The Ithaca College football team dropped its first Liberty League Championship matchup in heartbreaking fashion to the Union College Garnet Chargers 19-14 Oct. 25 at Butterfield Stadium. Tensions were high post-game, with the Garnet Chargers and Bombers jawing at midfield after the Garnet Chargers rushed to celebrate on the Bombers’ logo.
The game saw an acceleration in the final minutes where both teams scratched and clawed until Garnet Chargers sophomore kicker Francesco Pileggi nailed a 32-yard game-winning field goal in the final seconds to take down the Bombers for the first time since 2019.
On the Bombers’ first defensive drive, an error set the team back. On third-and-20 with Garnet Chargers senior quarterback Patch Flanagan heading toward the sideline, junior linebacker Henry Takacs absolutely demolished Flanagan high and was called for targeting, ejecting him for the game and giving Union a new set of downs at their own 32. Flanagan was down on the ground for a few minutes.
Bombers’ head coach Michael Toerper said a combination of errors and ineffectiveness in moving the football led to a tough game.
“I think that we let [Union] off the hook and we got a 15-yard penalty on third-and-20 and that was killer,” Toerper said. “Then we just didn’t get things going in the run game like we wanted to. When you can’t run the football effectively, that makes things harder.”
Flanagan made it back into the game and aired it out for a homerun shot that was brought in toward the left sideline by junior wide receiver Joe Curran. The Garnet Chargers used the easy field position and senior running back DJ Wright bounced right to put the Bombers behind 7-0 with 1:53 remaining in the first quarter, capping off a strenuous 20-play drive.
Finding momentum, the Bombers’ offense finally started moving. Junior quarterback Matthew Parker got sophomore receiver Tian Murray and junior receiver Nicholas Lang involved, while sophomore running back Chris Scully also began to find room as they drove into the Garnet Chargers’ territory. On third-and-5, Parker air mailed a ball out of the endzone intended for Lang. The Bombers settled for a field goal attempt, but they could not capitalize. Sophomore kicker Caleb Wandell’s 41-yard attempt was tipped at the line and the ball fell short of the uprights. The Bombers would enter the half trailing 7-0.
The Bombers started the second half with immediate momentum. On the return first-year running back Anthony Mestre burst up the right sideline, dodging defenders, all the way to the Bombers’ 48. Junior quarterback Mike Reed started the drive at quarterback and on third-and-9, offensive coordinator Brandon Maguire boldly called a quarterback power up the middle. Reed pushed through the pile to get past the marker. A few plays later, Reed got it done with his arm, pump faking then airing it into an open Murray on the left side for a 18-yard gain to the Union 11.
Toerper said the decision to pull in Reed for the second half was to utilize his ability to move around and try to spark something down the field.
“I just thought [Reed] was going to give us a little bit more something in the QB scramble game and his capability to move the ball down the field,” Toerper said.
On fourth-and-1 from the Union 2, Reed lined up in the shotgun and ran forward, finding nothing there. Reed spun off the sea of bodies and found space left, falling across the goal line for a Bombers’ touchdown. Reed received a joyous reception from his teammates on the sideline. The touchdown tied the game 7-7, with 9:53 on the clock in the third quarter.
The Garnet Chargers would not be discouraged. From midfield, Flanagan found a wide-open Curran who stumbled after the strike down to the Bombers’ 3-yard line. Despite a valiant attempt to keep them from the endzone, Flanagan hit junior receiver Owen Corrigan on a slant across the middle of the endzone to put the Bombers behind 14-7 with 5:38 remaining in the third quarter.
Reed began the response immediately. On third-and-4 from the Garnet Chargers’ 29, Reed received the snap and looked to pass, but it was a designed draw. The Bombers’ offensive line parted the sea on the left side for Reed as he bolted through the line of scrimmage and was only taken down at the Garnet Chargers’ 3-yard line. After two Reed attempts up the middle and a failed fade to Lang, the Bombers tried to go back to Reed again. On fourth down, Reed pulled the option and was met immediately trying to run up the middle. The Bombers’ offense would walk off the field empty handed, down 14-7 with 13:25 remaining.
With 6:05 to go, the Bombers were desperate. After a sack nearly brought the Bombers’ offense to its knees, Reed used third and long to find Murray in a tight zone across the middle of the field for a 25-yard gain. Two plays later, Reed found an open space on the left side of the line and made three crafty juke moves past defenders to gain his way all the way to midfield. With Reed throwing with precision, the Bombers inched into the red zone. From the Union 12, Reed faked the option left and floated a beauty of a ball toward senior tight end Ryan Watson, who leaked into the end zone wide open for the score. The defense had to hold strong with the score knotted up with 1:56 remaining.
With 23 seconds remaining and third-and-4, Flanagan launched a prayer down the right sideline that was brought in by Corrigan at the Bomber 26. The Garnet Chargers ran two more plays, centering the ball and setting up Pileggi for a 32-yard attempt with eight seconds remaining. Pileggi drilled it and the Garnet Chargers’ sideline ignited with excitement. The Bombers tried to make a lateral miracle happen, but it ended in disaster as Reed was downed in the end zone for a safety. The Garnet Chargers rushed the field, where they were met by the Bombers at the logo, who did not take kindly to any stomping of the symbol. The two teams needed to be separated and the Garnet Chargers ran back to the locker room.
The Bombers will next face off with the Buffalo State Bengals at 1 p.m. Nov. 1 at Butterfield Stadium.
