The football team will travel to Alfred University this Saturday for its last conference game of the season. With the standings as tight as they are at the top of the Empire 8, this game is essential for the Bombers if they are to finish first in the conference.

As it stands, the Blue and Gold are tied for the top of the conference with a 4–1 record. A win against Alfred would at least secure a share of the conference championship. Head Coach Mike Welch said the prospect of a conference championship has his players determined to win at Alfred.

“Every game is important as we get down towards the end,” he said. “If we win this game we’re conference champions. That’s one of our goals, and we’d like to meet that.”

If recent history is any indication, the South Hill squad’s chances of victory at Alfred are strong. Ithaca has defeated the Saxons nine out of the last 10 times the teams have met, despite Alfred’s consistent success in conference standings.

“Alfred has become a very good team in the Empire 8,” Welch said. “We both are, and every time we’ve matched up it’s been a very good game. We just feel good that we’ve been on the upper end of them.”

Last season, the Bombers trounced Alfred, No. 19 nationally ranked, at Butterfield Stadium with a score of 42–25. Senior quarterback Dan Juvan led the offensive attack with four touchdown passes in the game. Despite last season’s success with the throwing game, Welch said he will mix things up on the offensive end.

“The important thing will be if we are able to run and pass against them,” he said. “They try to force you to do one thing or another, and we have to try and take what their defense gives us. If you look at our numbers we’re pretty balanced and that’s hard to defend.”

Though Juvan left last week’s game against Springfield College in the third quarter with what appeared to be a wrist injury, Welch said the quarterback is healthy and the passing game will be at its strongest Saturday.

Having played Alfred three times during his college career, senior offensive tackle Sean Mirkov said the keys on the offensive end will be preventing the blitz and surpassing Alfred’s physicality.

“It’s always going to be a physical game against Alfred,” he said. “Whoever is going to be the more physical team is going to win the game.”

Defensively, the Blue and Gold will have to be prepared for Alfred’s aerial attack. The Saxons have rolled to a 6–2 overall record through the strength of the arm of freshman quarterback Tom Secky. Secky has had 18 touchdown passes this season and is averaging slightly more than 231 yards per game. Junior defensive end Joe Goetz said the Bomber defense will try to put a damper of Alfred’s passing game by exploiting its young offensive line.

“They don’t really have a lot of experience coming back on the offensive line, so we’re going to try to take as much advantage of that as possible,” he said.

With the implications for the conference and for national standings that this game holds, the South Hill squad is trying not to get caught up in the hype. Goetz said the best method for a victory on Saturday is to stay focused and to keep the team playing the way it has played all season.

“We just have to stay true to our assignments, and if we can do that it should be a good game,” he said. “We’re going to play like we play every week: hard-nosed Ithaca football.”