CANTON, N.Y. – Inclement weather proved to play a major role in Saturday's Liberty League contest at Leckonby Stadium between the nationally ranked No. 15/17 Ithaca College football team and St. Lawrence University. Originally scheduled as a 1 p.m. kickoff, severe thunderstorms that rolled through most of New York during the day, pushed the start back 45 minutes. The league foes then had to deal with the elements for 60 minutes of action, but Ithaca would prevail, 17-0, to improve to 6-0 on the season and 3-0 in the Liberty League.
The Bombers recorded their second shutout of the season behind a dominant performance by the defensive unit. On the day, Ithaca allowed just 140 yards of total offense and eight first downs to St. Lawrence, which included -28 yards rushing on 16 attempts. The Saints entered the contest averaging 169.4 yards on the ground and SLU's leading rusher, Peyton Schmitt accounted for 88.6 per game – he was limited to -6 yards on Saturday. The -28 rushing yards allowed are the fewest for IC since at least 2002 (two yards to St. John Fisher).
IC also registered a season-high four sacks in the game and earned one takeaway, which led to a field goal in the first half.
Offensively, Ithaca finished the contest with 407 yards of offense – 233 passing and 174 rushing – to go along with 21 first downs.
Ithaca got on the board with less than a minute left in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead on a 5-yard run by Donte Garcia on first and goal. Garcia set up the scoring play with a 27-yard reception on the previous snap to account for IC's second-longest play of the game. Andrew Vito had the longest play of the game – a 30-yard catch four plays earlier in the drive.
The Garcia touchdown was the only score of the first half.
In the third quarter, St. Lawrence quickly went three-and-out on the opening possession. IC immediately flipped the field after starting on its own 20-yard line after back-to-back receptions of 22 and 20 yards by Michael Anderson. The Bombers' drive would stall shortly after that, but a punt by A.J. Wingfield was downed at the SLU 6-yard line.
After an offside call on the Bombers moved the ball up to the 11, St. Lawrence fumbled the next exchange and Isaac Hadac fell on the fumble to give IC possession at the 7-yard line. The Bombers were unable to punch it into the end zone but settled for a 21-yard field goal by Nicholas Bahamonde to extend IC's lead to 10-0 with 8:43 left in the quarter.
Ithaca closed out the contest on a 24-yard pitch-and-catch from Wingfield to Anderson with 8:55 to go in the game.
St. Lawrence would turn the ball over on downs in each of its final two drives of the game.
Wingfield finished the game with 233 passing yards and a touchdown on 22-of-36. He also ran for 41 yards on six carries and placed two punts inside the 20-yard line.
Anderson had 93 yards on seven receptions, while Vito recorded 85 yards on eight grabs. On the ground, Jake Williams led the charge with 62 yards on 13 carries, while Jalen Hines had 53 yards on 14 touches.
Defensively, Hadac notched a pair of sacks and the fumble recovery, to go along with four total tackles. Antonio Valle and Jason Haber also had sacks on the day, while Michael Roumes and Jalen Martinez registered tackles for loss. Roumes also had three pass breakups as the Bomber defense finished with eight.
IC returns home next Saturday, October 23 for a 2 p.m. kickoff against Buffalo State.
Defense Shines as No. 15/17 Ithaca Shuts Out St. Lawrence, 17-0
/seasons/2021/boxscores/20211016_i2ca.xml
2021
Ithaca
17
St. Lawrence
0
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 20 Ithaca (6-0) | 7 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
| St. Lawrence (3-3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Oct 16, 2021