ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College football team suffered a heartbreaking shootout to Utica College, 44-42, in the ECAC Scotty Whitelaw Bowl on Saturday afternoon at Cornell's Schoellkopf Field. Utica connected on a 36-yard field goal with under a minute left in regulation to take the lead and an interception on IC's final possession sealed the win.
Ithaca finishes the year with an 8-3 record, while Utica improves to 7-4 to complete its 2018 season. The 86 combined points in the contest are the most in an IC game since a 69-42 victory over Hartwick in 2008.
Sophomore Wahid Nabi posted school records of 524 yards in the contest and matched his own school record with six touchdown passes in the loss. Nabi completed 35 passes on 59 attempts in the contest. On the receiving end of three of those touchdown passes was junior Will Gladney, who tied IC's all-time record of 22 receiving touchdowns. Gladney also hauled in 14 receptions for 236 yards, which are the second-most receiving yards in a single game.
The Bombers totaled 569 yards of offense on Saturday, while Utica totaled 525 yards. The Pioneers' quarterback Logan Wilcox was named Most Valuable Player of the game after he threw for 467 yards and two touchdowns.
Utica scored the first touchdown of the afternoon with a 3-yard run by Malcolm Stowe with 7:53 on the clock. The Pioneers marched 68 yards on 10 plays to take an early lead.
Not even 30 seconds later, Nabi connected with freshman Jacob Cooney for a 79-yard touchdown. The ensuing point-after was blocked, but junior Kyle Berna scooped up a fumble and went into the end zone for a two-point conversion to give the Bombers an 8-7 lead.
Ithaca would take a 15-7 lead into the second quarter as Nabi hit Gladney for 43 yards as time expired in the opening period. The Bombers went 86 yards in 10 plays over 3:29 of game time to extend their advantage.
IC's cushion ballooned to 21-7 with just under six minutes remaining before halftime as Nabi and Gladney hooked up again for a 33-yard strike on the first play after an errant snap on a punt by Utica.
Utica answered with a long drive down to the Ithaca 21-yard line but missed a 38-yard field goal with 4:04 left in the half. The Pioneers erased the miss opportunity as Kwasi Addo stepped in front on a Nabi pass and returned the interception 25 yards for a touchdown just 15 seconds later to make the score 21-14.
The Pioneers knotted the contest at 21-21 on a 15-yard touchdown catch by Peyton Miller from Wilcox at the 1:15 mark of the second quarter. Ithaca struck right back 29 seconds later on a 23-yard connection from Nabi to Cooney to take a 28-21 advantage heading into the locker room.
On the drive, Nabi found junior Nick Cervone for 10 yards and sophomore Andre Vito for 12. On both plays, Utica was flagged with 15-yard penalties to move the ball into Pioneer territory. After an incompletion and timeout by Utica, the Nabi-Cooney connection gave IC the halftime lead.
Out of the break, Utica pulled to within four points, 28-24, on a 22-yard field goal by Maki Medici with 10:16 on the clock.
The third TD strike from Nabi to Gladney ensued with 6:55 to go in the third quarter to push Ithaca's lead back out to nine points at 35-24 to cap off the third quarter scoring.
Utica brought things back to a one-score game early on in the fourth quarter with a 30-yard Medici field goal, which was the beginning of a 20-point frame for the Pioneers. Just over three minutes later, UC scored again on an 81-yard catch-and-run by Josh Connor from Wilcox. Utica would be flagged for a sideline warning and had to attempt the PAT from 35 yards out and missed to keep the score at 35-33 in favor of the Bombers.
With 6:01 to play in the high-scoring affair, Utica took its first lead of the contest since the opening touchdown on an 84-yard interception return, the second in the game, as Elijah Belle picked off a screen pass from Nabi to Vito.
The Bombers looked destined to punch another score in the end zone with a 10-play, 58-yard drive, but the pick-six took the wind out of IC's sails.
IC would not go down without a fight, however, as the Bombers used the next possession to rattle off 69 yards on 12 plays, which was capped off by a nine-yard touchdown catch by Vito to put IC back up, 42-41, with 2:54 left in regulation. Nabi completed six passes to four different receivers on the drive.
After the kickoff, Utica began its final drive from its own 32-yard line and 2:45 on the clock. On the first snap, Wilcox hit Miller for 25 yards and then back-to-back four-yard gains moved the ball into Ithaca territory. A 13-yard completion down to the 22-yard line put the Pioneers within scoring distance, and after an incompletion and two rushes, Utica brought on the field goal unit for a 36-yard try with 52 seconds left.
Medici lined up the kick and drilled his third made field goal of the game to put Utica back on top, 44-42, with 48 ticks left.
Ithaca took over at its 29-yard line with a final chance to win the game, but after a delay of game, Nabi was picked off for the third time near midfield to end the contest.
Vito had six catches on the day for 65 yards, while Cooney posted 140 yards on five grabs and two scores.
Senior RJ D'Amico recorded eight kick returns for 162 yards on the day, while senior Aaron Francis and junior Nick Garone each notched 12 tackles to lead the defense. Senior Ryan Bronson also notched 10 tackles in the loss.
Ithaca Drops Heartbreaker to Utica in the ECAC Scotty Whitelaw Bowl, 44-42
/seasons/2018/boxscores/20181117_bj8m.xml
2018
Utica
44
Ithaca
42
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utica (7-4) | 7 | 14 | 3 | 20 | 44 |
| Ithaca (8-3) | 15 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
Nov 17, 2018