmate Josh Oliver earned second-team honors as a wide receiver/kick return specialist.

Additionally, senior kicker Max Rottenecker and junior defensive end Rob Barbieri garnered honorable mention honors.

Ithaca leads the all-time series vs. Union 8-4, including a thrilling 21-16 win at Butterfield Stadium Sept. 6, 2014. In that clash, senior safety Noah Poskanzer batted down a goal line pass attempt on fourth down to preserve the Ithaca victory.

Morris was a first-team All-Empire 8 selection after making 58 total tackles. He recorded three interceptions and led the team with eight pass break-ups.

Oliver was a second-team selection on special teams (kick return specialist) and earned honorable mention as a wide receiver/running back after gaining over 1,000 all-purpose yards (444 kickoff return yards, 334 rushing yards, 210 punt return yards and 104 receiving yards).

Rottenecker was named to the All-Empire 8 second-team after going 5-for-8 on field goals, including converting a school-record tying 50-yard field goal vs. St. John Fisher College. On kickoffs, he averaged 59.5 yards per kick with eight touchbacks in 58 kickoffs.

Barbieri earned Empire 8 honorable mention on defense after making 39 tackles with three sacks, three forced fumbles and three pass break-ups. He led the Bombers with nine tackles for a loss.

The Bombers' captains are Morris, senior left tackle Scott Anderson, and senior defensive end Logan Murphy.

"Everyone on this team wants to win an Empire 8 championship, and we feel we have the talent to do that," said Morris, who also returns kicks for the Bombers.

"We also want to beat Cortland, make it to the NCAA's again, and hopefully go deeper than we did last year. We want to make a deep run and get this program back to being the powerhouse that it has been. Every year we want to be one of the top teams in the country, and this year, the intensity of our preseason camp and our conditioning has been great."

Ithaca's defense, which surrendered 17.2 points per game (second-stingiest in the Empire 8) returns five starters on defense: Murphy, Morris, Poskanzer, junior defensive end Rob Barbieri, senior defensive end Schnayder Termidor, and sophomore linebacker Kenny Bradley.

Bradley was named the Empire 8 Rookie of the Year after a sensational freshman campaign that featured 81 total tackles (four for a loss). Termidor led the unit with six sacks and added two forced fumbles, while Murphy made 29 tackles with two sacks and one fumble recovery.

Poskanzer was third on the team with 64 tackles, and he also picked off two passes while breaking up six passes.

Under longtime defensive coordinator Mark McDonough, the Bombers' trademark 3-4 defense was second in the conference with 15 interceptions while allowing the second-fewest total yards per game (299.1 ypg.).

The Bombers are counting on Barbieri, Murphy and senior Tijah Henderson to anchor the defensive line, with Bradley, Poskanzer, Termidor and sophomore Dan Loizos anchoring the linebacking corps.

Morris will be joined in the secondary by senior Ryan Michaels, junior Skyler Kauf (transfer from Mount Union), junior Anthony Skretny IV and sophomore Jordan Schemm.

"We will be phenomenal on defense. Ever since I've been here, the defense has been a huge emphasis," Murphy said. "Our defense as a whole is so solid that it will be tough for opponents to throw deep on us. Our front seven is extremely talented, so opposing teams will fight for every yard. I feel our games are going to be relatively low scoring and I don't think there will be a better defense in the Empire 8."

Offensively, junior Wolfgang Shafer, the son of current Syracuse University head football coach Scott Shafer, has claimed the starting quarterback job.

Running the pro set offense, Shafer will have a pair of talented running backs at his disposal, led by sophomore Tristan Brown, who ran for 591 yards with four touchdowns while averaging 4.8 yards per carry in 2014.

Oliver added 334 yards with two rushing scores for a Bomber attack that averaged 25.5 points per game. The duo will be joined by senior John Iannone and freshman Evan Skea in a deep and talented backfield.

Junior Andrew Tabbert is Ithaca's leading returning receiver after hauling in 32 passes for 486 yards and three touchdowns last year. Oliver is also expected to be a threat at receiver this year.

Senior Kyle Hastings averaged 26 yards per catch last year and is expected to see significant time at tight end.

The line will be anchored by Anderson, a three-year starter. Anderson is the only returning starter up front, but he said the line has done a great job of coming together during the preseason.

Anderson said the rest of the impact players on the offensive line will include seniors Michael Arcuri, Gideon Inkeles and Owen Watrous, along with junior Joe Vandenbos and sophomore Geoff Bell.

"We've all worked very hard in the offseason and during the preseason. Everyone on the offensive line has stepped up and shown good progress," Anderson said. "These guys are ready to step in and contribute right away and we're ready to go out and take apart opposing defenses. We'd like to be a ground and pound offense with an offensive line that can take it to the defensive linemen as we run for 100-plus yards per game. If we run the ball well, that opens up our passing game."

After opening at Union, Ithaca is off week two before hosting Hobart College at 1 p.m. Sept. 19. Alfred University comes to campus for the Empire 8 opener Sept. 26, with Ithaca also hosting The College at Brockport (Oct. 17) and St. John Fisher College (Oct. 31).

The Bombers close out the regular season with a home date against rival Cortland in the 57th installment of the annual Cortaca Jug contest.

For the first time, the Cortaca game will be a league contest. To view the complete football schedule, visit http://athletics.ithaca.edu/schedule.aspx?path=football.

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