CANTON, N.Y. – The Ithaca College football team extended its winning streak to five straight games this season as the Bombers defeated St. Lawrence University, 24-7, at Leckonby Stadium. Ithaca is now 37-6-1 against St. Lawrence in team history and has won 30 straight games in the rivalry.

The Saints had the Bombers within a score until the final minutes of the third quarter before Ithaca pulled away down the stretch. Nonetheless, the Ithaca defense shined, and it was the Bombers' fourth week in a row holding their opponent to seven points or less. The IC defense recorded nine tackles for loss and four sacks in the win.

For the Bomber offense, running back Chris Scully and wide receiver Nicholas Lang led the way. Scully rushed for 124 yards and a score on 24 attempts, and Lang caught 14 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns. It was the first time an Ithaca wide receiver caught 14 or more passes since Will Gladney achieved the same feat in 2018. 

Both offenses found themselves in opposing territory within the first quarter of action, but it did not amount to any scoring. The Bombers' opening drive was cut short by a false start on 4th down that forced Caleb Wandell to punt. St. Lawrence struggled to protect quarterback Will Lederman. While Lederman broke off a 40-yard run on the second offensive play for the Saints, they were also forced to punt after defensive lineman Jon Ramsey cleared the way for an 8-yard Chris Clax sack. Lederman was sacked again on the second drive, this time by Joe Spirra. It left the Saints close enough to attempt a field goal, but they were unable to put it through.

Ithaca and St. Lawrence were both able to break through offensively in the second quarter. After a run-heavy attack in the first quarter, Ithaca shifted towards a more balanced offense, with quarterback Matthew Parker leaning especially on Lang. This was effective for Ithaca, as the Bombers scored their first touchdown on a Parker to Lang frozen rope pass from the St. Lawrence 25-yard line. 

St. Lawrence answered right back on the next drive with a 35-yard deep ball to the end zone from Lederman to wide receiver Nicholas Huhtala. However, the Bombers' balanced attack brought them right back down the field and gave them the last word of the half with a Caleb Wandell 27-yard field goal to make it 10-7 headed into the break. 

The next score did not come until the final minutes of the third quarter. Ithaca got the ball near midfield with 3:25 on the clock, and Parker found wide receiver Tian Murray for the first time all game to get the Bombers to the St. Lawrence 25 on the third play of the drive. Parker and Lang connected on a pair of passes to get Ithaca near the goal line, and Scully ran it right up the middle again to score the touchdown with a single second on the third quarter clock. 

Wandell's extra point put the Bombers up 10, and Ithaca got the ball right back just minutes into the fourth quarter as a Lederman deep ball was intercepted by Spirra at the Ithaca 2-yard line. However, the drive didn't amount to much, and the Bombers' punt landed within their own territory.

St. Lawrence continued to hang around in the game but struggled to execute on their offensive opportunities. After the Bomber punt, a second Will Lederman shot to the end zone was called back by a penalty, with the drive ultimately being blown up by a sack. Later, Pat Ryan forced a fumble on an Antwan Harvey end around, but St. Lawrence went 3-and-out on the drive that followed. 

Ithaca was able to ice the game from there with Michael Reed in at quarterback on a rush-heavy drive. The drive ended in a Reed to Lang touchdown that left St. Lawrence with just 1:47 to overcome the now 17-point deficit.

The Bombers improved to 5-1 on the season with the win. They will have a bye week next week before they take on the Union Garnet Chargers at Butterfield Stadium two weeks from today. Union is also undefeated in Liberty League play thus far as they defeated Hobart, 33-16.