Football suffocates Rochester with 24-0 shutout win

Match Review: Football | Oct 12, 2024 4:43 p.m

ITHACA, NY – The Ithaca College football team dominated by defeating previously undefeated University of Rochester 24-0 in Saturday’s Liberty League showdown at Bertino Field at Butterfield Stadium. Ithaca rushed for 287 yards in the win and held UR to 286 yards of offense as the Bombers improved to 7-0 all-time against the Yellowjackets.

The story of the first half was a battle for field possession as there were a total of five punts and three turnovers by Rochester, resulting in a 3-0 score in favor of Ithaca at the break.

In the first quarter neither team could reach the red zone, but Ithaca attempted a 44-yard field goal and failed, leaving the game scoreless midway through the quarter.

Early in the second quarter, Rochester pushed deep into IC territory, but Owen O’Neill forced a fumble and Darren Brunner He recovered at the IC 13-yard line with 10:21 left. The Bombers were forced to punt on the ensuing drive and regained possession shortly thereafter Joe Spira intercepted a pass near midfield with 8:10 left.

The Bombers entered UR territory and faced a 3rd-and-1, but a six-yard loss on the next snap led to Brunner punting to the 6-yard line with 6:35 left.

UR caught two first downs to gain some breathing room, only to throw another interception at its own 38-yard line, this time through Tommy Moran with just under four minutes remaining in the half.

Ithaca then got its only scoring drive of the half when Baldin hit a 24-yard field goal with :14 on the clock to give IC a 3-0 lead.

Jalen Leonard Osbourne had 49 yards in the first half, including 30 on the ground and 19 through the air. Matthew Parker At halftime it was 7 of 10 passes while Jake Williams ran for 34 yards on six attempts.

Jake Connolly finished the first half with eight tackles and a forced fumble, while Brunner added six stops.

The second half was all bombers with three touchdowns on offense and two defensive turnovers on downs with Rochester in the red zone.

IC received the kick in the second half and had to punt, but Brunner pushed UR back to its own 5-yard line with 11:43 left. The Yellowjackets were stuffed on a 3rd-and-1 at their own 30 on the ensuing drive, and the Bombers made it 10-0 shortly after the change of possession on a 68-yard catch-and-run touchdown by Nicholas Long by Parker on 3rd-and-8 with just over six minutes left.

With 2:42 left in the quarter, IC regained possession after a punt at its own 30 and moved into UR territory a few plays later on a 17-yard run by Williams to end the third quarter.

Less than a minute into the final period, Leonard-Osbourne surpassed 2,000 career rushing yards with a 25-yard dash to extend the Bombers’ lead to 17-0.

The Bombers would be tagged 15 yards on the PAT, giving Rochester the next possession at midfield. The Yellowjackets advanced to the IC 1-yard line and failed a two-yard tackle on fourth down for a loss by Spirra and Connolly.

On the very next play, Williams rushed for 69 yards and Leonard-Osbourne followed with a 28-yard touchdown drive to ice the game 24-0 with 6:09 left.

Williams rushed for 130 yards on 11 carries, an average of 11.8 yards per carry, which ranks sixth on the IC single-game list. Leonard-Osbourne rushed for 102 yards on 18 attempts and caught four passes for 19 yards.

The Yellowjackets tried one last time to get into the end zone, but Carson Ciancuielli threw a strip sack to force UR back to the 21 yard line and a fourth down failed.

IC ran out the clock with 26 yards rushing on four attempts Ahmad Taylor.

The defense was led with 13 tackles, a forced fumble and pass breakup by Connolly, 12 tackles and a fumble recovery by Brunner, and 11 tackles by By Danny Portas. Spirra finished with eight tackles and a half tackle for a loss, while Ciancuielli added 17 sack yards with two sacks and a forced fumble. Andrew Swierbut added eight tackles and Ryan Burns Finished with seven tackles.

Ithaca hosts RPI for another Liberty League game next Saturday, October 19th at 1 p.m