On their first drive of the game, Ithaca drove the ball 72 yards, which ended in a two-yard touchdown run by junior running back Dan Ruggerio to take an early 7-0 lead.

Senior tri-captain and quarterback Brian Grastorf said that the team always tries to come right out of the gate and score.

“It’s definitely huge in our favor,” Grastorf said.

In the second quarter, the South Hill squad was unable to punch the ball into the end zone, resulting in a 23-yard field goal by sophomore kicker and punter Andrew Rogowski putting the Bombers up 10-0.

Cortland cut the lead to four on a 22-yard touchdown pass from graduate student quarterback Alex Smith, but senior tri-captain and defensive end Adam Drescher blocked the PAT — the ninth of his career — tying the school record and keeping the score at 10-6.

Rogowski converted a 32-yard field goal attempt to give the Bombers a 13-6 going into halftime. It was the sophomore’s 11th field goal of the season and one shy of the school record.

The big story for Ithaca in the first half was failure to capitalize on Cortland’s three turnovers, all of which Ithaca failed to convert into points.

“When we got down in the redzone we couldn’t punch it in,” Grastorf said. “Cortland did a great job covering our stuff and we like to get a [more] few touchdowns in there rather than field goals, but eh, it worked out.”

A pass interference call against Cortland followed by a penalty on the Bombers, brought in Rogowski to attempt his third field goal of the game.

Rogowski’s 39-yard attempt in the third quarter gave the Bombers a 16-6 lead, and set the school’s single season record for field goals made at 12.

“His percentages are remarkable,” Head Coach Mike Welch said. “Big factors.”

The two  teams traded punts to start the fourth quarter, until Smith found Wheeler in the end zone for the second time, to put bring the Red Dragons within four 16-12 after a failed the two-point conversion.

The Bombers offense responded by driving 67 yards, which led to Ruggerio’s second score, a five-yard touchdown run to give the Blue and Gold a 23-12 edge.

“We finished the game strong,” Grastorf said. “When we got that ball back we knew we had to score and get some time off the clock.”

Ruggerio shouldered the majority of the scoring for the Bombers and finished the day with a career high 35 carries for 109 yards.

“He played outstanding,” Welch said. “Gave him the ball a lot and I think that the last games he’s been a factor and we’ve missed him [when he was out].”

Another touchdown got the Red Dragons within five, and after converting the two-point conversion; the Bombers’ lead was reduced to 23-20.

After a failed onsides kick and the Bombers forced to punt, Rogowski’s kick was downed inside the five-yard line, with the help of sophomore cornerback Mike Conti who batted the ball back in play as he ran into the end zone.

“I said to the guys before I left the bench ‘I’m making a play. I downing the ball,’” Conti said. “You just got to find the ball when it’s in the air, knock it down and thankfully somebody recovered it before it landed in the end zone.”

The Red Dragons had to drive almost the entire field to take the lead or at least tie the game, but sophomore strong safety Kevin Cline’s first interception of his career, ended both the drive and the game.

Though the Bombers will not make the playoffs, they rebounded after a 47-26 loss against Springfield two weeks ago to finish the year with back-to-back wins and bring their record to 7-3.

“To finish with two wins really gives us some momentum going into the off-season and our underclassmen,” Welch said. “It also gives our seniors an opportunity to go out on a victorious, successful two games. And of course the Cortaca Jug game is as exciting as it gets so those two factors I think are big.

Although the team fell short of making the postseason, it is safe to say that the seniors on this year’s team went out with a bang.

“I was just very happy that we were able to finish with a victory,” Welsh said. “To send them out with the Cortaca Jug game, two very meaningful accomplishments for the senior class and the fact that we were able to do that is something that’s very satisfying.”