Bombers Stifle Springfield In 23-14 Win
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The football team (5-2, 2-1 Empire 8) held the nation’s third-ranked rushing attack nearly 250 yards below its season average in beating the visiting Springfield Pride (5-2, 2-2 Empire 8) 23-14 Saturday. Ithaca allowed just two touchdowns and 170 yards on the ground to a Springfield team that came in averaging nearly 40 points and 419 rushing yards per game.
Senior quarterback Rob Zappia (Greece Athena/Rochester) threw for a career-high 301 yards, with senior wideout Thomas Vossler (Loon Lake/Saranac Lake) posting career-best figures of 12 catches and 121 yards. Vossler and senior tight end Dan Higgins (Greece Athena/Rochester) both caught a touchdown pass and junior Andrew Rogowski (Canisius/East Amherst) kicked a career-long 44-yard field goal.
Vossler’s touchdown catch came on his 12th and final reception of the game (one short of Ithaca’s single-game record) and capped a 10-play, 74-yard drive after the Pride had scored a pair of third-quarter touchdowns to pull within two points.
Zappia threw for 70 of the 74 yards on Ithaca’s final scoring drive with
Vossler’s three-yard touchdown catch closing the scoring. Springfield gained just 55 yards on 21 plays on three final drives; the Pride turned the ball over on downs each time.
Ithaca’s three-man line led the defense; senior tackle Andrew Haim (Douglas MacArthur/Levittown) recorded 13 tackles – including two for loss, senior end Matt Dibble (Columbia/East Schodack) finished with 11 and senior end Sean Gil (Sachem North/Holbrook) added eight. All three were career-high totals. Dibble also collected a career-best four tackles for loss – and added a sack (the third surrendered by Springfield this year) and a pass break-up (the second).
Junior linebackers Ryan Clarke (Archbishop Spaulding/West Friendship, Md.) and Eric Toporoff (Montville Township//Montville, N.J.) made nine tackles apiece. Sophomore linebacker Will Carter (Westlake/Thornwood) added eight as Ithaca held Springfield without a run of more than 17 yards. The Pride have averaged just 201 rushing yards and scored just eight touchdowns in the last five meetings at Butterfield Stadium.