UTICA, NY - The Utica College football team committed 16 penalties for 210 yards en route to dropping a 35-10 season-opening decision to the Saints of St. Lawrence University on Saturday afternoon at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.

The Pioneers struck first offensively, completing an eight-play, 35-yard drive with a successful field goal by sophomore Michael Blanchfield (Hoosick Falls, NY/Cambridge) late in the first quarter. The Saints, however, rattled off 28 unanswered points on two short touchdown dashes by Brett Hughes, a six-yard run by Tom Anderson, and 26-yard end zone pass from Anderson to receiver Mike O'Donnell.

Utica's only touchdown of the day came on a 71-yard bomb from sophomore quarterback Nick Martin (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) to freshman receiver Anwaar Muhammed (Elmhurst, NY/Continental), capping off an 85-yard drive at the 13:17 mark of the fourth quarter.

St. Lawrence's Gary Gaines caught a six-yard pass from backup quarterback Jon Blumhagen with 4:54 remaining in regulation to close out all scoring on the afternoon and seal the victory for the Saints.

Martin led the Pioneers aerial attack, completing 10-of-20 passing attempts for 165 yards, two interceptions, and one touchdown delivery. Junior tight end Brian Barth (Greene, NY/Greene Central) collected three receptions for 39 yards, including a long of 21 yards.

The UC ground game, which netted only 40 yards on the day, was led by junior running back Chad Clark (Cambridge, NY/Cambridge), who took ten carries for 56 yards.

The Pioneer defensive effort was highlighted by an 11-tackle (9 solo), one-interception, one-sack performance by senior defensive back JP Lignowski (Walden, NY/Valley Central). Other top defensive performers for UC included senior defensive back Anthony Venturino (Utica, NY/DeSales) and junior linebacker William Pluff (Kenmore, NY/Kenmore West), who tallied eight hits apiece, and senior linebacker Jason Colunio (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua), who managed seven tackles on the afternoon.

Freshman defensive back John Ortiz (Bronx, NY/Herbert H. Lehman) was impressive in his collegiate debut, returning an interception for 68 yards and tallying three tackles defensively, while also running back five punt returns for a total of 53 yards.

The Pioneers will look to get on the winning track next week, when they travel to Husson College, a team they beat by a 36-0 score a year ago, for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff.

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