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ALL-TIME SERIES: The Ithaca College football team heads to the North Country this Saturday, October 11 for a 1 p.m. kickoff at St. Lawrence University. This will mark the 43rd all-time meeting between IC and St. Lawrence dating back to 1930. Ithaca is 36-6-1 against the Saints. The Bombers have won three of the past four games by shutout, including a 41-0 victory last season.
APPROACHING 30: A win for the Bombers on Saturday will extend their winning streak to 30 straight games over St. Lawrence. The last win for SLU in the series occurred in 1983.
LAST TIME OUT: IC improved to 4-1 on the season and 3-0 in the Liberty League with a 10-6 win at Rochester. The Bombers are now 8-0 all-time against the Yellowjackets and this was the closest game so far in the series.
After a scoreless first half for both teams, all 16 points were scored in the third quarter. The Bombers took a 3-0 lead on a 43-yard field goal by
Caleb Wandell and then UR took a 6-3 advantage on a touchdown pass, but the PAT was no good. Rochester also missed a 27-yard field goal at the end of the first half. IC regained the lead, 10-6, with two minutes to go on a 2-yard run by
Michael Reed.
Yards were at a premium in the contest, as UR held a slim 221 to 215 edge. Rochester also converted 8-of-20 third down attempts but only picked up 13 first downs.
Reed and
Matthew Parker split time at quarterback, and each threw for 54 yards.
Chris Scully rushed for 84 yards on 21 attempts and
Nicholas Lang was the leading receiver with 52 yards on five catches.
Joe Spirra and
Sam Tourangeau each logged double-digit tackles with 13 and 10, while
Henry Takacs had six tackles, including two for a loss of 15 yards.
SPIRRA HONORED: On Monday, Spirra was selected as the Liberty League Defensive Performer of the Week, which is the first of his career. He was named Liberty League Rookie of the Week once last season. It's the second straight week in which an IC defender was named Liberty League Defensive Performer of the Week (Tourangeau – Week 4).
DEFENSE REMAINS SUPREME: The IC defense has been one of the best in the country over the past four weeks as the Bombers have held their opposition to an average of 7.5 points and 199.8 yards of offense.
IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT: After the 10-6 victory at Rochester, the Bombers are the lone team in the Liberty League with a 3-0 record. RPI and Union are both 2-0, while the rest of the conference has at least one loss.
RECEIVING VOTES: For the first time this season, Ithaca appears in "receiving votes" in both the Week 5 D3football.com and AFCA Top 25 Polls.
WHERE THE BOMBERS RANK: IC currently ranks top 30 nationally in the following categories: Completion Percentage (11th – 70.5%), Total Defense (20th – 243.2), Scoring Defense (25th – 14.4), 3rd Down Conversion Defense (28th – 29%), Net Punting (29th – 38.1) and Passing Yards Allowed (30th – 146.8).
SCOUTING THE SAINTS: St. Lawrence is 2-3 on the season and 1-1 in the Liberty League. The Saints are coming off a 45-14 win against Hilbert last week. The Saints average 22.4 points per game and allow 24.8 points per contest. SLU accumulates 290.6 yards of offense with 212.0 coming through the air and 78.6 on the ground.
Will Lederman has thrown for 903 yards and eight touchdowns and he leads the team in rushing with 207 yards and four more touchdowns. The Saints look for the big play as their top four receivers have all caught passes over 50 yards.
Shea Goodwin leads the receivers with 304 yards on 16 catches, while Nicholas Huhtala has 236 yards and three touchdowns on 16 receptions. Matt Ciesielski averages over 30 yards per catch, with a long of 59 yards, and William Murray has a long reception of 64 yards.
Defensively, nine different players have recorded more than 20 tackles on the season. Leading the way is Ryan Surhoff with 35 stops, while Savino Morelli is right behind with 34 tackles. Ethan Metro has 6.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks, and Pat Ryan has 29 tackles with a team-best four pass breakups.
UP NEXT: The Bombers enter their bye week on October 18, but return to action and Butterfield Stadium for Homecoming Weekend against Union on October 25 at 1 p.m.
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