FOOTBALL

ITHACA, N.Y. - Jamie Donovan rushed for 193 yards and three touchdowns, and Alex Baez ran for 116 yards and two scores to lead Ithaca over Norwich, 35-0, in an Empire 8 football game played Saturday afternoon in front of 1,812 spectators at Butterfield Stadium.

The Cadets (2-4, 0-2 Empire 8) fell behind 14-0 after the first three and a half minutes, and they were not able to get on track offensively. Ithaca, who is now 5-0 all-time versus Norwich, improves to 4-2 (1-2 Empire 8) on the season.

The Bombers did most of their damage on the ground, gaining 362 rushing yards. The Cadets, meanwhile, managed just eight rushing yards.

Donovan opened the game with a 47-yard run on the first play from scrimmage. Two plays later, he ran into the end zone from 11 yards out to give Ithaca a 7-0 lead at the 13:43 mark. Following a Norwich fumble, Ithaca made it 14-0 when Donovan rushed for a four-yard touchdown with 11:28 to play in the opening quarter.

NU dug in defensively from that point forward and kept the Bombers off the scoreboard until midway through the second quarter when Alex Baez scored on a two-yard run to make the halftime score 21-0 in favor of Ithaca.

The Bombers added one touchdown in the third quarter and another in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring.

Norwich penetrated the Ithaca red zone twice, but was unable to score. NU threw an interception on its first trip inside the Bombers' 20-yard line, and turned the ball over on downs on its second opportunity. The Bombers, meanwhile, were 5-for-5 in the red zone with five touchdowns.

NU quarterback Chris Gilding came in off the bench to replace injured starter Guerschom Jean-Gilles and was steady, completing 10-of-21 passes for 161 yards. He hooked up with sophomore wide receiver E.J. Flannigan for a beautiful 45-yard completion in the third quarter. Flannigan, who was blanketed on the play, reached out and hauled the ball in with one hand.

Flannigan led the Cadets' receiving corps with five receptions for 99 yards. Bill Valenzi chipped in with four catches for 42 yards.

Sophomore safety Donovan Brown paced the NU defense with a game-high nine tackles. Sophomore defensive lineman Reza Afsarmanesh added seven tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack.

Norwich wraps up its two-game road trip on Saturday, Oct., 13, when the Cadets travel to Rochester, N.Y., to take on national power St. John Fisher. Kickoff for the Empire 8 contest is slated for 1 p.m.