ITHACA, N.Y. – The nationally ranked No. 13 Ithaca College football team raced out to a 35-10 lead midway through the second quarter over visiting St. John Fisher College at Butterfield Stadium on Saturday, but the Bombers found themselves in a shootout from there, as Fisher stormed back with 22 unanswered points in the second half. Ithaca would come up with a huge interception in the final minute from junior Khiry Brown to preserve the 38-35 victory and improve to 3-0 on the season. Fisher drops to 3-1 overall.
The Bombers were clicking on all cylinders early in the contest as senior Joe Germinerio threw four touchdown passes over the open 20 minutes of action. Germinerio found senior Will Gladney for a 57-yard catch-and-run at the 9:50 mark of the first quarter to give IC a 7-0 lead after the 5-play, 92-yard drive. Just over three minutes later, Germinerio delivered a pop pass to sophomore Jacob Cooney, who lateraled to fellow junior Michael Anderson and he raced 35 yards for another score.
Fisher got on the board in the opening minute of the second period on a 26-yard field goal from Joe Dotterweich, but the Bombers punched in two more touchdowns in less than two minutes to make the score 28-3. With 13:18 left in the half, Germinerio connected with Gladney for a 30-yard strike and the duo hooked up again for a 36-yard reception with 9:54 left.
The Cardinals responded a minute later on a 67-yard catch by Will Blake from Hunter Walsh to pull to within a 28-10 difference. IC once again answered as senior Isaiah D'Haiti rumbled 32 yards for another Bomber touchdown with 7:31 remaining on the clock to give IC its largest lead of the game, 35-10.
After another 26-yard field goal from Dotterweich, the Bombers closed out the half with a 47-yard field goal from freshman Nicholas Bahamonde on the final snap of the half to take a 38-13 lead into intermission.
The Bombers outgained Fisher, 350-212, in the first half as Germinerio threw for 280 yards on 18-of-22 passing. Gladney had 123 yards on three grabs, while Anderson had 130 yards on eight catches.
The second half was all Fisher as the Cardinals racked up 231 yards in the third quarter alone and scored two touchdowns to cut IC's lead to 38-27, to go along with an interception. After nine minutes burned off the clock, Walsh scored from 14 yards out on third down after the Cardinals took over on the sudden change turnover. Now with the score 38-20, Walsh hit Tysean Sizer for a 90-yard touchdown with 3:39 remaining in the third on the first play after an IC punt.
Fisher would force another Ithaca punt in the third quarter and used up the final 1:27 of the stanza to head to the fourth quarter at its own 36-yard line.
On the first snap of the fourth, Walsh found Chris Park for 36 yards to march down to the IC 28-yard line. A 14-yard completion placed Fisher within the red zone, and five plays later, Dahmir Pross plunged in from 1-yard out. A two-point conversion pass from Walsh to Blake was successful and Fisher climbed all the way back to a 38-35 difference with 12:22 left in the game.
IC and Fisher traded punt over the next two possession and the Bombers regained the ball with 7:33 on the clock.
The Bombers started their drive at the 30-yard line and quickly moved into Fisher territory on an 11-yard pass to M. Anderson, an 18-yard run by Germinerio and a 12-yard catch by junior Matt Hoffman, which had a 15-yard penalty on Fisher tacked on.
Now at the 14-yard line, Germinerio looked for sophomore Donte Garcia, who was wide open coming out of the backfield, but Fisher's Anthony Mana made a terrific interception in the end zone to keep IC off the board.
Fisher took over with 5:51 remaining at the 20. On the seventh play of the drive, Walsh hit Pross for a 25-yard completion to set up the Cardinals at the Ithaca 28-yard line. After a short run and two incompletions, Fisher faced fourth-and-nine. Walsh competed a pass to Ryan Ingerson, who was cut down short of the line to gain and the Cardinals turned the ball over on downs with 2:16 left.
The Bombers had an opportunity to run out the clock but went three-and-out and were forced to punt the ball back to Fisher. Sophomore Brian Fallon's punt traveled just 35 yards and Fisher was set up at its own 47-yard line with 1:11 to go.
Fisher attempted to push the ball down the field on the first snap, but Brown made the game-winning interception at IC 19-yard line.
Germinerio finished the game with 380 yards on 27-of-40 passing, to go along with 43 rushing yards. M. Anderson posted a breakout performance with 12 catches for 198 yards, while Gladney finished with 136 yards on five receptions.
Sophomore A.J. Clifford recorded five returns for 129 yards, including a career-best 44-yard kick return in the second half.
Defensively, sophomore Miles Haynes led the Bombers with 11 tackles, while senior Nick Garone had 10 stops with a forced fumble and recovery. Sophomore Anthony Robinson, senior John Hadac and junior Antonio Valle each had nine tackles on the day.
Hadac also logged three tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, while Valle also had 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss.
Fisher's Walsh threw for 480 yards on 30-of-47, while Sizer had 155 yards receiving on nine catches. Blake also had 119 yards on four catches.
The Bombers were outgained in the game, 572-478, but produced 27 first downs to 23 for Fisher.
Both teams were flagged a combined 26 times for 279 yards.
The Bombers will return to action next Saturday, October 5 for a 1 p.m. kickoff at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y. It will mark Ithaca's Liberty League opener.
No. 13 Ithaca Hangs On To Beat St. John Fisher, 38-35
/seasons/2019/boxscores/20190928_qsou.xml
2019
St. John Fisher
35
Ithaca
38
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. John Fisher (3-1) | 0 | 13 | 14 | 8 | 35 |
| Ithaca (3-0) | 14 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 38 |
Sep 28, 2019