Senior Logan Murphy enjoyed himself a career day in Saturday's Empire 8 clash at Hartwick College, recording a career-high four-and-a-half sacks with nine tackles as the Ithaca College football team handed Hartwick a 47-19 loss at Wright Stadium.
Murphy's sack total is the most by a Bomber going back to the 2002 season, and he recorded the second-most sacks in a game by a Division III student-athlete this year, trailing only Stacey Sunnerville (Widener), who had a five-sack game.
Murphy also had a career-best six tackles for a loss, which is tied with Josh Schneider (Lakeland) for the most by a Division III student-athlete in the country this year.
Led by Murphy, seniors Tijah Henderson and Zach Pidgeon, an active and aggressive Ithaca (4-1, 2-1 Empire 8) defense harassed Hartwick (2-3, 0-3) quarterback John Garcia all game.
"I was extremely happy for us, especially after the heartbreaking loss that we suffered at Utica last week," said Murphy, an Ithaca co-captain.
"I was just trying to do my job and set up our defensive backs. I knew Hartwick was going to take some shots and we were going to have time to rush the quarterback, so it was a good game for me to get into a rhythm. We rushed the quarterback well and I give props to Tijah and Peter Trathen. Without them rushing the quarterback from the other side I wouldn't have had as much luck getting to the quarterback. Today was definitely a coming out party for the defensive line."
Murphy was one of five Bombers to record a sack. Pidgeon, playing in his second game of the year, posted a career-high one-and-a-half sacks. Henderson and Mancini each added a sack, as did junior Peter Trathen as Ithaca recorded nine sacks with 10 tackles for a loss.
Thanks to a persistent pass rush and a defense that got interceptions from senior Malik Morris and sophomore Jordan Schemm, the Bombers held Hartwick to 301 yards of total offense, far-below its average of 445 yards per contest.
Hartwick was held to 19 points, more than two touchdowns below its season scoring average as the Bombers improved to 18-6 all-time against the Hawks, including winning 12 of the last 14 matchups.
Quarterback John Garcia, who entered the game seventh in the country with 1,399 passing yards, struggled with the pressure from the opening snap as Murphy recorded three of the Bombers five first-quarter sacks.
The Bombers, who entered with the 13th best rushing defense in the country and a top-30 overall defense, limited Hartwick to minus 19 rushing yards.
"We knew Hartwick was a top passing offense in the country and we knew we were going to get challenged," Schemm said. "We just wanted to make a statement that no matter who we have out there, no matter what type of defense or personnel we have, we will be able to play with anybody. With our preparation this week, coach Mark McDonough (the defensive coordinator) did a great job preparing us and we were ready to go."
Offensively, junior Wolfgang Shafer completed 19 of 26 passes for 297 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He finished one yard shy of matching his career-high for passing yards as he directed a Bomber attack that did not punt in the game.
Senior Josh Oliver hauled in five passes for a career-high 123 yards and classmate Kyle Hastings caught five passes for 91 yards and a two touchdowns. It was a career-high for Hastings in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
Sophomore Tristan Brown ran for 79 yards on 15 carries (5.3 yards per rush) and scored a touchdown, as did classmate Dan Porter.
After fumbling the ball in its end zone for a safety and allowing Hartwick to drive 50 yards for a touchdown on its next possession, the Bombers trailed 9-0 halfway through the first quarter.
Schemm fielded the kick at the nine-yard line, weaved his way through would-be tacklers, then tip-toed down the sidelines. With a final block from Oliver, Schemm scampered into the end zone with Ithaca's first kickoff return since Sam Carney's 91-yard return against Wesley Nov. 30, 2013 in an NCAA second-round contest.
"It was a shorter kick and we've been practicing that return all week," Schemm said. "The second I caught the ball I waited for the double-team to kick out and they did a great job. I give Josh Oliver a lot of credit. If he wasn't out there in front hitting multiple people in front of me, I wouldn't have made it into the end zone. Any time you get a big play on special teams, especially a big return, it gives your team a boost and lifts the morale. If we can make plays on special teams it will take pressure off of our defense and offense and will make it a lot easier for us to win games."
The Hartwick lead grew to 12-7 on a 28-yard field goal, but senior Max Rottenecker answered with a 22-yard field goal to trim the deficit to 12-10 and start a stretch where Ithaca outscored Hartwick 40-7 the rest of the game.
Morris then intercepted Garcia and returned it 26 yards, setting the Bombers up at the Hartwick 30. Shafer completed both of his passes on the drive, including a 21-yard toss to Hastings to give Ithaca its first lead, 17-12.
Hartwick was forced to punt on its next possession, and Shafer drove Ithaca 64 yards in 12 plays, capped by Porter's one-yard plunge for a 24-12 lead.
Ithaca took the second-half kickoff and marched seven plays and 57 yards in 2:58. Shafer capped the drive with a six-yard toss to sophomore Jack Yule, who was wide open on the far side of the field to put the Bombers up 31-12.
Brown's five-yard touchdown run halfway through the third quarter made the score 37-19, then following a Hartwick punt, Ithaca put together another sustained drive.
The Bombers marched 66 yards in seven plays, with Shafer lofting a pass to Hastings, who leapt into the endzone from seven yards out for his 2nd TD of the day as the Bombers seized a 44-19 lead 1:53 into the final quarter.
Rottenecker tacked on a late field goal to complete the scoring.
Ithaca returns to action hosting Brockport at 1 p.m. Oct. 17 on Community Appreciation Day at Butterfield Stadium.
Murphy's 4.5 Sacks, Effective Offense Carry Ithaca Past Hartwick
/seasons/2015/boxscores/20151010_to5k.xml
2015
Ithaca
47
Hartwick
19
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ithaca (4-1) | 7 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 47 |
| Hartwick (2-3) | 12 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 19 |
Oct 10, 2015