UTICA, N.Y. –The Utica College football team lost to host Ithaca College 33-7 Saturday afternoon in Empire 8 Conference action at Butterfield Stadium.

Ithaca, who is currently ranked No. 22 nationally by d3football.com, brought a balanced offense to the table and proved to be too much for the Pioneers. The Bombers took a 7-0 lead on a Dan Juvan two yard touchdown run with 7:00 remaining in the first quarter.

Return specialist and defensive back Lazurus Morgan (Christopher Columbus/ Bronx) fumbled the ensuing kickoff and gave Ithaca the ball at the Utica 28-yard line. Jamie Donovan tallied 68 yards rushing on the day and scored the Bombers second touchdown on a five yard run just 54 seconds after Juvan found pay dirt.

Two consecutive field goals by Ithaca kicker Brett Kitenplon gave the Bombers a 20-0 lead with just over ten minutes remaining in the first half. Kitenplon knocked down field goals of 40 and 37 yards.

Adam Keller (RFA/Rome) returned the following kickoff 51 yards to the Ithaca 37-yard line, setting up an Alex Conlon (Suffolk CCC/East Northport) four yard touchdown run with 5:05 remaining in the first half. Conlon and fellow back Anthony Marzano (Mechanicville/Mechanicville) combined for 48 yards on 18 carries.

Senior quarterback Nick Martin (RFA/Rome) had another tough day under center completing 14 passes for 79 yards, including one interception. Martin was sacked four times on the day. Martin connected with Andrew Casullo (Little Falls/Little Falls) four times for a team-high 27 yards.

Juvan connected with Mike Ortel for a 45-yard completion setting up a five yard Justin Kulp touchdown run to give Ithaca a 26-7 lead at the half. Kulp would later score the final touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter on a five yard scamper.

Senior free safety Marcus Maroney (Lockport/Utica) led all tacklers with 15 (seven solo, eight assisted), marking the fifth consecutive game he has led the Pioneers in tackles. Keller made 10 stops for the Pioneers, while Jon Klosner (Ilion/Ilion) picked off his third pass of the season and made seven tackles. Joe Ryan (St. Mary's/ Rutherford, NJ) tallied his first career interception, while Brad Secore (General Brown/ Dexter) picked up his 3.5 sack of the season.

Specialist Ben Atwood (VVS/Verona) punted nine times for 327 yards. He averaged 36.3 yards per punt and pinned the Bombers inside the 20-yard line once on the day.

Utica (2-5, 0-3) returns to action next Saturday as they host St. John Fisher College in Empire 8 Conference action. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium. The game will be broadcasted live on the Sports Stars Radio Network (1230, 1350, 1480, 1550 AM) and streaming live on the web at http://www.starsradionetwork.com/pages/ucfootball.html