ITHACA, N.Y. – The nationally ranked No. 9/10 Ithaca College football team will play in its first NCAA quarterfinal since 2003 after the Bombers defeated Springfield College, 31-20, in the second round of the Division III Championship at Butterfield Stadium on November 26. Ithaca, which is now 12-0 on the season, overcame a 10-point first quarter deficit to continue its season. The Bombers move onto the third round, where they will square off with No. 1 North Central on December 3 in Naperville, Ill.
Springfield entered Saturday's contest as the national leader in time of possession (35:05) and fewest tackles for loss allowed (28), as well as second in fewest turnovers (seven) and rushing yards (354). The Bomber defense limited the Pride to 24:49 in possession, recorded 10 tackles for loss, forced four turnovers and held Springfield to 252 yards rushing.
The Bombers got off to a shaky start, however, as A.J. Wingfield was intercepted on the opening drive by DJ Brown, who returned the pick for a touchdown to give Springfield an early 7-0 lead with 12:55 remaining in the first quarter.
IC then had to punt on its next drive, which traveled to the Springfield 38-yard line. The Pride were faced with a third down early in their possession, but a 47-yard run by Armando Torres pushed the ball all the way down to the IC 7-yard line. The Bombers' defense held strong and forced a 23-yard field goal, but IC trailed, 10-0, with 8:25 to go in the opening quarter.
Ithaca responded with a 13-play, 68-yard drive which was capped off by a 3-yard touchdown run by Jake Williams to cut the score to 10-7 with 2:46 left. IC reached midfield on its second snap as Wingfield rushed for 11 yards and then the Bombers picked up a crucial fourth down on an 8-yard completion to Billy Tedeschi down to the Springfield 30-yard line. Wingfield then four Jon Crowley for a 26-yard gain to set up the Williams touchdown.
The Pride answered with a 46-yard kick return, followed by a 29-yard run by Torres to move inside the red zone as the first quarter came to an end.
Springfield faced 3rd-and-8 from the IC 12-yard line on the opening snap of the second quarter and threw an incompletion to set up a 29-yard field goal for Christian Hutra to push the Pride's lead back out to six points at 13-7 with 14:50 left.
Anthony D'Addetta took the kick off back 37 yard to the IC 44 to start the drive, but Ithaca stalled out at the Springfield 26-yard line with a turnover on downs at the 10-minute mark.
On the very next play, Owen O'Neill busted through the line and forced a turnover, which was recovered by Ben Stola and the Bombers were back in business.
The Bombers would move into a goal-to-go situation after a 12-yard run by Michael Anderson and then Jalen Leonard-Osbourne scored on a 3-yard run to put IC ahead, 14-13, with 8:18 left in the half.
Ithaca forced a three-and-out just two minutes later and rode that momentum as Wingfield hit Leonard-Osbourne up the sideline for a highlight reel one-handed catch and Leonard-Osbourne raced into the end zone for a 49-yard score to give the Bombers a 21-13 cushion with just over five minutes to play.
The Pride would close out the half with an 11-play, 75-yard drive, which was finished off with a 1-yard run by Joseph Cannizzaro with 36 ticks remaining. Springfield went into the half trailing the Bombers, 21-20.
It was all Bombers in the second half.
Springfield went three-and-out to start the third quarter, and a 39-yard punt return by Anderson spotted IC at the Springfield 15-yard line, but IC missed a 26-yard field goal at the 9:29 mark.
Less than two minutes later, Michael Roumes popped the ball loose at the IC 29-yard line and Tommy Moran fell on the loose ball.
After the sudden change, IC faced a fourth down near midfield and Roumes kept the drive alive with a sneak up the middle. Two plays later, Tedeschi took a lateral and found Leonard-Osbourne for a 46-yard touchdown pass to make it a 28-20 ball game with 4:30 on the clock.
Now into the fourth quarter, Springfield reach midfield after a 15-yard penalty on IC, followed by a 21-yard run. Two snaps later, Jason Haber forced a fumble and Matt DeSimpliciis recovered at the IC 45-yard line with 9:39 left in the game.
The Bombers would eat up the next five minutes on a 10-play, 53-yard drive and IC made it a two-score game with a 19-yard field goal from Nicholas Bahamonde with 4:22 to go. Williams and Wingfield accounted for 22 yards on the ground and then Tedeschi took another wide receiver pass and found Wingfield for a 23-yard completion down to the Springfield 10-yard line. After a few running plays, the Bombers settled for the insurance field goal.
Springfield needed to move quickly to have a chance at a comeback and did so with an 11-yard completion and 16-yard run to reach midfield. After a 13-yard gain moved the Pride to the IC 35, Jason Green and Isaiah Couser registered back-to-back sacks to force a 4th-and-29. Moran would seal the win with an interception and the Bombers ended the contest in victory formation.
Wingfield threw for 168 yards on 20-of-28 attempts and rushed for 88 yards on 15 carries, to go along with one reception for 23 yards. Leonard-Osbourne had three touchdowns on the day as he had four receptions for 101 yards and ran for 20 yards on eight attempts. Williams finished with 52 yards on the ground.
On defense, Derek Slywka recorded 10 total tackles with 1.5 for loss and one pass breakup. Roumes finished with nine tackles and a forced fumble, while DeSimpliciis, O'Neill and Jonathan Koumas each had six tackles. Green added five tackles and a sack.
The Bombers outgained Springfield, 411-303, as IC threw for 237 and rushed for 174.
Ithaca and North Central, the 2019 national champions, will meet next Saturday for a trip to the national semifinals. North Central will enter next weeks' game as the top offense and defense in the nation as the Cardinals score 55 points a game and allow 4.8.