TROY, N.Y. - The Ithaca College football team kept their playoff hopes alive on Saturday afternoon by taking down RPI in Troy, 24-23, at ECAV Stadium. With the win, the Bombers improve to 7-2 on the season and finish 6-1 in Liberty League play. The Bombers now need RPI to beat Union next Saturday to set up a three-way tie for the Liberty League title.

It was the fourth straight win over RPI for the Bombers. It came on the back of a career day for junior wide receiver Nicholas Lang, who had a personal-best 189 receiving yards on seven receptions and scored all three Ithaca touchdowns. Two of them came on passes from quarterback Michael Reed and one came on a double pass trick play from running back Chris Scully.

Ithaca also won the turnover battle on the back of a pair of Marcus Boyle interceptions, and Joe Spirra led the defense in tackles with 14 total stops. RPI's standouts included running back Kayden White, who rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns, and defensive back Miles Lafferty, who led their defense with 12 tackles.

RPI made a statement right out of the gate as White broke away for an 80-yard touchdown run. Aleksandar Maric made the extra point to put the Engineers up 7-0 before the Bombers offense even touched the field. Ithaca was not even able to threaten with a response on their first drive, as RPI forced a Bomber three and out.

White continued to give the Bombers trouble the very next drive, breaking off a 23-yard run on the first play. However, a false start forced the Engineers to punt, and Ithaca made their way into RPI territory for the first time on the back of a couple of 15-plus yard runs for Reed. It set up a 48-yard field goal for Caleb Wandell, but he missed it short. While Ithaca failed to get on the board in the first quarter, they managed to get the ball back and extend a new drive into the second quarter. 

It was the run game plus a big Tian Murray catch that got Ithaca downfield, but a Nicholas Lang leaping catch gave the Bombers their first touchdown, putting them on the board with 11 minutes to go in the second quarter. The Wandell extra point tied the game at 7-7. However, RPI answered right back and retook the lead 10-7 with a 41-yard field goal by Maric.

The Engineers got the ball back again with a chance for a two-minute drill before halftime, a critical one given Ithaca was set to start the next half with the ball. They broke into Bomber territory, but a sack for defensive lineman Jon Ramsey forced 3rd and 14 for the Engineers, a situation they were unable to make their way out of. Quarterback Anthony DeMatteo tried for the Hail Mary on fourth down and nearly completed it to wide receiver RJ Encarnacion, but the play was broken up by Bombers defensive back Sam Tourangeau at the last second.

Ithaca struggled to move the ball on their opening drive of the second half, with no play on their drive exceeding five yards. However, they got the ball back quickly when DeMatteo was picked off by Boyle. A 45-yard Reed to Lang deep shot down the left sideline on this drive put Ithaca in the red zone and set them up for a Wandell field goal to tie the game at 10-10.

The game continued to go back and forth from there. RPI leaned on the run in their next drive, with White continuing to pick up significant chunks of yards. However, it was a DeMatteo pass to Adrien Gurung that pushed RPI to the goal line, where White finished the job to put RPI back on top. The Bombers answered right back to start the fourth quarter, making their way to midfield on a pass interference penalty before they pulled out the trickery. Reed pitched it to Scully, who threw it deep to Lang for his second touchdown of the day, a score that tied the game at 17-17 with the point after.

RPI made their way inside Ithaca's 25 again on the back of their run game, but a tip by Chris Clax on a DeMatteo third down pass attempt and a tip of Maric's 39-yard field goal left the Engineers empty handed. When Ithaca got the ball back, they marched down the field and took their first lead of the game. Reed found Lang on another deep ball, bringing the Bombers right to the red zone before Lang caught a jump ball for the score. 

RPI went 3-and-out, giving Ithaca possession right back with four minutes of clock to burn. However, Ithaca was forced to punt, and Wandell's punt was blocked by Encarnacion for an RPI touchdown. 

The Engineers had the chance to tie with a PAT. However, tried a fake instead, which was unsuccessful and left Ithaca in the lead for the time being, 24-23. However, the Bombers went 3-and-out on the following drive and went with a pooch punt to give RPI the ball at their own 34 with 40 seconds remaining. 

RPI needed just a field goal to win, but they made things even harder for themselves when an unnecessary roughness penalty set them back an additional 15 yards. It came down to a 4th and 25, in which DeMatteo was intercepted by Boyle once again to ice the game.

A win in the Cortaca Jug next week as well as an RPI win over Union in the Dutchman's Shoes Game would give the Bombers the Liberty League title.