FB: Liberty League

[BomberJeff]

Well, that's a way to start a season for Ithaca: Bridgewater State commits a delay of game penalty on the opening kickoff and then the Bombers return the kickoff attempt 96 yards for a touchdown.

Already 14-0 up midway through the first.

[UfanBill]

After giving up a long opening kickoff run back the Union defense held Alleghany to a field goal before Union unveiled it's latest weapon WR Nicholas Dunneman. The first year caught a mid-range pass, spun away from a defender and used elite speed to take it to the house. QB Donovan Pacatte then showed a facet of offense the Dutchmen hadn't had in awhile, running for a big 33 yard gain and then crashing in for the TD from the 4. A second 6 yard TD run by Pacatte gave the Dutchmen a 21-3 lead. Pacatte has 79 first half rushing yards ...21-6 at halftime.

[BomberJeff]

Ithaca rolling through in the first half, up 30-7 at halftime.  Bridgewater State got the lone touchdown right after Ithaca took that 14-0 lead, but Ithaca's offense responded back with another touchdown, then the defense got a safety and the ensuing possession saw them get touchdown number 4.

Bombers offense has just been rolling with 224 yards. over 130 of that on the ground.  When he has thrown, A.J. Wingfield has been on the mark with 11 for 14, just for not a lot of distance.  It has been as efficient as it gets.

[UfanBill]

Two quick second half TDs, 32 yard pass Pacatte to RB Jonathan Anderson followed by an Ike Irabor 26 yard run has put Union up 35-6. FTC...
Allegheny answers with a TD drive 35-13. Dutchmen offense having their way but the defense needs work...Just as predicted.

[stlawus]

Pretty bad start for the Saints.  4 new OL who are not on the same page aided by really poor play calling had this game over early in the 2nd quarter.  Quite disappointed with the defensive effort as that's a veteran group who looked unfocused and were extremely undisciplined.

[Jersey42]

RPI's defense was excellent today.  Dickinson's only score came on the second play of the game on a deflected pass.  Dickinson lost their QB in the 2nd quarter.  After that they couldn't do much against the RPI defense.  After two years of not playing, Konkwo was a beast for RPI.

Offense was a different story.  An interception off of a deflected pass stopped their first drive.  One touchdown came after Dickinson snapped the ball over the punter's head.  The other one came on a long pass to a wide open receiver due to botched coverage. Several dropped passes and lots of poor short throws to open receivers pretty much summarized the passing game.  If you take away the long touchdown they went 7-25 for 100 yards.

RPI's next two opponents (Carnegie Melon and WPI) won big last night.  To say the least, RPI will need a lot more offense to be competitive. 

[UfanBill]

Final UNION 42-Allegheny 25...

The good...
OFFENSE -The Dutchmen found their quarterback. Donovan Pacatte was superb. He threw sparingly 7/12 for 120 yards and three TDs but also ran for 98 yards and two more TDs.  Their running back corps did the job as expected rushing for 342 yards and the receivers were led by yet another freshman find, Nicholas Dunneman with two TDs. Andre Ross Jr. played very sparingly and didn't catch a ball.
SPECIAL TEAMS- Kick coverage needs work but keep in mind a lot of guys were out there for the first time... Kicker and punter Andrew Lau made all his kicks impressively,6/6 on extra points. He did not attempt a FG, and punted 4 times for a 44.2 yard average.   
PARTICIPATION -Coach Behrman was able to use the whole squad. Vital to a Union team which does not play a JV schedule. I saw no significant injuries though there was troublesome cramping that forced some to the sideline without return. The Union depth again seems to be a strength.
The bad...
OFFENSE- not much negative although Pacatte did throw an interception that directly led to an Allegheny score. The O-line was dominant with LT Tim Driscoll showing why he's an All American. Two starting linemen did go out with the aforementioned cramps.
DEFENSE-Here's where improvement is needed the Dutchmen gave up 21 first downs and 25 points to a good, certainly not great, Allegheny offense. They allowed 214 passing yards but much of that came against 2nd and 3rd teamers. The defensive front gave up some run yards but overall played well with a lot of subbing .
BIGGEST ISSUE- Penalties  Union was flagged for 11 penalties costing 110 yards. Hopefully just first game mistakes.

All in all a very solid showing after the long road trip...FTC

[unionpalooza]

Final UNION 42-Allegheny 25...

The good...
OFFENSE -The Dutchmen found their quarterback. Donovan Pacatte was superb. He threw sparingly 7/12 for 120 yards and three TDs but also ran for 98 yards and two more TDs.  Their running back corps did the job as expected rushing for 342 yards and the receivers were led by yet another freshman find, Nicholas Dunneman with two TDs. Andre Ross Jr. played very sparingly and didn't catch a ball.
SPECIAL TEAMS- Kick coverage needs work but keep in mind a lot of guys were out there for the first time... Kicker and punter Andrew Lau made all his kicks impressively,6/6 on extra points. He did not attempt a FG, and punted 4 times for a 44.2 yard average.   
PARTICIPATION -Coach Behrman was able to use the whole squad. Vital to a Union team which does not play a JV schedule. I saw no significant injuries though there was troublesome cramping that forced some to the sideline without return. The Union depth again seems to be a strength.
The bad...
OFFENSE- not much negative although Pacatte did throw an interception that directly led to an Allegheny score. The O-line was dominant with LT Tim Driscoll showing why he's an All American. Two starting linemen did go out with the aforementioned cramps.
DEFENSE-Here's where improvement is needed the Dutchmen gave up 21 first downs and 25 points to a good, certainly not great, Allegheny offense. They allowed 214 passing yards but much of that came against 2nd and 3rd teamers. The defensive front gave up some run yards but overall played well with a lot of subbing .
BIGGEST ISSUE- Penalties  Union was flagged for 11 penalties costing 110 yards. Hopefully just first game mistakes.

All in all a very solid showing after the long road trip...FTC

Penalties were definitely a major issue.  I'm not sure I'm sold on our QB play just yet.  It was great to see Pacatte run so successfully but he was not sharp at all in the passing game - he really struggled with accuracy, though he did throw a beautiful fade to the corner of the end zone.  I suspect some of that may just be first game jitters, so let's hope the accuracy settles in. 

I thought our defense was actually pretty sharp, limiting Allegheny to 150 yards of offense until two late drives in garbage time.

[BomberJeff]

Ithaca rolls 51-14.  The Ithaca offense got touchdowns on 6 of 8 completed possessions in the game (not counting the ones that reached halftime and final whistle nor the kickoff return TD).  Solid all around effort with I think 5 different scorers.  The defense also looked good for the half it was really on, it was pretty much all second string the second half (and even then they only gave up 7).

A great start to the season.  Hopefully the first good game of many.

[UfanBill]

Just another feel good story to add. Union RB Joseph Ferreira, a 2nd team All Liberty League performer as a sophomore in 2019 made a successful return to the field today after missing the last two seasons. 2020 per Covid and 2021 with an injury. #22 Ferreira had 10 carries for 91 yards with a long of 40 although he was annoyingly misidentified as #22 safety Jacob Vanderhoof by the Allegheny announcer.  I spoke of this last year. It's a pet peeve that announcers and even statisticians misidentify players when a double jersey number is used, one offense one defense. Do some preparation. 

[IC798891]

This game is exactly why RPI could go 5-5 or 10-0 and neither would shock me.

The offense gets 11 first downs. They average 2.6 yards per rush, and complete just 8-of-26 passes. And they win.

Sure, we'll tell ourselves that beating an uninspiring Dickinson program at home by 7 thanks to a bad punt snap won't bode well for the Shoes game, or the trip to Butterfield.

Just like how last year, they barely got by the eventual 3-7 Montclair or the eventual 5-6 Stevenson.

And then they'll beat Ithaca when a game-winning FG attempt is heading right, then hits a bird mid flight on goes through. And beat Union by scoring a game winning TD on a botched kneel down by the Dutchmen, and then be in the national quarterfinals while all our teams are at home. We all know it's coming

[Jonny Utah]

Went to the Ithaca game today.  Hot day with stands on only one side and it was packed and sweaty but all in all a good time.

BSU simply got outmatched so it will be tough to get a good assessment here on this game.  A few takes though:

Ithaca offense was super efficient with mostly inside zone runs, traps and a few sweeps.  Probably 10-15 WR screens.  Not sure if the QB simply reads the defense and throws them but I'm not sure I've seen that many screens in a game before.  The QB Wingfield is precise and does not make many mistakes.  BSU never really gave up the big play but Ithaca seemed to get 5 yards on every run.  Ithaca's RB tandem was solid, #45 Williams doesn't look like much but man he had some tough runs and always got positive yards.  Then Brozovic took a series or two and he was quicker and faster than Williams but not as physical.  These two aren't the backs that Hobart has, but they can do the job.  I'm not sure what Jalen Hines story is.  Not sure if they are using him more as an H back or not for sweeps/reverses.

At the WR Michael Anderson is back and he is their go to guy.  Not big but more of a slot guy with some good quick moves.  No big playmakers at the WR positions but #8 Julian Deumaga had a couple nice plays that may put him in that category.

Defense solid all around.  Good pressure and a few sacks and big hits.  BSU didn't have much but their QB and WRs were solid if there was time to throw. 

But the biggest takeaway from this game is that Ithaca was 5 for 5 in the Redzone with 5 TDs.  This puts them at NINTH IN THE COUNTRY IN RZ OFFENSE. 

30+ minutes TOP for the bombers as well although TOP national stats take a few weeks to get going. 

[Caz Bombers]

Went to the Ithaca game today.  Hot day with stands on only one side and it was packed and sweaty but all in all a good time.

BSU simply got outmatched so it will be tough to get a good assessment here on this game.  A few takes though:

Ithaca offense was super efficient with mostly inside zone runs, traps and a few sweeps.  Probably 10-15 WR screens.  Not sure if the QB simply reads the defense and throws them but I'm not sure I've seen that many screens in a game before.  The QB Wingfield is precise and does not make many mistakes.  BSU never really gave up the big play but Ithaca seemed to get 5 yards on every run.  Ithaca's RB tandem was solid, #45 Williams doesn't look like much but man he had some tough runs and always got positive yards.  Then Brozovic took a series or two and he was quicker and faster than Williams but not as physical.  These two aren't the backs that Hobart has, but they can do the job.  I'm not sure what Jalen Hines story is.  Not sure if they are using him more as an H back or not for sweeps/reverses.

At the WR Michael Anderson is back and he is their go to guy.  Not big but more of a slot guy with some good quick moves.  No big playmakers at the WR positions but #8 Julian Deumaga had a couple nice plays that may put him in that category.

Defense solid all around.  Good pressure and a few sacks and big hits.  BSU didn't have much but their QB and WRs were solid if there was time to throw. 

But the biggest takeaway from this game is that Ithaca was 5 for 5 in the Redzone with 5 TDs.  This puts them at NINTH IN THE COUNTRY IN RZ OFFENSE. 

30+ minutes TOP for the bombers as well although TOP national stats take a few weeks to get going.

Glad you had a good time and got to take in an Ithaca game but there is nothing at all to learn from games like this.

[Jonny Utah]

Went to the Ithaca game today.  Hot day with stands on only one side and it was packed and sweaty but all in all a good time.

BSU simply got outmatched so it will be tough to get a good assessment here on this game.  A few takes though:

Ithaca offense was super efficient with mostly inside zone runs, traps and a few sweeps.  Probably 10-15 WR screens.  Not sure if the QB simply reads the defense and throws them but I'm not sure I've seen that many screens in a game before.  The QB Wingfield is precise and does not make many mistakes.  BSU never really gave up the big play but Ithaca seemed to get 5 yards on every run.  Ithaca's RB tandem was solid, #45 Williams doesn't look like much but man he had some tough runs and always got positive yards.  Then Brozovic took a series or two and he was quicker and faster than Williams but not as physical.  These two aren't the backs that Hobart has, but they can do the job.  I'm not sure what Jalen Hines story is.  Not sure if they are using him more as an H back or not for sweeps/reverses.

At the WR Michael Anderson is back and he is their go to guy.  Not big but more of a slot guy with some good quick moves.  No big playmakers at the WR positions but #8 Julian Deumaga had a couple nice plays that may put him in that category.

Defense solid all around.  Good pressure and a few sacks and big hits.  BSU didn't have much but their QB and WRs were solid if there was time to throw. 

But the biggest takeaway from this game is that Ithaca was 5 for 5 in the Redzone with 5 TDs.  This puts them at NINTH IN THE COUNTRY IN RZ OFFENSE. 

30+ minutes TOP for the bombers as well although TOP national stats take a few weeks to get going.

Glad you had a good time and got to take in an Ithaca game but there is nothing at all to learn from games like this.

I know but last year was probably a similar type matchup and it was a much closer game.  Playing mistake free and not giving up big plays was good to see I guess. 

[Jonny Utah]

I will also add this:  There was always something about Swanstrom's inside zone run game that just didn't look right.  Very choppy and uneven.  My football knowledge isn't good enough to pinpoint why but today's inside zone and run game in general just seemed very smooth.  I could be wrong.