Utica Game Notes

Salisbury Game Notes

Game Program vs. Salisbury

Live Audio (ESPN Radio WTLB 1310 AM)

Live Audio (WPNR 90.7 FM)

Live Video / Mobile (Iphone, Blackberry, Droid) Live Video

Live Stats

Quick Hitters:

GAETANO STADIUM: Utica returns home to take on Empire 8 Conference foe and nationally-ranked No. 19/25 Salisbury University Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ... The contest marks the second home contest of the 2011 season for UC. 

BROADCAST INFO: Today's game - and all Utica College games - will be broadcast on the radio at WTLB 1310 AM ... Links for live stats for today's contest are available at www.ucpioneers.com … Live streaming video can be accessed online at empire8.tv and fans can now watch live video on their Iphone, Android or Blackberry devices at m.empire8.tv … Live streaming audio can also be accessed on WTLB's new website, www.espnur.com … All of UC's home games will also be broadcast on WPNR 90.7 FM. 

FRESH LEGS: Utica and Salisbury are both coming off a bye week entering week five of the football season … With essentially two weeks off, both teams have had the chance to recover from the opening stretch.

DO YOU PREFER TO RUN OR PASS?: A quick look at the statistics will show any analyst that Utica fields a pass-heavy offense and Salisbury likes to run the ball …  Utica has attempted 102 passes this season compared to the Sea Gulls 27 aerial attempts … Salisbury has run the ball 151 times compared to the Pioneers 97 attempts on the ground … Utica has passed for 815 yards, while the Sea Gulls have passed for 385 … Utica's 407 yards rushing this season pales in comparison to Salisbury's 869 yards on the ground …  Junior quarterback Andrew Benkwitt (Mamaroneck, NY/Mamaroneck) has thrown for 401 more yards than Salisbury junior quarterback Dan Griffin, however the Sea Gulls have three players with over 200 yards rushing and the Pioneers leading rusher has 158 yards on the ground … Five Utica receivers have six or more catches and the Sea Gulls have two players tied for the team-lead with five catches.  

THREE GAMES; THREE NEW OPPONENTS: For the third consecutive game the Pioneers will be squaring off against an opponent they have never played before … In week two UC defeated Union, 28-27, in the first meeting between the two program's … Two weeks ago the Pioneers traveled to Frostburg State and dropped a 44-24 decision at the hands of the Bobcats … The addition of Frostburg and Salisbury to the E8 this season gives the conference eight total members.

WELCOMING NATIONALLY-RANKED OPPONENTS: The last time UC beat a nationally-ranked opponent at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium was on Sept. 18, 2004 when the Pioneers knocked off RPI, 9-7 … RPI was fresh off an appearance in the semi-finals of the NCAA Division III Tournament in 2003 and the Engineers had convincingly won their season-opener … UC is 1-2 all-time against nationally-ranked opponents at home.

PIONEERS BEFORE THE BYE WEEK: The Pioneers (2-1, 0-1 E8) are coming off a tough loss to Frostburg State, 44-24, after opening the season with two consecutive victories over non conference opponents St. Lawrence and Union.

SCOUTING UTICA: The Pioneers offense is led by Andrew Benkwitt (Mamaroneck, NY/Mamaroneck), who has completed 67 of 100 passing attempts for 786 yards and eight touchdowns … Sophomore receiver Jamie Murphy (Canadaigua, NY/Marcus Whitman) has caught a team-high 19 passes for 244 yards and three touchdowns, while sophomore Anthony Acevedo (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) has 16 catches for 214 yards and he caught his first touchdown of the year last week against Frostburg … Junior tight end Matt Dunn (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) has 11 receptions and three touchdowns … Junior Jake Scott (Rochester, NY/Irondequoit) and classmate Jake Larson (Bemus Point, NY/Maple Grove) have rushed for 158 yards and 155 yards, respectively … Sophomore safety Eric Rindo (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) has a team-best 32 tackles, while classmate Dana Christofferson (Richford, NY/Dryden) has 26.

NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: Utica currently leads the conference and ranks 35th in the nation with an average of 272 passing yards per game … Sophomore running back/return man Jesse Baldassare (Mt. Sinai, NY/Mt. Sinai) ranks sixth in the nation with an average of 32.50 yards per kickoff return … Kicker Seth Mitchell (Fonda, NY/Fonda-Fultonville) is tied for 15th in the country with an average of 1.33 field goals per contest … Benkwitt leads the conference in passing efficiency (155.42) and total offense per game (278.67).

MITCHELL NEARLY PERFECT: With the exception of one missed extra point, Utica junior kicker Seth Mitchell (Fonda, NY/Fonda-Fultonville) has been flawless so far this season … He has converted on 4-of-4 field goals and 10-of-11 extra points for a team-best 22 total points … Two of his four field goals have been 38 yards or longer, including a career-best 47 yarder against Frostburg State. 

SAFETIES COMING UP BIG: Utica safeties Eric Rindo (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) and Luke Manolescu (New York Mills, NY/Notre Dame) have combined for 56 tackles so far this season and they rank first and third on the team, respectively … Manolescu has a team-best two pass break-ups … Manolescu and Rindo have truly had break out campaigns after combining for just 17 tackles last season. 

ACEVEDO MAKES A STATEMENT: Sophomore receiver Anthony Acevedo (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) caught team-high five balls for 110 yards, including a season-long 66 yard touchdown reception in the Pioneers' loss to Frostburg … Acevedo, who also returns kicks, leads UC with an average of 120 all purpose yards per contest. 

STEWART ON THE RISE: Junior linebacker Nate Stewart (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Ludden) totaled a career-high 12 tackles last game … Headed into the contest he had just four tackles on the season. 

SCOUTING SALISBURY:  Salisbury currently ranks No. 19 in the AFCA National Poll and No. 25 in the D3football.com poll … The Seagulls are 3-0 overall and 1-0 in Empire 8 Conference play after victories over Apprentice (42-3), Ithaca (21-7) and Christopher Newport (27-23) … The Sea Gulls are led by junior quarterback Dan Griffin who was named the Empire 8 Conference Player of the Week two weeks ago after guiding a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive for the game-winning touchdown as the Gulls edged Christopher Newport … Salisbury is known for its aggressive triple option running game, and they currently have three players with over 200 yards rushing this season, including Ross Flanigan (251 yards) Dan Griffin (223 yards) and Randal Smedley (219 yards) … Flanigan is averaging 8.1 yards per carry and he has a team-best five touchdown runs ... Senior linebacker Jamey McClendon leads the Sea Gulls defensive unit with 19 tackles and two sacks this season … 11 different players on the defensive side of the ball have played a part in at least one sack this year.

TIME WARNER IS BACK!: The Pioneers will welcome Time Warner Cable Sports back to campus on Saturday, Oct. 22nd as UC takes on Ithaca College … If you cannot make it out to campus on Oct. 22nd the contest will be available on your local Time Warner Cable Sports TV station or online at http://www.twcs.tv.

EMPIRE 8 WOES: The Pioneers have struggled in conference play as of late and they hope to snap a 12 game Empire 8 Conference losing streak that dates backs to 2008.

NON CONFERENCE SUCCESS: On the flip side, the Pioneers have fared extremely well in non-conference play and dating back to 2005 they are 18-9 against non-conference opponents … They are currently riding the highs of a nine game non-conference winning streak.

GAETANO IS THE PLACE TO BE: The Pioneer nation came out in droves three weeks ago to watch UC win its season-opener against Union … A school-record 4,075 fans joined UC on campus to watch the thrilling one point victory over Union … Dating back to last year the Pioneers are 4-2 in their last six home games.