Utica (3-6, 1-5 E8) vs. Hartwick (5-4, 2-4 E8) - Empire 8 Conference Football
Game Details	Saturday, Nov. 16| Utica, N.Y. | 1 p.m.  Charles A. Gaetano Stadium | Directions
Game Coverage	All Access: Audio (Utica) | Live Video | Live Stats Radio: WTLB 99.1 FM/1310 AM - ESPN Radio Tweet #FearTheMoose
Utica Links	News | Roster | Schedule
Hartwick Links	News | Roster | Schedule

Utica, NY (11/15/2013) – The Utica College football team closes out its 2013 campaign on Saturday when the Pioneers host Empire 8 Conference rival Hartwick College on Senior Day at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.  Prior to the contest UC will honor the senior class for its contributions to the UC football program over the last four years.  Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

BROADCAST INFO:  All Utica College football games will be broadcast on the radio locally at WTLB 99.1 FM/1310 AM (ESPN Radio) by play-by-play man Dave Peroni and color analyst Fred Miller … Live streaming audio can also be accessed on WTLB's website, www.espnur.com … Live streaming video for Saturday's contest can be accessed at www.empire8.tv … Live statistics are also available online: www.sidearmstats.com/utica/football/

GET THE APP: All UC football radio broadcasts on WTLB 99.1 FM can be heard on the new My Hometown Sports App. available in the Google Play store and on Apple ITunes ... It's a free App. so download today!

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.

SENIOR DAY: At 12:15 p.m. the Pioneers will honor their graduating class with a senior day program that will include the 24 football student-athletes in the senior class as well as four cheerleaders, alongside family and friends … This group of Pioneers has won 19 games over the course of the last four years, with 11 of those wins coming at Gaetano Stadium in front of their home crowd.

LAST TIME UC PLAYED HARTWICK: (10/20/2012) - The Utica College football team put together its second straight dominant Empire 8 Conference performance on October 20, 2012, topping host Hartwick College 43-7 at Wright Stadium ... The Pioneers once again controlled play on both sides of the ball for 60 minutes as they outscored their opponents 83-7 over the course two straight conference victories ...  UC had incredible momentum headed into its toughest stretch of the season, with its final three games coming against conference and national powers Alfred, Salisbury and St. John Fisher … One of the most impressive aspects of the Pioneers' game was their rushing attack, which totaled 219 yards on the ground … Jesse Baldassare (Mt. Sinai, NY/Mt. Sinai) led the way with a career-best 153 yards, marking his third 100 yard performance of the year … Mike Cottle (Windsor, CT/South Windsor) chipped in with 66 yards of his own, on just eight carries … The big running game led to the Pioneers' second straight 500 yard performance as a team, while the defense shut the door on the hosts, holding the Hawks to just 24 yards rushing and 224 total yards … UC finished with 582 yards of total offense, marking the second highest single-game total in the program's 12 year history.

ALL-TIME AGAINST HARTWICK:  These two team have met on the gridiron every year since 2002 ...Hartwick holds the all-time series lead with a 7-4 advantage ... UC has won the last two meetings, dominating the Hawks 43-7 last year, while winning in 2011 by the score of 20-17 ... It's always a competitive game between these two rivals, with 7-of-11 meetings being decided by ten points or less ... Four of the meetings have been decided by three points or less.

LAST WEEKEND: (11/9/2013) – The Alfred University football team posted 526 yards of total offense on its way to a 48-31 victory over Utica College in Empire 8 Conference action at Merrill Field on Saturday afternoon … UC (3-6) jumped out to a 10-7 lead in the first quarter -- but the Saxons outscored UC 24-7 in the final 18:12 of the first half -- and although UC threatened again in the second half, the home squad was able to put the game away by scoring the final ten points of the contest … Utica freshman running back Ryan Burnett rushed for a career-high 114 yards on 30 carries and he also punched in two touchdowns, while classmate Jerred Beniquez caught a game-high seven balls for 97 yards and a touchdown … UC junior quarterback Connor Butkiewicz (Southington, CT/Southington) completed 25-of-39 passes for 264 yards, but he also threw three interceptions … Senior wide receiver Sean Jones (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) also had a nice day for UC catching seven balls for 84 yards, including a season-long 44 yard catch … Senior linebacker Dana Christofferson (Richford, NY/Dryden) made a team-high 13 tackles for Utica, while classmate Joe Giametta (Seaford, NY/MacArthur) made seven stops … Sophomore Nick Woodman (Utica, NY/Proctor) made six tackles and also added a sack for UC.

RECORD STILL STANDS: In 2007, Hartwick College (72) and Utica College (70) scored a combined 142 points, etching themselves into the NCAA record books as the most prolific scoring effort by two teams in a single game since the NCAA began keeping official records in 1937... Across the board, the combined total broke all previous records, at that time, at any level of NCAA collegiate football ... The previous record of 141 points, was set by Weber State (73) and Portland State (68) on October 27, 2007, prior to the UC/Hartwick quadruple-overtime contest that featured an astounding 20 touchdowns, 1,042 yards of total offense and 52 first downs ... Utica's 70 points also broke a national-record for most points scored by a losing team.

HOME SWEET HOME: Utica has won four of its last eight games at Gaetano Stadium dating back to last season … UC is 11-9 at home dating back to the beginning of the 2010 season … The Pioneers went 3-2 at home in 2012, 2011 and 2010 … The Pioneers are currently 2-3 at home this season, with wins coming over Lewis & Clark and Union in weeks one and two. 

EMPIRE 8 OPPONENTS: UC has struggled in Empire 8 Conference play as of late and looks to buck that trend on Saturday … The Pioneers are 1-5 in the E8 this season and they have lost seven of their last eight conference games dating back to last year … UC set a school-record with four conference victories last year … UC has 15 victories against Empire 8 Conference opponents in program-history.

HISTORY IN THE MAKING:  Utica senior running back Jake Larson (Bemus Point, NY/Maple Grove) needs 261 yards rushing to become the College's all-time rushing leader … He currently has 1,511 yards on the ground for his career … Two weekends ago, Larson became the school's all-time leader in career carries – he now has 328, passing Mike Capra '05 … Two weekends ago, junior quarterback Connor Butkiewicz (Southington, CT/Southington) became the third QB in school-history to throw for over 2,000 yards in a career ...  Butkiewicz has a career completion percentage of 63.3%, which ranks second all-time at UC … Junior receiver Anthony Acevedo (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) broke the College's all-time record for receiving yards in a career last weekend against Alfred and he now has 2,484 for his career … Former All-American Jeremy Meier (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) '12 previously held the school-record for receiving yards with 2,477 … Acevedo needs 11 catches to become the College's all-time receptions leader – he currently has 177 in three seasons … Acevedo currently holds the school-record for all-purpose yards per game with 114.0 … Larson and Acevedo are two of just five players in program-history to total over 100 points in a career … Larson ranks second all-time at UC with 132 points, while Acevedo ranks third with 118 career points scored … Sophomore kicker Thomas Woodburn (West Islip, NY/West Islip) needs to make three field goals to become the College's all-time leader – he currently has 14 for his career … Two weekends ago, junior punter Dakota Peel (Alden, NY/Alden) moved into second place on the College's all-time list for career punting yards, he currently has 3,026 punt yards in less than three full seasons … Junior safety James Lenahan (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) now stands alone in second place all-time with 10 career interceptions … Freshman return man Jerred Beniquez already ranks fourth on the College's all-time list with 572 kick return yards.

ALL-AMERICAN CANDIDATE: Junior receiver Antony Acevedo needs 45 yards receiving to become just the second player in school-history to catch for more than 1,000 yards in a single season … He needs two catches to break the school-record for catches in a single season, he currently has 72 this year … He currently holds the school-record for catches per game in a single season (8.0) … He has a conference-best 72 catches through nine games this season … He ranks 12th nationally and leads the Empire 8 with an average of 8.0 catches per game … He ranks 20th nationally with 955 yards receiving and 21th nationally (first in the conference) with an average of 106.0 receiving yards per game … He has six touchdown catches this season …   He has three games with at least ten catches and he has three games where he caught two touchdown passes … He set a new school-record with ten catches for 252 yards and two touchdowns in the Pioneers' win over Frostburg on 10/12 … He also caught a season-high 11 catches for 133 yards on a rainy evening as the Pioneers traveled to national power Hobart College on 9/21.

ONE OF THE BEST: Senior linebacker Dana Christofferson (Richford, NY/Dryden) needs 11 tackles to move into fourth place on the College's all-time tackles list, he currently has 223 for his career …. Christofferson is now second on the College's all-time assisted tackles list with 132.

LARSON CLOSES OUT CAREER: Jake Larson (Bemus Point, NY/Maple Grove)'s 660 yards rushing this season ranks sixth on the College's single season list … Larson is one rushing touchdown shy of tying his own single season record, he currently has 11 … His 11 rushing TD's this year ranks second in the conference … His 73.3 rushing yards per game ranks sixth in the Empire 8.

UNDER CENTER: Connor Butkiewicz (Southington, CT/Southington) needs to throw the ball 24 times to break the school-record for attempts in a single season … He needs 27 completions to break the school-record for completions in a single season, he currently has 228 … His 248.6 passing yards per game ranks third on the school's single season list behind former Pioneer stand out and current assistant coach Andrew Benkwitt (Mamaroneck, NY/Mamaroneck) … Butkiewicz is one of just two players in school-history to throw for over 2,000 yards in a single season … He ranks 12th nationally and first in the Empire 8 with an average of 25.33 completions per game … He ranks 37 nationally with 2,237 yards passing this season. 

RETURN MAN: Freshman Jerred Beniquez needs 23 kick return yards to break the College's all-time record for kick return yards in a single season, currently held by injured Jesse Baldassare (Mt. Sinai, NY/Mt. Sinai), who returned 23 kicks for 594 yards in 2011. 

BALL HAWK: James Lenahan (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) needs two interceptions to tie former UC stand out Jon Klosner '02 for the school-record for interceptions in a single season … Lenahan currently has five interceptions … He ranks seventh nationally and first in the Empire 8 with an average of 0.6 interceptions per game … He also leads the E8 and ranks 35th nationally with an average of 1.4 passes defender per game.

DOUBLE-DIGIT TACKLER: Senior captain Joe Giametta (Seaford, NY/MacArthur) needs just six tackles to become the fifth player in program-history to record 100 or more tackles in a single season … He currently has 94 tackles, which ranks eighth all-time on the College's single season list … Giametta is one of just four players in the Empire 8 to average 10 or more tackles per game … He currently ranks third in the E8 and 43rd nationally with 10.6 tackles per game. 

PEEL CAN PUNT: Punter Dakota Peel (Alden, NY/Alden) ranks 25th nationally and second in the conference with an average of 39.6 yards per punt. 

OTHER NOTABLES: Freshman running back Ryan Burnett looks to have a bright future ahead of him as he has 99 carries for 417 yards and four touchdowns this year … Senior wide receiver Jamie Murphy (Canadaigua, NY/Marcus Whitman) ranks sixth in the conference with an average of 5.3 catches per game … Murphy has caught 48 balls for 377 yards and two touchdowns … UC's Ryan Hansen (Woodcliff Lake, NJ/Pascack Hills) ranks second on the team with 78 tackles, including a team-best 10.0 tackles for a loss of 33 yards … Rob Alexander (Dobbs Ferry, NY/Dobbs Ferry) is tied for third on the team with 54 tackles and he also has two forced fumbles, one interception and one pass break up … Sophomore defensive end Nick Woodman (Utica, NY/Proctor) is tied with Giametta for the team-lead with 2.5 sacks this season … Mike Sullivan (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Jeff Mitchell (Onondaga, NY/Onondaga) each have five pass break up in the secondary this season.

SURE HANDED RECEIVERS: The Pioneers receiving corps is averaging 25.56 receptions per game, which ranks second all-time on the College's single season list.

SCOUTING THE HAWKS:  The Hartwick Hawks are coming off a big 41-14 victory on the road against Frostburg State last week that ended the team's four game winless streak … After trailing 14-13 late in the third quarter, 'Wick rallied to score 28 points to blow the game open and pick up the win … Quarterback John Garcia (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) completed 19 passes for 314 yards and three scores … Wide receiver Tanner Williams (Eagle Bridge, NY/Hoosick Falls) caught nine of those passes for 118 yards and scored two touchdowns while Frankie Molina (Middletown, NY/Middletown) added six catches for 134 yards and a score … The Hawks gashed the Bobcats for 134 yards on the ground led by Nick Knauer's (Wyantskill, NY/Tamarac) 89. Kurtis Ahart (Spencer, NY/Spencer Van Etten) tallied 81 yards and had one touchdown … Defensively, Hartwick was led by R.J. Roth (Cornwall, NY/Cornwall) who was in on 12 tackles, had two for losses, a half sack, and added a fumble recovery … Bryan Schweitzer (Babylon, NY/Babylon) contributed 11 tackles and 1.5 for a loss … He also had one interception returned for a touchdown ... Hartwick notes courtesy of Hartwick Athletic Communications.