Brockport #20 (1-1) 8
Ithaca (2-0) 23
It’s been nearly two years since the SUNY Brockport football team competed on their home turf. Today the campus was buzzing as students and fans returned to support the Golden Eagles in their home opener against the Ithaca Bombers.
However, Brockport fell short of defending their tradition of home dominance. Today’s defeat was the second home loss for Brockport in their last 23 home games and the first since the second round of the 2018 NCAA Div. III Football Championship.
Both the Brockport and Ithaca defenses got off to a slow start. After each team was forced to punt on their opening drives, a Brockport safety broke the scoring drought. Josh Greenwood recorded the only sack of the game for the Golden Eagles to give the team an early 2-0 lead.
The Golden Eagles couldn’t follow up with points on offense. Additionally, a busted coverage on the next drive allowed a 71-yard bomb to Ithaca’s wide receiver Michael Anderson to score the first touchdown of the game.
On the next drive, Ithaca gained momentum after scoring a field goal until Brockport scored a touchdown right before halftime. A 1-yard run by Jala Coad gave the Golden Eagles their only touchdown of the game. A failed two-point conversion left the score 10-8 in favor of Ithaca.
Ithaca took control of the game in the second half. On the third play of the half, freshman quarterback Jack Cheshire threw his first interception of the game to Ithaca linebacker Miles Haynes who returned it 35-yards for a touchdown. Brockport’s second half woes continued the next drive when Cheshire was strip sacked from behind and Ithaca recovered the football. The Bombers took advantage of the good field position from the fumble with a field goal to put them up 20-8, a lead Brockport didn’t recover from.
Along with Jala Coad who rushed for 78-yards and a touchdown, senior wide receiver Imhotep Cromer had another strong outing with eight catches for 94-yards. Although Cheshire threw for 235-yards, he struggled completing only 24 out of 52 passes and throwing three interceptions.
The Golden Eagles are 1-1 at the start of their season and are looking to bounce back next week when they take on the 1-1 University of Rochester in another home match.
