Utica (2-1) vs. Salisbury (1-2) - Hamilton Orthopaedic Night - Empire 8 Conference Opener
Game Details	Saturday, Oct. 5| Utica, N.Y. | 12 p.m.   Charles A. Gaetano Stadium | Directions
Game Coverage	All Access: Audio (ESPN) | Audio (WPNR) I Live Video I Live Stats  Radio: WTLB 99.1 FM/1310 AM - ESPN Radio, WPNR 90.7 FM Tweet #LetsGoUC
Utica Links	News | Roster | Schedule
Salisbury Links	News | Roster | Schedule

Check out the Pregame Interview with Coach Faggiano on YouTube

Utica, NY (10/1/2013) – The Utica College football team returns home on Saturday when the Pioneers host Salisbury University in the Empire 8 Conference opener for both squads at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.  The contest is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m.  The presenting sponsor for Saturday's contest is Hamilton Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine.

BROADCAST INFO: All Utica College games will be broadcast on the radio at WTLB 99.1 FM/1310 AM (ESPN Radio) by play-by-play man Dave Peroni and color analyst Fred Miller … Links for live stats and video for Saturday's contest are available on the Pioneers' schedule page at www.ucpioneers.com … Live streaming audio can also be accessed on WTLB's website, www.espnur.com … UC's student radio station WPNR 90.7 FM will broadcast every UC football home contest this season and live streaming audio of the contest can be accessed at www.utica.edu/wpnr ... Live video for today's contest can be accessed at www.empire8.tv.

SOCIAL MEDIA: If you can't make it out to the game make sure to follow live updates on the Pioneers official Twitter feed: @UCPioneers … If you are at the game on Twitter, or talking about the game on Twitter, make sure to use #LetsGoUC … You can also "Like" the Pioneers on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UCpioneers.

BEFORE THE BYE WEEK: (9/21/2013) – The UC football team is rested and ready to get back on the field after a bye week last Saturday … Prior to the bye, the Pioneers were handed their first loss of the young season at the hands of host and nationally-ranked No. 7 Hobart College, 34-21, on Sept. 21st at Boswell Field in Geneva, NY … Utica struck first with a five yard touchdown plunge by senior running back Jake Larson (Bemus Point, NY/Maple Grove) in the first quarter but the Statesmen took advantage of costly turnovers and rushed for 329 yards on the ground to earn the non-conference victory over the Pioneers …  After falling down 7-0 in the first quarter, Hobart used 28 consecutive points in the second and third quarters to take a three touchdown lead over the Pioneers early in the third.

ALL-TIME AGAINST SALISBURY: Salisbury joined the Empire 8 as an affiliate member in 2011 … Saturday's match-up marks the third time these two teams have squared off in as many years … Salisbury is now 2-0 all-time against UC, downing the Pioneers 70-45 at Gaetano Stadium in 2011 and 63-23 in the Empire  8 Conference Championship game in Maryland last year. 

LAST TIME UC PLAYED SALISBURY: (11/3/2012) - The UC football team snapped a four game winning streak after a 63-23 loss to host and nationally-ranked No. 21/16 Salisbury University on Nov. 3, 2012 …  The Sea Gulls' triple option attacked lived up its billing, compiling 559 yards on 69 carries to keep the Pioneers at bay …  Utica fell into an early hole and could not muster the comeback as it dropped to 6-3 overall (tied school-record for wins) and 4-2 (school-record for conference wins) in the Empire 8 …  With the win, Salisbury clinched first place in the Empire 8, earning the conference's automatic bit into the NCAA Division III Tournament.

2-1 FOR THE 3rd STRAIGHT YEAR: The Pioneers are now 2-1 for the third consecutive season after opening the season with wins over Lewis & Clark and Union College … UC won six games in 2012 and five games in 2011 … A win on Saturday would go a long way in helping the Pioneers secure their first-ever seven win season.  

FRIENDLY CONFINES: Utica has won four of its last five games at Gaetano Stadium dating back to last season … UC is 11-6 at home dating back to the beginning of the 2010 season … The Pioneers went 3-2 at home in 2012, 2011 and 2010. 

EMPIRE 8 OPPONENTS: The Pioneers are hoping to snap a two-game Empire 8 Conference losing streak dating back to the end of last season … UC set a school-record with four conference victories last year … The Pioneers have 14 victories against Empire 8 Conference opponents in program-history. 

EMPIRE 8 OPENERS: The last time UC won its conference opener was in 2008 when the Pioneers traveled to former E8 member Springfield College and knocked off the Pride 16-12 ... This is the first time UC is playing Salisbury in its conference opener.

HISTORY IN THE MAKING: Against Hobart, Anthony Acevedo (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) moved into sole possession of third place on the school's all-time receptions list and he now has 131 … Acevedo is currently tied for second all-time at UC with 13 career touchdown catches (Jeremy Meier (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) holds the school-record with 30) … Acevedo needs 151 yards Saturday to become the third player in school-history to catch for 2000+ yards … Acevedo needs 557 all-purpose yards to become just the second player in school-history to accumulate 3,000+ career all-purpose yards … Acevedo needs one touchdown to become the fourth player in school-history to score 100 or more points … Jake Larson (Bemus Point, NY/Maple Grove) moved into second place on the College's all-time rushing yards list (1,150) and he needs three touchdowns to become the College's all-time leader in rushing touchdowns for a career … Larson currently has 15 touchdowns and is tied for second all-time with former UC back Mike Capra … Larson needs 29 carries to move into second place on the College's all-time carries list … Senior Jamie Murphy (Canadaigua, NY/Marcus Whitman) became the seventh player in school-history to catch over 100 balls and record over 1,000 yards receiving in the Pioneers loss to Hobart two Saturday's ago … Murphy now needs eight catches to move into sole possession of sixth place on the College's all-time receptions list … Murphy needs one touchdown catch to become the sixth player in school-history with 10 or more touchdown grabs … Acevedo and Murphy rank first and third in career receptions per game (6.55 & 4.68), respectively … Junior quarterback Connor Butkiewicz (Southington, CT/Southington) needs seven completions to reach the 100 plateau for his career … Butkiewicz also needs 76 yards passing to become the fifth quarterback in school-history to throw for over 1,000 yards …Butkiewicz needs four touchdowns passes to become one of three QB's in school-history to throw 10+ touchdown passes … Butkiewicz currently ranks second all-time with a 62.8 career completion % … Sophomore kicker Thomas Woodburn (West Islip, NY/West Islip) needs three extra points to move into sole possession of second place on the College's all-time list … Woodburn needs two field goals to move into second place on the school's all-time field goals made list … He needs to make six field goals to become the College's all-time leader in field goals made … Punter Dakota Peel (Alden, NY/Alden) needs 89 yards to become the fifth player in program-history to punt for 2,000+ yards … Junior James Lenahan (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) is tied for second all-time with eight career interceptions. 

TOUGH AS IT GETS: Four of the Pioneers opponents this season are either ranked or receiving votes in the current D3football.com National Poll … UC has taken on No. 7 Hobart and also will play No. 19 St. John Fisher, Salisbury (receiving votes), and Ithaca (receiving votes).

WHERE WE STACK UP: The Pioneers rank third in the Empire 8 with an average of 29.3 points per game … The Pioneers' 372.3 average yards per game ranks fourth in the E8 … The Pioneers offensive line has only allowed a conference-best four sacks in three games … As a team, the UC defense ranks second in the E8 with six interceptions … The Pioneers' ten sacks are third in the Empire 8 … UC leads the conference with an average of 25.0 first downs per game … The Pioneers also rank third in the conference with a 44.7% 3rd-down conversion rate.

STAT LINE: The Pioneers have outscored their opponents 88-72 through three games this year … UC is averaging 29.33 points per game compared to its opponents 24.0 ppg … UC has 75 first downs compared to its opponents 58 … UC has completed 76 passes for 715 yards, while rushing for 402 yards on 112 carries.

BALANCED OFFENSE: The Pioneers have featured a very balanced offense so far this season … UC is averaging 134.0 rushing yards per game and 238.33 passing yards per game … The Pioneers are averaging 4.8 yards per play and they have totaled 1,117 total yards of offense in the first three weeks.

SCORING IN THE RED ZONE: Utica has scored on 13-of-17 red zone chances (inside the 20 yard line) … Ten of the Pioneers 17 red zone scores have been touchdowns.

ACEVEDO ON THE NATIONAL SCENE: Junior receiver Anthony Acevedo (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) leads the conference and ranks 14th nationally with an average of 8.7 receptions per game … He also ranks second in the conference and 31st nationally with an average of 106.7 receiving yards per game … His 26 total catches is also tops in the E8.

LARSON LINGERS AT THE TOP OF THE CONFERENCE: Senior running back Jake Larson (Bemus Point, NY/Maple Grove) ranks third in the Empire 8 with an average of 99.7 rushing yards per contest … His four rushing touchdowns is tied for second in the E8 and he is averaging 4.5 yards per carry … He also leads the conference with 66 rushes this season … His 24 total points is tied for fourth in the conference. 

BUTKIEWICZ DOING A SOLID JOB: In his first season as the starting quarterback for UC, junior Connor Butkiewicz (Southington, CT/Southington) ranks third in the Empire 8 with a completion percentage of 61.7% … He is currently averaging 238.0 yards passing per game and he has thrown five touchdown passes … Butkiewicz ranks fourth in the conference in total offense with an average of 227.3 per contest.

STEADY MURPH: Senior Jamie Murphy (Canadaigua, NY/Marcus Whitman) ranks third in the Empire 8 with 21 catches; good for an average of 7.0 per game … He also has 162 yards receiving and one touchdown catch. 

THROUGH THE UPRIGHTS: Sophomore kicker Thomas Woodburn (West Islip, NY/West Islip) ranks second in the conference in kicker scoring … He has 19 points this season … He has converted on 3-of-4 field goals and he has made 7-of-9 point after attempts. 

SWITCHING THE FIELD: Punter Dakota Peel (Alden, NY/Alden) ranks third in the E8 with an average of 40.3 yards per punt … He has a season-long of 57 yards and he has pinned four punts inside the 20 yard line … He was named the Empire 8 Special Teams Player of the Week a few weeks back.

GIAMETTA LEADS THE DEFENSE: Senior linebacker Joe Giametta (Seaford, NY/MacArthur) leads UC and ranks fourth in the Empire 8 with an average of 10.3 tackles per game … He is one of just five players in the Conference to average 10+ tackles per contest … He also has two sacks this season.

HANSEN IN THE BACKFIELD: Senior linebacker Ryan Hansen (Woodcliff Lake, NJ/Pascack Hills) ranks eighth in the E8 with an average of 1.50 tackles for a loss per game … He currently has 4.5 tackles for a loss of 17 yards.

ALWAYS AROUND THE FOOTBALL: Junior safety James Lenahan (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) has a knack for finding the ball and he is currently tied for first in the conference with three interceptions … He is also tied with teammate Mike Sullivan (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) for second in passes defended with four. 

BRINGING A LOT TO THE TABLE: Transfer Mike Sullivan (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) ranks second in the conference with 155 kick return yards this season … He is averaging 19.4 yards per return and he has a season long of 37 yards ... He also has ten tackles, one interception and a team-high three pass break-ups.

IT'S LIKE HE NEVER LEFT: Junior cornerback Rob Alexander (Dobbs Ferry, NY/Dobbs Ferry) took two years off from football and returned this season only to rank third on the team with 22 tackles … He also has one interception and one pass break-up … His 16 solo tackles lead the team.

OFF THE EDGE: Sophomore defensive end Nick Woodman (Utica, NY/Proctor) has done a little bit of everything for the Pioneers this season … He has 12 tackles to go along with one sack, one pass break up and one forced fumble.

TALE OF THE TAPE: UC is averaging 29.33 points per game compared to Salisbury's 21.7 ppg … UC has 75 first downs per game compared to the Sea Gull's 41 … Salisbury leads the matchup in rushing yards per game 180.3-134.0 … Utica is averaging 238.33 passing yards per game compared to Salisbury's 114.0 … Utica has 25 penalties this season, while Salisbury has 20 penalties through three games.

SCOUTING SALISBURY: Salisbury, who is receiving votes in the D3football.com National Poll, is currently 1-2 headed into Saturday's match-up at Utica…  The Sea Gulls opened the season with two consecutive losses to nationally-ranked program's in the closing minutes of each contest … Salisbury lost its season opener to No. 22 Christopher Newport, 17-10, on an 18 yard touchdown pass with 15 seconds left in regulation … The Sea Gulls lost to No. 10 Wesley, 30-27, on a 43 yard pass with 52 seconds remaining … J.D. Hook leads Salisbury's triple option rushing attack with 100 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown this season … Quarterback's Joey Jones and John Dunbar have each seen significant time under center this season … Jones has completed 11-of-23 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown toss, while adding 56 yards and a touchdown on the ground … Dunbar has rushed for 78 yards on 24 carries and he has one touchdown throw … The Sea Gulls like to use Jerome Johnson in the red zone, as he has two touchdown runs on just seven carries … The Salisbury defensive line is led by Jeremy Keith who has a conference-best 6.5 sacks to go along with nine tackles for a loss … Michael Landry leads the team with 21 tackles … Andre Carter guides the secondary with three interceptions … As a unit, the Sea Gull defense likes to put pressure on quarterbacks, compiling 11 sacks through three games.