ITHACA, N.Y. – The nationally ranked No. 10 Ithaca College football team ran its record to 5-0 on the season and 2-0 in the Liberty League with a 48-14 victory over Buffalo State at Butterfield Stadium as part of Alumni Weekend on South Hill. The Bombers scored 28 points in the first quarter and never looked back for the convincing conference win.
Ithaca led Buffalo State, 38-7, at halftime after a 28-7 burst over the opening 15 minutes, and 48-14 at the end of the third quarter.
Senior Joe Germinerio threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns on 28-of-37 passing, while fellow senior Will Gladney hauled in 11 receptions for 140 yards and junior Andrew Vito caught two touchdown passes on nine grabs and 110 yards.
Senior Isaiah D'Haiti scored two touchdowns on an 18-yard reception and a 1-yard run as he finished the day with 39 yards rushing on six carries. Germinerio also scored a rushing touchdown from 1-yard out, while senior Kendall Anderson found the end zone on a 9-yard run and concluded the contest with 26 yards on the ground.
Ithaca outgained Buffalo State, 483-358, and racked up 30 first down. IC was also 8-for-9 in the red zone, as its nine trip inside the 20-yard line resulted in victory formation.
The Bombers won the toss and deferred to the second half, but an onside kick by freshman Nicholas Bahamonde was recovered by junior Khiry Brown at the IC 48-yard line.
IC quickly moved down the field on its first possession and found the end zone on a 1-yard run by Germinerio just over three minutes into the game. On the drive, Germinerio completed two passes to Gladney for 33 yards, while Vito and junior Austin Hedglen each hauled in 11-yard receptions.
Buffalo State was unable to respond in its opening possession and turned the ball over on downs on a fake punt.
Five plays later, Germinerio connected with Vito for a 9-yard touchdown to extend the Bombers' lead to 14-0 with 8:36 left in the quarter.
The Bengals would get on the board on their next drive as Zak Ciezki hit Jordan Evert for a 49-yard score. Buffalo State needed just five plays and 1:56 of clock to cover 91 yards.
IC went back up by 14 points, 21-7, on the 1-yard jaunt by D'Haiti with 3:50 remaining in the quarter. The Bombers were spotted with great field position as sophomore AJ Clifford returned the Buffalo State kickoff 42 yards to midfield. The big play of the drive came on a 23-yard completion to Vito and a roughing the passer call on Germinerio tacked on 15 more yards to move the ball to the Buffalo State 15-yard line.
The Bengals would once again face fourth down inside their own territory and faked another punt. Ithaca was up to the task and stopped the Bengals short of the line to gain and took over at the Buff State 33.
On the sixth play, Vito dove into the end zone on a 7-yard catch and the Bombers pushed their lead out to 28-7 with six seconds left.
Nearly five minutes into the second quarter, Ithaca found the end zone once again on the 18-yard catch-and-run by D'Haiti. During that drive, Gladney notched catches of 32 and 13 yards, while sophomore Michael Anderson had one grab for 11 yards.
For the third time in the half, Buffalo State faked another punt, which was once again stopped and IC turned the change into a 30-yard field goal by Bahamonde with 1:02 remaining in the half.
In the second half, IC tacked on another field goal with 10:01 left in the third on a 32-yard try by Bahamonde, which made the score 41-7.
Buffalo got back on the board with 4:00 to go on a 28-yard touchdown pass, but the Bombers would answer less than two minutes later on the K. Anderson 9-yard run to cap off the stellar offensive performance for Ithaca.
Germinerio notched his fourth 300-yard passing game of the season, while Gladney had his third straight 100-plus-yard receiving performance. Vito moved to within four catches from 150 for his career.
Defensively, senior Nick Garone led the way with 12 total tackles (six solo), while Brown notched seven tackles with a pass breakup. Sophomore Miles Haynes recorded six tackles, including two for loss, and sophomore David Nieto finished the game with five stops.
The Bombers will remain at home next Saturday, October 19, for another Liberty League showdown against Hobart College at 1 p.m.
No. 10 Ithaca Runs Away From Buffalo State, 48-14, on Alumni Weekend
/seasons/2019/boxscores/20191012_cr68.xml
2019
Buffalo State
14
Ithaca
48
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo State (0-5) | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Ithaca (5-0) | 28 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 48 |
Oct 12, 2019