UTICA, NY – The Utica College football team will travel to Hartwick College on Saturday for its Empire 8 Conference regular season finale at 1 p.m.
Team Notes
Overall Record: UC (6-3, 4-3 Empire 8) will look to secure its seventh win of the season for just the second time in program-history against Hartwick Saturday … The last time Utica won seven games was back in 2014 … A seven win season would place the Pioneers in the conversation to potentially earn a bid into an ECAC Bowl game for just the second time in program-history.
Bowl Eligible?: The last time Utica won seven games in the regular season was back in 2014 and for their efforts they earned a spot in the 2014 ECAC North Central Bowl Championship at Morrisville State… 2016 ECAC Bowl Game participants will be released on Monday, November 14
th … The 2016 ECAC Division III Football Festival will take place Nov. 18-20 on the campus of University of Pennsylvania at historic Franklin Field … The ECAC bowl games will feature 12 teams competing in six bowl games across three days in what is becoming one of the ECAC's marquee championship events ... Games are tentatively scheduled for Friday, Nov. 18 at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 19 at noon and 5 p.m.; and Sunday, Nov. 20 at noon and 5 p.m.
Last Week: The Pioneers were in search of their fourth win over a nationally-ranked opponent at home this season last Saturday, but visiting and unbeaten Alfred had other plans, as the 15
th-ranked Saxons upended Utica, 35-21, in the final home game of the season for UC … Utica trailed by just seven points, 28-21, early in the fourth quarter, but the Saxons defense stood strong and earned the 14 point victory.
Building a Winning Tradition: Utica has now won at least five games in five of its last seven seasons … Head Coach
Blaise Faggiano is now 43-47 in just under nine full seasons at the helm.
Offensive Notes
Signal Caller: Senior quarterback
Teddy VanGalen (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) leads the Empire 8 with 195 completions and he ranks 31
st nationally with an average of 21.67 completions per game … He also ranks second in the conference and 52
nd nationally with 2,177 passing yards … VanGalen has now eclipsed 2,000+ passing yards in a single season for the second time in his career … His 4,905 career passing yards ranks second in school-history … He needs two more passing touchdowns to move into sole possession of second on the College's all-time list … On Saturday, he jumped two spots and now ranks second on the College's all-time list with 409 career completions … He is just the third quarterback in program-history to complete over 400 passes in a career, joining Andrew Benkwitt and Nick Martin.
Primary Target: Senior wide receiver
Jerred Beniquez (Port Ewen, NY/Kingston) leads the Empire 8 Conference with 66 catches and 7.3 catches per game … His 7.3 catches per game rank 20th nationally … He ranks seventh in the Empire 8 with 656 yards receiving … His 66 catches rank third on the College's all-time single season list …He needs eight catches to break the College's single season record set by All-American Jeremy Meier back in 2012 … Beniquez is the College's all-time leader with 4,240 career all-purpose yards (1911 receiving yards, 1905 kick return yards, 307 punt return yards, 117 rushing yards) … He ranks third all-time at Utica College with 186 career receptions and needs just two more to move into second place ... His 11 career receiving touchdowns ranks seventh all-time at Utica … He is also a two-time Empire 8 All-Conference Honorable Mention selection (2015, 2013).
Ball Control: Senior running back
Ryan Burnett (Mount Vernon, NY/Arch Bishop Stepinac) has carried the ball over 30 times in three games this season, with the Pioneers winning each of those contests … UC currently ranks in the top 40 nationally in average time of possession per game (32:33), in large part due to the recent success of the run game … Burnett carried the ball 36 times for a career-high 204 yards and a touchdown in the Pioneers win over nationally-ranked St. John Fisher in week seven … He added 32 carries for 153 yards and one score against Buffalo State in week eight … He currently ranks third in the Empire 8 with an average of 86.4 yards rushing per game this season … Burnett is currently third all-time in career rushing yards with 1,659 yards on the ground … With another 113 rushing yards he will move up to second and he needs 188 yards to become the top rusher in program history …He is the College's all-time leader with 429 career carries and he ranks fourth all-time with 14 career touchdown runs.
Nose for the Goal Line: Freshman running back
Lindell Reed (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) ranks fourth in the conference and leads the team with nine rushing touchdowns this season … He is now four scores away from breaking the College's single season record.
Defensive Notes
Defensive Leader: Senior linebacker
Juwan Wilson (South Ozone Park, NY/Holy Cross) ranks fifth in the Empire 8 Conference with an average of 9.9 tackles per game … He has registered 10+ tackles in six of nine games this season … He is ranked 49th nationally in total tackles … He is tied for the team lead with 3.5 sacks and has also added two interceptions … He ranks second all-time at Utica with 326 career tackles … He is just the second player in program-history with 300+ career tackles … In four seasons he has recorded 9.5 career sacks, 24.0 tackles for a loss, four interceptions and 10 pass breakups … He is also a two-time Empire 8 All-Conference selection (2015-1st Team, 2014-2nd Team).
INT Specialist: Anthony Beaubrun (West Hempstead, NY/West Hempstead) has a team-high four interceptions so far this season and he is now tied for sixth on the College's single season list … He also has 38 tackles and two pass breakups.
Pressuring the QB: The Utica defense has 18 sacks, led by
Juwan Wilson (South Ozone Park, NY/Holy Cross),
Nicholas Bruzzese (Utica, NY/Proctor), and
Xyier Woodard (Albany, NY/LaSalle), who each have 3.5 sacks this season.
Cleaning Up: Anthony Bierria-Anderson (Freeport, NY/Freeport) ranks second on the team with a career-high 53 tackles … He also has three interceptions, three pass breakups, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble…
Isaiah Washington (Ozone Park, NY/Fort Hamilton) has come on strong as of late with 30 tackles in his last four starts.
Special Teams Notes
National Team of the Week: Utica College senior return man
Nicodemus Gambill (Rochester, NY/East High) was named to the D3football.com National Team of the Week for the first time in his career on Tuesday … He was also named the Empire 8 Special Teams Player of the Week … Gambill is the seventh player in program-history to earn the D3football.com National Team of the Week distinction … He returned a first quarter kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown as the Pioneers hosted nationally-ranked Alfred on Saturday at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium … He now has the two longest kick returns for a touchdown in program-history (99 yards against Morrisville in week four, 97 yards against Alfred on Saturday) … Gambill has 687 total kick return yards on the season and he averages just over 32 yards per return to go along with his two touchdowns … He is now just 10 yards shy of becoming UC's all-time single season leader in kick return yards … He ranks fourth nationally with an average of 32.7 yards per kick return … Gambill was an All-American last Spring for the UC track & field team -- placing third at NCAA's in the 100 meter dash -- to earn his first career All-American distinction.
Kicking with Confidence: Freshman kicker
Desmond Akpanoko (Roosevelt, NY/Roosevelt) ranks 50
th nationally and second in the Empire 8 Conference with an average of .89 field goals per game this season … He is currently tied for third for most field goals in a single season with eight this year … Akpanoko needs three more field goals to move into second in the single season record book.
Meet the Opponent
Against Hartwick: The Pioneers are 3-3 against the Hawks in the last six years … In all three victories UC scored 20 or more points and twice scored more than 42 points (47-24 in 2014, 43-7 in 2012, and 20-17 in 2011) … In all three losses Hartwick scored 21 or more points (45-39 in 2015, 21-10 in 2013, 24-21 in 2010) … These two teams have met every year since 2002 … Hartwick holds the all-time series lead with a 9-5 advantage… It is usually a very competitive game between these two rivals, with 8-of-15 meetings being decided by 10 points or less … Four of the meetings have been decided by three points or less.
Scouting Hartwick: Hartwick is currently 2-7 overall and 1-6 in Empire 8 Conference play this season … They are currently riding a three game losing streak … The Hawks can certainly put points on the board, averaging 35.11 points per game this season … The Hawks defense has allowed an average of 48.33 points per game … Tito Pichardo leads the ground game with 749 yards on 169 carries to go along with 15 touchdowns … Quarterback Billy Pine, who transferred to Hartwick from Utica after his freshman season, leads the Empire 8 with 2,731 yards passing … Pine has also thrown 19 touchdown passes to go along with six rushing touchdowns … Koree Reed leads the receivers with 52 catches for 1,460 yards and 14 touchdown catches … Mark Hackett leads the defense with 63 tackles … He also has two interceptions and five pass breakups.
Follow the Game Live
Broadcast Info: All Utica College football games will be broadcast over the radio airwaves on ESPN Utica/Rome (1310 AM) by Dave Peroni, in his 40th year of broadcasting, and UC alum Ray Biggs … Live streaming audio can also be accessed on ESPNUR's website, www.espnur.com or download the ESPN Utica/Rome APP available in the Google Play store and on Apple ITunes by searching "ESPNUR".
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 #UCMoose… You can also "Like" the Pioneers on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UCpioneers ... Fans can also follow the Pioneers on Instagram: UCPioneers.
