The Ithaca College football team lost its two-game winning streak Oct. 15 to the The College at Brockport Golden Eagles 42–28, putting the Bombers at an even 3–3 overall record.
Despite holding multiple leads, the Bombers struggled to contain the Golden Eagles’ explosive offense. 42 points is the most allowed in a single game by the Bombers defense since Oct. 31, 2009 when they surrendered 47 points in a loss to Springfield College.
The Bombers led the way in the first quarter. Junior wide receiver Jared Bauer caught his first touchdown of the season with 6:37 left off a 24-yard reception thrown by senior quarterback Wolfgang Shafer.
The Blue and Gold continued to rally with 2:16 left in the first quarter when Shafer connected with junior wide receiver JR Zazzara for a 48-yard touchdown. Brockport countered this with a field goal, but the Bombers led 14–3 heading into the second quarter.
Brockport’s freshman quarterback Joe Germinerio brought the game closer in the second quarter, running for a touchdown from five yards out, making the score 14–10.
The Golden Eagles took a 17–14 lead with 6:49 left in the first half when senior running back Dan Andrews punched it in from the one yard line. They capitalized on this lead when junior kicker Brett Renzi nailed a 31-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. The Bombers trailed 20–14 entering the second half.
The Bombers regained the lead with 8:56 left in the third quarter as Zazzara caught his fifth touchdown of the season, a 43-yard pass from Shafer.
Brockport fought back just two minutes later when Andrews ran for another touchdown, this time from 16 yards out, making the score 27–21 in favor of the Golden Eagles.
A neck-and-neck battle to this point, the Blue and Gold scored at the beginning of the fourth quarter to once again take a one-point lead. This touchdown was a 17-yard pass from Shafer to freshman wide receiver Will Gladney. With 13:49 left in the game, the South Hill squad held a 28–27 lead.
However, just over a minute after Gladney’s touchdown, Brockport broke the game open. Senior Golden Eagle wide receiver Nate Wilkinson caught a 79-yard touchdown pass from Germinerio, making the game 35–28 in favor of Brockport.
The Golden Eagle defense contained the Bomber offense, and with just over four minutes left in the game, Germinerio ran for another 5-yard touchdown, making the final score of the game 42–28.
The Bombers will take on Empire 8 opponent Morrisville State College, that has yet to win a game, at 1 p.m. Oct. 22 at Butterfield Stadium.
