GAME NOTES: Football Concludes Home Schedule on Saturday Against St. Lawrence

ALL-TIME SERIES: Ithaca and St. Lawrence have met a total of 36 times dating back to 1931 and the Bombers have won 30 of those matchups, including the last 23 contests. St. Lawrence won the first-ever battle, 51-0, in 1931, which is the Saints' largest margin of victory in the series. SLU also earned wins in 1946, '47, '76, '82 and '83. Since 1984, the Bombers have not lost to St. Lawrence and their largest victory came by way of a 60-0 outcome in 1998. SWANSTROM'S FIRST WIN: Head coach Dan Swanstrom's first career victory took place at St. Lawrence last season by a 24-13 score. Ithaca outgained the Saints, 449-291, and Wahid Nabi threw for 357 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start. Junior Will Gladney was on the receiving end of two of those touchdowns as he caught seven passes for 180 yards, while Andrew Vito caught the other touchdown and had 63 receiving yards. LAST TIME OUT: The Bombers defeated Rochester at a muddy Butterfield Stadium last Saturday, 28-3. IC's defensive unit forced two turnovers and recorded 11 tackles for loss in the win. Nabi accounted for all four touchdowns for the Bombers as he threw for three scores and ran in another. Kendall Anderson rushed for a career-high 83 yards on 15 carries, and three different Bombers caught touchdown passes – Gladney, Vito and Jimmy Tedeschi. The Bombers have now outscored Rochester, 74-9, in their two all-time matchups. A DAY OF FIRSTS: In that win over Rochester, Nabi rushed for his first career touchdown, Tedeschi caught his first collegiate TD and Nick Garone intercepted his first pass. LIBERTY LEAGUE HONORS: For their efforts last Saturday, Nabi was named Liberty League Offensive Performer of the Week and Tedeschi was selected as Rookie of the Week. Ryan Bronson earned honor roll recognition as a defensive player as he notched four tackles, an interception and blocked field goal in the win. SENIOR DAY/PARENTS WEEKEND: Saturday's game also marks the final regular season home game at Butterfield Stadium for 24 seniors on the 2018 squad. This group has won 22 games over the past four seasons, which include an ECAC Bowl win last season and a 48-20 win over Cortland. The Bombers were also the regular season co-champions of the Liberty League last season. Prior to the game, all underclass parents will be honored, and at halftime, the parents of the 24 seniors will be recognized. GLADNEY UPDATE: In the game against Rochester, Gladney surpassed 2,000 career receiving yards and now has 2,012 to his credit. He also recorded seven receptions and is now just seven more away from tying the career mark of 151. Gladney also caught his 18th career touchdown in the win to move into a tie for second all-time. Four more touchdown catches for the 6-foot, 3-inch junior will vault him to No. 1 over George Mack (1982-86), who recorded 22 receiving touchdowns. NCAA STATISTICAL LEADERS: The Bomber defense continues to move up on the NCAA Division III statistical rankings list after another stellar performance last week. IC is now ninth in scoring defense (9.6 points per game), 10th in red zone defense (45.5%), 14th in rush defense (65.0 yards per game), 16th in total defense (244.6 yards per game), 20th in turnovers (18) and 22nd in first down defense (100). CONFERENCE PROMINENCE: Along with their national rankings, the Bombers also rank atop the Liberty League in the same category, as well as in defensive efficiency and pass defense. Senior captain linebacker Pat Minogue's 32 solo tackles and 61 total tackles are good for third and fourth in the conference, respectively. Senior defensive end Brien Pacholec's 3.5 sacks has him fifth in league, as well. The Bombers have at least one member of their team ranked in the top-7 in each of the six individual defense categories in the Liberty League. SCOUTING ST. LAWRENCE: The Saints are 2-5 on the season and 1-1 in the Liberty League. SLU has notched victories this season over Norwich (40-7) and Rochester (38-24), but opened the season with a tough 9-6 overtime loss to Utica. St. Lawrence is averaging 20.1 points per contest and is allowing 30.0 per outing. The offense leads the Liberty League in passing yardage with 283.1 per game. Tyler Grochot has thrown for 1,156 yards and nine touchdowns, while Aaron Ruthman has accounted for 794 yards and four touchdowns. Four players, Anthony Ferraro (550), Andrew Murphy (439), Travis Marnell (359) and Joseph Viscardo (248), have each eclipsed more than 240 receiving yards on the season. Sophomore linebacker Liam Murray is a player to keep an eye on. The Saints star is coming off a Liberty League Defensive Player of the Week performance against Union. The second-year tallied 16 total tackles and 3.5 TFL in the loss. Murray is also first in the conference with 63 total tackles this season. NEXT UP: Ithaca hits the road for its final two games of the regular season. The Bombers head to Hobart next Saturday, November 3 for a 1 p.m. kickoff against the Statesmen and then travel to Cortland on the 10th for a noon kick in the 60th Cortaca Jug Game.