ITHACA, NY – In a showdown between two of the four unbeaten teams within the Liberty League, host Ithaca College earned a shutout win over the University of Rochester football team on Saturday, posting a 36-0 victory at Butterfield Stadium.
Ithaca remains undefeated in league play, moving to 5-1 overall and 4-0 in the conference, with the Yellowjackets dropping back to .500 on the season, sitting at 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the Liberty League.
The Bombers extend their unbeaten streak against URochester to nine straight, winning all nine meeting since they joined the Liberty League in football back in 2017.
In the win, Ithaca poled up 501 total yards of offense, splitting it nearly evenly between the ground and the air. Rochester meanwhile, was limited offensively to 200 yards of offense.
UR started with the ball on the opening drive, but went backwards, losing two yards on a rush while
Aniston Marsh got sacked for a nine-yard loss. A short gain on a third down run ended the first drive after just three plays.
The Yellowjacket defense forced a 3-and-out on Ithaca's first possession though, allowing URochester to get possession right back. That drive featured UR's initial first down, a 22-yard pass from
Aniston Marsh to
Justin Rizzo-Troxell, but fizzled out after that.
Ithaca's next drive lasted 15 plays and ate up nearly six minutes of clock, but ended with no points as Caleb Wandell missed a 43-yard field goal attempt, keeping the game scoreless.
Rochester broke into Ithaca territory for the first time on its next possession, aided by Marsh connecting with
Nick Carnevale for 19 yards and a 12-yard run by
Cole Raux, but an incomplete pass on third down and a 5-yard gain on 4th-and-6 turned the ball over on downs.
The Bombers used another long drive on their next possession to open the scoring. Three straight plays yielded first downs to open the drive, quickly moving Ithaca into URochester territory. After converting a 3rd-and-2 from the 'Jackets 10-yard line, Michael Reed rushed over the left end for a 7-yard touchdown score.
Andrew Rice connected on the point after to put Ithaca up 7-0.
Rochester couldn't muster much offense over the rest of the half, but the defense was able to hold the Bombers off the scoreboard as well, with the teams heading to the locker room separated by just seven points.
Ithaca took over in the third quarter, scoring 21 points to bust open the game and lead 28-0.
The Bombers started the second half with the ball and marched 71 yards in eight plays, ending with a Chris Scully 4-yard rushing scoring to double the lead to 14-0.
On URochester's first play from scrimmage in the second half, Marsh was sacked by Nicholas Garzarella deep in UR territory and lost a fumble, with Ithaca's Davin Foote recovering at the 9-yard line.
After three plays, Scully was able to plunge into the endzone again, this time from three yards out to make it 21-0.
Rochester went 3-and-out on its next possession, but Ithaca was unable to capitalize further, eventually punting the ball back to the Yellowjackets. The 'Jackets got near midfield on its next possession, but ultimately had to punt the ball back to the Bombers.
A completed pass and penalty got Ithaca out of its own red zone, with Nicholas Lang following with a 66-yard touchdown scamper up the left side for the third Bombers score of the quarter.
Late in the quarter, Rochester looked to get on the scoreboard, reaching the Ithaca 20-yard line, but
Drew Strollo got stopped by R.J. Boynton for a loss on 4th-and-1, ending UR's best chance to get points in the contest.
Ithaca kept churning out yardage as the game flipped to the fourth quarter, with Scully adding another touchdown, this one from 1-yard out to cap the scoring on the day.
Overall on the afternoon, Marsh completed 14-of-27 passes for 159 yards in his first career start. Raux gained 38 yards on 12 rushing attempts, while seven receivers caught a pass, led by Strollo who had three catches for 39 yards.
Defensively,
Gavin Guidette led Rochester with 13 tackles and a forced fumble.
Jack Diggins had 12 tackles and two QB hurries, while
Claudio Pinto ended with 11 stops, including half a sack with
A.J. Bicksler.
Ithaca's Reed finished the game going 18-for-29 passing for 196 yards, adding 58 yards rushing, including a TD. Scully scored three times and ended with 118 net yards, while Lang's only carry was his 66-yard touchdown run. Lang also contributed a game-high five receptions for 53 yards for the Bombers.
Ithaca's Joe Spirra paced the Bombers with eight tackles, including a sack, while Henry Takacs chipped in seven tackles, a sack, pass break-up and two hurries.
Rochester gets a week off for its bye next weekend before returning to action on October 24th at home against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
