IC / CORNELL FOOTBALL PREVIEWS

IC, CORNELL FOOTBALL EMBARK ON DIFFERING 2022 CAMPAIGNS

If you put a mirror in front of the 2021 Ithaca College football team, you’d see the inverse re ection of itself with the 2021 Cornell University football team. e former compiled a record of 8-2, nishing in second place in the Liberty league and 21st in Division III overall. e latter nished 2-8 last year and second-to-last in the Ivy League.

With the start of the regular season less than a month away for both squads, the Bombers and Big Red enter 2022 with different mindsets and expectations.

ITHACA COLLEGE

A er a top-25 nish in the 2021 D3football.com poll, the Ithaca College Bombers are expected to be another top Division III contender in 2022 with their preseason ranking of 17th. e Bombers compiled a record of 8-2 last season, nearly coming from behind to defeat then-undefeated SUNY Cortland— who ranks 16th in the 2022 preseason poll— in the 62nd Cortaca Jug Game in the team’s nal contest. is year’s rivalry match will take place at Yankee Stadium on Nov. 12. e biggest change to Ithaca’s roster is at the head coach position. e team will be led by Michael Toerper in 2022 a er former head coach Dan Swanstrom announced in January that he accepted the o ensive coordinator position at the University of Pennsylvania. Teorper, who was Swanstrom’s defensive coordinator from 2017 to 2019, returns to South Hill a er spending the past two seasons as the safeties coach at Division I level Holy Cross.

“I think the most challenging aspect for me is being able to manage my time on a day-to-day basis between the administrative tasks that a head coach has to operate with, as well as having a pulse on every piece of the team,” Teorper said. “It's really time management, and being able to really do a nice job of investing in that time wisely, but always maintaining an understanding that it's about the players, they will always come first.”

He expects having to manage the team’s prosperous outlook for the upcoming season to be di cult as well.

“I think for us, one of the biggest challenges with a team that has such high expectations is maintaining the week-to-week focus on what we have to do that week to succeed on Saturday,” he said. “Not getting ahead of ourselves, not looking down the road, and really focusing on today's practice, today's meeting, and this week’s preparation in order to take care of business one week at a time.”

As Ithaca’s defensive coordinator, Toerper coached sti ing defenses during his three-year stint. e Bombers’ defense held opposing o enses to 15.3 and 12.8 points per game in 2017 and 2018, respectively. He will inherit an already stout defensive unit in his rst season. Ithaca’s defensive front was one of the top units in Division III in 2021. e Bombers allowed an average of 11.9 points per game, which ranked ninth in the nation. ey also ranked ninth in red zone defense, holding opposing offenses scoreless 55.6 percent of the time. e 2021 defense was formidable on 3rd down plays with a conversion percentage of 29.6 percent (25th lowest). Ithaca also tied for 22nd in the country in team sacks with 29.

By Andrew Sullivan

The biggest challenge for the Bombers this season may be managing expectations. (Photo: Ithaca College Athletics)

Many of the defensive unit’s top players are returning for the 2022 campaign, but not all of them. Linebacker Isaac Hadac transferred to the University of Albany a er recording the fourth-most tackles (44) for the Bombers in 2021. Hadac also tied for the team lead in sacks (3.5) last season with defensive lineman Ed Longest, who graduated last spring, and led Ithaca in tackles for loss with 9.5 (Longest was second with seven). Defensive lineman Antonio Valle also graduated in 2022 and was one of the team’s top sack-getters with three in 2021.

Among the returners, linebacker Miles Haynes and defensive back Michael Roumes will toe the turf again a er they led the Bombers in tackles with 50 apiece. Roumes ranked in the top 50 in the nation in passes defended per game (1.2, tied for 44th).

Defensive backs Anthony Robinson and Ben Stola are also returning for their senior years. Robinson intercepted three passes, and led the team in passes broken up (eight) and solo tackles (29, 39 in total). Stola recorded 49 total tackles and broke up seven passes, and forced a team-high three fumbles in 2021.

Defensive backs Derek Slywka (team high four picks) and Akap Takor (three picks, ve passes broken up, 39 total tackles) are also returning this season.

On the o ensive side of the line of scrimmage, quarterback AJ Wing eld returns for his senior year a er posting a solid season in 2021. Wing eld threw for 16 touchdown passes (20 touchdowns in total) and 2,383 yard passing, with only eight interceptions. His 67.8 completion percentage ranked 14th among Division III quarterbacks.

Wing eld won’t have his top receiver from last season in Andrew Vito, who graduated. Vito caught four touchdowns and chalked up 704 yards receiving and averaged 70.4 yards receiving per game, both of which led the Bomber o ense. However, Michael Anderson, who tallied 571 receiving yards and caught a team-high six touchdown passes, will be back for his senior season.

Ithaca’s leading rusher in 2021, Jalen Hines, will compete as a junior this coming season. Hines churned out 567 yards and found the end zone six times on the ground last season.

“Really just keeping that…one-play-ata-time mentality focus, and also just be a great teacher of situational football,” Toerper said of his vision for the team in 2022. “I think that's something that we're going to continue to harp on here.” e Bombers open the 2022 season on the road at Bridgewater State University in Bridgewater, MA on Saturday Sept. 3.

Big Red is practicing hard to put a disappointing 2021 behind them. (Photo: Eldon Lindsay / Cornell Athletics)

CORNELL UNIVERSITY

According to Head Coach David Archer, last season is “ancient history.” Last year’s roster featured 50 seniors, most of whom have moved on and graduated while some are returning for their h year of eligibility.

“We had 50 seniors on the team last year between a super senior class with the COVID situation and our regular seniors,” Archer said. “We had a hundred or so players on the team last year. And most of all of them who've gone and graduated, some are coming back for h year. But because of that the team feels brand new. It feels like, like an expansion…where we have a lot of guys who sat behind older kids and didn't play…. It feels like a new beginning, and we're really just focused on that.”

One of the biggest losses to the roster was cornerback Michael Irons. During his senior year, Irons ranked seventh among Ivy League defenders in passes defended, accumulating the fourth-most passes broken up with nine. ere will also be a change at the quarterback position in 2022 as senior Richie Kenney graduated, and the team will have several options to choose from with seven quarterbacks listed on the roster. ere are sophomores Jameson Wang, Jimmy Taylor, and Chad Martini; juniors Dylan Hale and Luke Duby; and seniors Jason Faulkenberry and Ben Mays.

Among those seven, Wang and Mays have seen the most playing time. In seven games in 2021, Wang completed 65 percent of his passes, throwing for 304 yards, four touchdowns, and four picks. In six games, Mays completed 57.75 percent of his attempts for 561 yards, three scores, and three interceptions. Wang nished with a higher rating than Mays (141.84 to 129.61).

Wang would certainly be the more dynamic option for Cornell at the position. Last season he averaged 5.5 yards per carry, which was not only the highest among all Ivy League quarterbacks, but also the seventh highest among all rushers. His average of 49.9 rushing yards per game ranked 10th in the league.

Archer did not con rm whether or not Wang would be the team’s starter for the 2022, but assured that he would see signi cant playing time.

“Wang is de nitely going to play,” he said. “Whether he's the starting quarterback or not, he'll certainly be on the eld.” at being said, standouts such as wide receiver omas Glover and linebacker Jake Stebbins will return for their senior seasons. Glover nished second among Ivy League receivers in yards per game (76.7) and receiving yards in total (767) in 2021. He also ranked eighth among all players in all-purpose yards with 778.

Stebbins tied Dartmouth’s Jalen Mackie for rst in the league in tackles per game, averaging nearly 10 (9.6). Stebbins recorded the most solo tackles (51) and total tackles (51), and the seventh most tackles for loss (10). His three sacks ranked fourth most.

“I think de nitely the strength [of this team] is going to be Glover,” Archer said. “I think he's a really tremendous playmaker, and we're gonna have to give him the football as o en as we can. I think Stebbins on defense at linebacker leads a really good linebacking corps. And then I think there's a lot of potential and a lot of young positions I'll know more about as we get practice started.”

One player Archer said he foresees taking major strides this season is sophomore running back Eddie Tillman. Tillman tallied 142 yards on 17 carries in ve games in 2021, averaging 8.4 yards per carry.

“He started to play more and more; he was a true freshman last year,” Archer said. “He got more and more carries as the season went on. And during the spring he has emerged as a really top threat at running back.”

With the graduation of their top receiver IC may need to rely more on the ground game. (Photo: Ithaca College Athletics)

Cornell’s young roster is looking to bring fresh intensity to the 2022 season. (Photo: Eldon Lindsay / Cornell Athletics)

POTENTIAL MISCOMMUNICATIONS

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in outstanding taxes to Tompkins County and the City of Ithaca.

On August 17, representatives for Kathy led an “order to show cause”, identifying that she was never served proper paperwork regarding the foreclosure or eviction. However, attorney Michael Perehinec, who represents Habitat for Humanity in this case, says that Kathy and her family have been reached out to several times throughout the process.

According to Perehinec, “any individual who had a connection with [Kathy] was informed that a warrant of eviction had been issued by the court.” While not specifying whether these individuals included her husband, son, or tenant, or in what language these communications were conducted, Perehinec said that subsequent updates from these individuals con rmed that “they spoke with [Kathy] and that they had informed [her] that a warrant of eviction had been issued and that this was an extremely serious issue.” He says that Kathy “had known that this potentially could happen when she received the tenday notice back in November 2021.”

Evidence suggests that previous attempts have been made to make Kathy aware of the severity of the situation, but the direct o cial communication to her was happening in English, which is her second language. Kathy said that no attempt was ever made to reach out to her directly in her native language, presumably Lao, which she can understand much better.

Alderperson Jorge DeFendini said, “this situation was brought up because during a global pandemic, our government failed to make clear to people how it would continue to function in languages other than English.” e Ithaca Tenants Union is demanding that Habitat for Humanity stop attempting to evict Kathy and her family from their home. According to Rand, they want Habitat for Humanity, a national nonpro t organization with millions of dollars in real estate, to sign the deed for the property back to the family who has lived here for nearly forty years.

“ is would not be a great loss for them and it would give them the opportunity to be the good guy by giving Kathy and her family the opportunity to live out their lives in the home that they’ve spent decades in.” said Rand.

According to Tompkins County Legislator Veronica Pillar, this attempted eviction contradicts the values of diversity and inclusivity that the City of Ithaca says it prides itself on. Pillar said that “all of our values and stated interests point towards keeping Kathy and her family in this home as long as they would want to stay here.”

Habitat for Humanity of Tompkins and Cortland County has responded to this incident saying, “Habitat is working with many local agencies to assist the family with relocating. ough we are not able to speci cally comment on the situation due to privacy considerations, we are working toward a mutually agreeable solution that will enable us to move forward with improving housing a ordability in Tompkins & Cortland Counties.”

COFFEE BATTLES STILL PERCOLATING

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In addition, they say that it is a violation of the company's legal duty to bargain.

“ e Bu alo regional o ce is currently investigating these charges. If they nd merit to the charges, the regional director will issue a complaint, unless the parties settle. If a complaint is issued, there will be a hearing with an administrative law judge,” Blado said. e NLRB receives about 20,000 to 30,000 charges per year from employees, unions and employers covering a range of unfair labor practices described in Section 8 of the National Labor Relations Act. According to the NLRB website, “a decision is made about the merits of a charge within seven to 14 weeks, although certain cases can take much longer.” During this period, the majority of charges are settled by the parties, withdrawn by the charging party, or dismissed by the regional director.

While Starbucks workers are voting to unionize to ensure better treatment, the other chain of co ee shops in town, Gimme! Co ee, voted to dissolve their workers union in March 2021 to start the process of turning the company into a co-op “to ensure better treatment of their worker-owners.”

“Since we started our transition process in 2019, the local Starbucks union e orts did not a ect our decision to transition to an employee-owned cooperative. However, we have hired a number of Starbucks baristas that had their schedules cut by Starbucks corporate,” Katie Smith, president of the Board of Directors for Gimme! Co ee, said. e now defunct Gimme! Co ee Baristas Union was one of the rst barista unions in the nation, but the company says that its operations became complicated by a combination of COVID-19 restrictions and interpersonal con ict.

However, Workers United—the parent union of the Gimme! Co ee Baristas Union—has brought forward an appeal regarding the votes that were counted in the March 2021 election. e appeal is currently being reviewed by the Washington O ce of the NLRB. e outcome of the appeal remains uncertain, but supporters of Gimme! Coffee's transition to a co-op say the move represents a willingness to recognize the importance of organized labor—something that can’t be said about their bigname competitor in town.

ARIEL GOLD

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She knows there’s a kernel of truth to the apocryphal tale of social activists walking past local people who are hungry on their way to a protest against hunger overseas. “That’s one of the things that makes me feel quite good about moving from Code Pink to Fellowship of Reconciliation. Fellowship of Reconciliation has committed itself recently to doing more domestic work. Middle East work is dear to my heart, but given the state of our country right now, I think it’s really vital for us in terms of our influencing the entire world, to clean up the mess we have at home. And it’s a mess and a half right now.”

As someone who has risen to prominence fighting against the system, Gold has come to appreciate the need for balance between working for change both inside and outside the system. “I think both are really important and I think they complement each other. There are times when one approach is more helpful and times when the other approach is more helpful. But I think people have to know what works for them. I’m so much of an idealist that outside the system is a good fit for me.”

Finally, and perhaps most difficult emotionally, has been Gold’s efforts to find balance in her Jewish identity and the role the actions of the Israeli government factors into that identity. “I have to begin by saying these are my people. My father’s family came here from Poland in 1910, moved up to Utica, and started one of the first Zionist Chapters to raise money for the establishment of a Jewish state. When I first went to Israel with a peace delegation I wanted to leave the delegation and just be with my people; I’d never felt so at home in my life. But then I saw what was happening and I was devastated. I spent many hours crying and talking with my rabbi about my feelings and the situation. There were times I was very angry. It was like a period of grief for me. There have been difficult times for my extended family. But we’ve gotten to a much better place. I have learned to soften myself and to find the commonalities that allow us to see where each other are, rather than conflict with each other; to see where we have the same goals. I guess it all goes back to the idea of reconciliation.”

SURROUNDED BY REALITY

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Holy shrimp. at article was written 81 years ago. I had to see if Mr. Kincer’s predictions had come true. I looked up the weather for Indianapolis for August 19, 1941. e high that day was 83 and the low was 56. Here’s where it gets freaky— those were the exact high and low temperatures for Ithaca last Friday, August 19. According to my understanding of data analysis, that means that Kincer’s prophecy was 100% correct in all its details.

What does this mean for us? I don’t really know much about Indianapolis, except that they call themselves “Hoosiers,” which is just weird, because nobody seems to know what a hoosier actually is. A little checking revealed that the two people I’ve heard of that were born in the 1940s in Indianapolis are David Letterman and Dan Quayle. ey kind of cancel each other out, so I really don’t know much more than when I started out. e last paragraph raised a chilling vision:

If nothing happens to halt the trend it will take only about 235 years for Ithaca to get the same climate as St. Augustine, Fla. Palm trees will take the place of maples, elms and poplars; our mills will give way to cotton gins and fan businesses will boom.

Here’s where our climatologist came up a little short. In his defense, it would have been hard for anyone to foresee how human activity might have accelerated the warming process. e most recent predictions are that Ithaca will be suitable for orange groves and palm trees in time for the growing season in 2026, smack dab in the middle of President Cheney’s rst term and considerably sooner than Kincer thought. I’m having a backyard lanai porch installed so I can just reach over from my chaise lounge and pluck a fresh orange while reading old news all year long.