UTICA, NY – The Utica College football team hits the road for the first tilt of a two game Empire 8 Conference road trip on Saturday when the Pioneers travel to SUNY Brockport. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Broadcast: All Utica College football games will be broadcast on the radio locally at WTLB 99.1 FM/1310 AM (ESPN Radio) by Dave Peroni and UC alum Ray Biggs …  Live streaming audio can also be accessed on WTLB's website, www.espnur.com … The Brockport Athletics Communications Department will provide live stats and live video via: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/brockport/.

Receiving Votes: The Pioneers are receiving votes for the first time this season in the latest D3football.com National Poll released Sunday night … The three votes in the national poll mark just the second time in the program's 15-year history that they have been highlighted in the receiving votes category … The last time UC received votes in the national poll was back in 2012. 

Strength of Schedule: Utica has now taken a nationally-ranked opponent to overtime in two consecutive weeks … Four of the Pioneers' five opponents this season were either ranked or receiving votes in the national poll when Utica faced them … Both of the Pioneers' losses this season came by just seven points.
 
Last Weekend: The Pioneers defeated nationally-ranked Ithaca College for the second time in program-history during homecoming weekend on Saturday … Utica dominated the first two and a half quarters of the game, staking claim to a 24-0 lead… The Bombers tied it with 4:03 left in the fourth quarter and forced overtime, where Ithaca was held to a field goal on its overtime possession …Teddy VanGalen (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) connected with junior receiver Jerred Beniquez (Port Ewen, NY/Kingston) on the Pioneers' first offensive play of overtime to lift UC, 30-27.
 
Where We Stand: UC currently stands at 3-2 overall with a 2-1 conference record after beating the Bombers…Utica College's three wins this year have all come at home against Misericordia (42-28) in week one, Morrisville (38-14) in week three, and Ithaca (30-27) in week five.
 
On The Road: Utica looks to improve on the road, after losing its only two games of the season while away, against Ohio Northern (29-22) and Cortland (47-40)… With three of the final five games on the road the Pioneers need to find a road remedy if they hope to compete for the Empire 8 crown.
 
Conference Standings: UC is currently in a tie for second place in the conference with Alfred (4-1 overall, 2-1 Empire 8), behind first place SUNY Cortland (5-0 overall, 3-0 Empire 8)… Brockport (3-1 overall, 1-1 Empire 8) is in fourth followed by Ithaca (3-1, 1-1 Empire 8), Buffalo State (2-2 overall, 1-2 Empire 8), Morrisville (2-2 overall, 1-2 Empire 8), St. John Fisher (1-3 overall, 1-2 Empire 8), and Hartwick (2-2 overall, 0-2 Empire 8).
 
Against Brockport: The Pioneers are 1-2 in program-history against Brockport … UC won in the most recent contest against the Golden Eagles, 42-28, last season … Utica's two losses against Brockport came back in 2002 and again in 2003 .
 
Offensive Notes
 
Offensive Firepower: UC is first in the conference in total offense with 2,250 yards, and is second in the conference in passing efficiency (147.6) and passing yards per game (296.2) … The Pioneers are third in the conference in points per game (34.4) and total offense per game (450.0) … They are also fifth in the conference in rushing yards per game (153.8).
 
E8 Player of the Week: Teddy VanGalen (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa), who was recently named the Empire 8 Conference Offensive Player of the Week, is first in the conference and fifth in the nation in passing yards (1,481) through five games this year… He is first in the conference in completions (105) and in passing attempts (171)… VanGalen has a completion percentage of 61.4 and has thrown 10 touchdowns to only five interceptions on the year … He now has 11 career touchdown passes, which ranks fourth all-time in the program's 15 year history.
 
Mr. Utility: Jerred Beniquez (Port Ewen, NY/Kingston) leads the team and is third in the conference in all-purpose yards… In five games, Beniquez has 746 all-purpose yards off of 82 rushing yards, 321 yards receiving, 23 punt return yards, and 320 return yards… He has four touchdowns off of one kickoff return, and three receiving touchdowns including last weekend's game winner in overtime … Beniquez ranks eighth all-time at UC with 1,069 career receiving yards, making him just the eighth player in program-history to haul in over 1,000 career receiving yards … He also has 101 career catches … He needs 56 all-purpose yards to move into third place on the College's career list … He currently has 2,916 career all-purpose yards.
 
Run For It: Freshman Malcolm Stowe (Coram, NY/Longwood), junior Ryan Burnett (Mount Vernon, NY/Arch Bishop Stepinac), and junior Nicodemus Gambill (Rochester, NY/East High) make up the Pioneers backfield… Stowe leads the team with 71 attempts for 270 yards and three touchdowns… Burnett missed last weekend with an injury, but is still second on the team with 69 carries for 253 yards and he also has one touchdown… Gambill has 25 carries for 139 yards two touchdowns and an impressive 5.6 yards per carry.
 
Receiving Threats: Utica College's top two deep threats are Gregory Palmer (Richland, NY/APW) and Alex DeRusso (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa)… Palmer leads the team with 552 yards off of 27 catches and a team-high four receiving touchdowns… DeRusso has 414 yards off of 22 catches and one touchdown on the year … Palmer needs two receiving yards to become the ninth player in program-history to catch for over 1,000 yards in a career … He also needs one touchdown catch to become the seventh player in program-history to catch for 10 or more career touchdowns. 
 
Special Teams
 
Just Keep Kicking: Thomas Woodburn (West Islip, NY/West Islip) leads all of Division III football with an average of 2.20 field goals per game … He is second in the conference and 13^th in the nation in field goal percentage (91.7) … Woodburn needs five points to become the College's all-time scoring leader … He currently has 190 career points and ranks second all-time behind former All-American receiver Jeremy Meier, who recorded 194 points in his time at Utica … Woodburn is also the first kicker in program-history to make 100 career point after attempts.
 
Defensive Notes
 
QB's Nightmare: UC had eight sacks (second most in program-history) against Ithaca last weekend and leads the conference with 19.0 sacks on the year… Nick Woodman (Utica, NY/Proctor) is tied for first in the Conference and 10^th in the nation in sacks per game (1.40) and he is also tied for first in the conference with 7.0 sacks… Woodman is the College's all-time leader with 23.5 career sacks … Derrick Sekuterski (Depew, NY/Depew) (3.0), Frank DeNome (New Windsor, NY/Cornwall) (2.5), Jimmy McLaughlin (Schenectady, NY/Guilderland) (2.0), and Nicholas Bruzzese (Utica, NY/Proctor) (1.5) round out the top five Pioneers who have gotten to the QB.
 
No Runners Delight:  Utica College had 12 tackles for a loss, only allowed a net gain of 18 rushing yards and allowed zero rushing touchdowns last weekend against Ithaca College… UC is second in the conference in run defense, allowing an average of 113.0 yards per game … The Pioneers have 31 tackles for a loss on the season and are led by Woodman (9.0), Sekuterski (5.0), DeNome (4.0), Bruzzese (3.0), and Mike Kata (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon) (2.5).
 
Adding Interceptions: The Pioneers defense had four of its six interceptions this season last weekend ... Four picks in a single game tied the school-record … UC is now third in conference with six interceptions… Juwan Wilson (South Ozone Park, NY/Holy Cross) had his first two interceptions of the season last weekend and returned one for a touchdown…The four other players with interceptions this year are Sekuterski, Chance Harris (West Henrietta, NY/Rush Henrietta), Matthew McCoy (Sherrill, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill), and Isaiah Washington (Ozone Park, NY/Fort Hamilton) … Senior Mike Sullivan (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) tied the school-record with four pass break-ups last weekend.
 
Racking Up The Tackles: Wilson is first in the conference and 21^st in the nation in total tackles (57) so far this year … He is averaging a conference leading 11.4 total tackles per game… Wilson added 12 tackles against the Bombers last weekend.
 
Brockport Profile

Meet Brockport: The Golden Eagles are 3-1 overall with a 1-1 Empire 8 record… Brockport is coming off of a 59-7 victory over Alfred State during their homecoming weekend… Brockport is first in the conference in rushing offense and fourth in passing offense… The Golden Eagles are third in both run and pass defense in the conference… Brockport is led by the conference's leading rusher, Dan Andrews, who has 609 yards off of 94 attempts for 6.5 yards per carry and 11 touchdowns… Quarterback Wayne Bonsell leads the passing attack with 72 completions off of 115 attempts for 910 yards and nine touchdowns… The Golden Eagles defense is led by Alex Egglinger (35 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, one sack, and one interception) and Tarik Bennett (27 total tackles, 9.0 tackles for a loss, and five sacks).