Football sees slow start to season

The Ithaca College football team could not muster a revenge game as the No. 3 Johns Hopkins University Blue Jays defeated the Bombers for the third straight season, with a final score of 42-14 on Sept. 6 at Butterfield Stadium.

In the midst of rain and the backdrop of heavy clouds, the Bombers had their opportunities early but could not come up with any points. During the Bombers’ second drive, junior quarterback Matthew Parker sent a long ball down the sideline that just missed the hands of wide open junior wide receiver Nicholas Matos. The Bombers nearly got the ball back on the punt as the Blue Jays’ returner bobbled the ball, but the South Hill squad could not recover it.

The Blue Jays’ offense was nearly unstoppable once they got momentum and that all led back to the performances of graduate student quarterback Bay Harvey and senior running back Geoff Schroeder. The following possession, Schroeder went wide right and broke to the sideline for a 32-yard run. The Bombers, getting hit hard, broke and were fooled on a play action touchdown pass to junior running back Ty Pugliano. The Bombers looked to rebound with 6:38 left in the first quarter.

Unfortunately for the Bombers, the horrors did not stop. On a third-and-2 with 5:37 remaining, Parker lofted one to the left sideline for sophomore receiver Tian Murray. Murray and junior wide receiver Nicholas Lang ran into each other, both trying to go for the ball, neither ending up with it. Instead, Hopkins senior defensive back Brian Doherty ripped the ball out and ended up with the ball.

After the Blue Jays capped off a 10 play 65-yard drive with a touchdown, the Bombers, down two scores, came out determined. Parker, rolling right, found Matos on an out route for a 22-yard gain to their own 45, igniting hope in both the team and crowd with cheers. Following a third down conversion to Murray, Parker went down the right sideline and hit Murray in his hands, but Murray could not hold on through rough contact into the ground.

Going for it on fourth down, disaster struck as Parker was hit and the ball came loose into the waiting hands of junior defensive lineman Will Seibert. Seibert rumbled to the Bombers’ 25, and despite sophomore running back Chris Scully’s effort stripping the ball, Seibert was down before it came out.

The Bombers found nothing more throughout the remainder of the half as the defense broke down and allowed two more touchdowns. The Bombers entered the second half trailing 28-0.

During the Blue Jays’ first drive of the second half, sophomore defensive lineman Davin Foote threw a punch into a pile trying to jar a ball loose. The move was deemed extracurricular and Foote was ejected. Foote walked off the field and hit his own helmet in frustration.

With 7:49 remaining in the third, the Bombers’ offense came out a changed product. The Bombers, showing a fast pace, went no huddle and handed it to Scully, who hit the middle hole hard for a 15-yard run and another first down to the Blue Jays’ 41. After a pass interference call, the Bombers moved up to the nine and had their first shot at points. The Blue Jays’ defense held strong and the Bombers were forced into fourth-and-6. Going for it, Parker heaved a fade to Lang, but Lang was held and the Bombers had a new set of downs.

The Bombers finally got in for six as Parker went back to the well with Lang. On a fade route, Lang reached up around the defender’s helmet and pulled the ball down for the touchdown. Despite the margin, the sideline erupted and Parker hopped up and down flexing.

Despite the game being far from reach in the second half, head coach Michael Toerper said he was proud the team kept going through the struggle.

“We had a void of leadership starting with me in the first half, I didn’t have these guys ready to play,” Toerper said. “They just stayed in the fight, they had energy, they were excited and they didn’t care about the scoreboard. They just wanted to go out there and keep playing. We gotta move forward, but I’m proud of them for staying in the fight. We all gotta be better.”

After the first score, the Bombers showed some life on defense with a three and out, but the Bombers’ offense could not capitalize again. The Blue Jays hit the Bombers with a 59-yard touchdown run and the writing was on the wall.

With 5:18 to go in the game, junior defensive lineman Carson Ciancuielli made the first impact play for the Bombers’ defense. Ciancuielli blew up senior quarterback Ethan Loller in the backfield and ripped the ball out of his hands. Ciancuelli held the ball and presented it to the crowd triumphantly as the sideline came alive. Junior quarterback Mike Reed must have felt the momentum as Reed launched a ball down the left sideline to Lang who pulled it in for a 42-yard gain. Reed immediately cashed in on the field position, taking a direct snap and falling backward into the endzone. The Bombers trailed 42-14, and that’s how the score would remain.

Toerper was blunt and said that while he was proud of the way the team fought to the end, they still need to improve.

“We can’t beat ourselves, we beat ourselves today,” Toerper said. “[Johns Hopkins] certainly made some plays as well, but in that first half we just did things that put ourselves behind the eight ball and you can’t do that against a team like this and expect to have success.”

The Bombers will next face off with the Alfred University Saxons at 12 p.m. Sept. 13 in Alfred, NY.