Utica, NY – The Utica College football team is set to travel to Dallas, Pennsylvania on Saturday for its regular season opener at Misericordia University.  Game time is set 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 Dave Peroni and UC alum Ray Biggs … Live streaming audio can also be accessed on WTLB's website, www.espnur.com ... Utica College home games are also broadcast over the air and online by Utica College's student radio station, WPNR 90.7 FM… Fans can also follow live video and stats provided by Misericordia Athletic Communications.

Taking a Look Back to 2015: The Pioneers wrapped up their 2015 campaign with a 4-6 overall record and a 3-5 mark in Empire 8 play … As a team the Pioneers finished the year ranked third on the College's single season list with 1,336 rushing yards and third with 2,762 passing yards … UC finished last season with the second most yards of total offense (4,098) in program-history … The Pioneer defense also tied a school-record with 15 interceptions last season and their 34 sacks were a new school-record.

Season Opener: The Pioneers are 11-4 all-time in season-opening contests and they have started the year with a victory in seven consecutive seasons.

16^th Year of Football at UC: The football program is entering its 16^th season of existence … Proof of the program's maturation is that the Pioneers have posted a record of .500 or better in four of the last six seasons … In 15 years, the Pioneers have racked up 55 victories, including 25 wins in the last five seasons alone … Head Coach Blaise Faggiano is in his eighth season at the helm and has elevated the program to new heights … He has 37 victories under his belt and he has guided over 67 student-athletes to All-Conference status … He currently boasts a .714 winning percentage in non-conference play with an impressive 20-8 mark.

Take a Look at the Schedule: UC will play five home games at Gaetano Stadium and five road games … Three of the Pioneers first five games will be on the road, before returning home for two straight conference games at the friendly confines of Gaetano Stadium … The Pioneers open up with two non-conference games against Misericordia and Ohio Northern … UC will take on nationally-ranked No. 22 Ohio Northern for the second time in program-history in the Indium Corporation Home Opener on September 10^th … Utica will then rattle off eight consecutive Empire 8 Conference games, beginning with a road game at Morrisville on September 17^th … The Pioneers will host nationally-ranked No. 17 SUNY Cortland on homecoming on September 24^th and the contest will be televised on Time Warner Cable Sports … All told the Pioneers have four teams on their schedule that are ranked or receiving votes in the D3football.com preseason national poll (#17 Cortland, #22 Ohio Northern, St. John Fisher (RV), and Alfred (RV)).

All-Time Vs. Misericordia: The Pioneers are 2-0 in two previous meetings against Misericordia, outscoring the Cougars 97-28 in two meetings … Last season at home the Pioneers topped Misericordia 42-28… Five different Pioneers scored a touchdown in the victory; including a school-record 90 yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Jerred Beniquez (Port Ewen, NY/Kingston) to give Utica a 21-7 lead at the 12:50 ledger of the second quarter … UC quarterback Teddy VanGalen (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) made his first career start under center for the Pioneers and completed 18-of-25 passes for 263 yards and one touchdown … Ryan Burnett (Mount Vernon, NY/Arch Bishop Stepinac) rushed the ball 26 times for 108 yards and one touchdown.

Meet the Captains: The 2016 Pioneers will be captained by four seniors made up of linebacker Juwan Wilson (South Ozone Park, NY/Holy Cross), defensive end Frank DeNome (New Windsor, NY/Cornwall), left guard Jack Doyle (Greenlawn, NY/Harborfields) and quarterback Teddy VanGalen (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa).

Confident in Our Quarterback: Senior Teddy VanGalen (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) started all ten games for the Pioneers last season and completed 208 passes for 2,662 yards and 15 touchdowns … He averaged 266.20 yards passing per game and is expected to see the majority of the snaps under center for the Pioneers this season … Making the two-deep for the first time in his career is junior quarterback Chris VanHouten who will serve as VanGalen's backup for week one. 

Beniquez Leaving His Mark: Senior Jerred Beniquez (Port Ewen, NY/Kingston) missed the final two games of last season due to injury, but heads into his final season ranked eighth on the all-time list with 1,255 career receiving yards … Beniquez currently ranks seventh all-time at UC with 120 career receptions … Beniquez's 55 catches last year tied for fifth all-time on the College's single season list.

Wilson Continues to Climb the Record Books: Juwan Wilson (South Ozone Park, NY/Holy Cross) heads into his senior season ranked fourth all-time at UC with 237 career tackles … His 117 tackles last season rank fourth on the College's all-time single season list, just six shy of Anthony Venturino's school-record of 123 set back in 2004. 

The Real McCoy: By the end of last season junior defensive back Matthew McCoy (Sherrill, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) moved into a tie for fourth on the College's all-time list with six career interceptions … His five interceptions last season led the team and are tied for third on the College's all-time single season list.

The Sekuterski Clan: Brother's Derrick and Dylan Sekuterski (Depew, NY/Depew) will once again rejoin each other on the field this season as both of the Depew, NY natives are listed in the top slots at linebacker and safety on the two-deep … Derrick Sekuterski (Depew, NY/Depew), a linebacker, returns after a tremendous sophomore year that landed him fourth on the team with 61 tackles … He had 10.5 tackles for a loss, 5.5 sacks and picked off two passes … Younger brother Dylan gets the starting nod at safety for week one … Back in 2013 the duo guided Depew High School to its first sectional title since 2007 after dethroning three-time defending Section VI Class B champion Alden, 28-26, at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo. 

Receiving Corps: Beniquez is likely the top target this season, but stepping into heavier roles will be five juniors including Imani Vincent (Brooklyn, NY/Sheepshead Bay), Shawn Marchant (Kingston, NY/Kingston), Josh Reed (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy), Josh Connor (Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollow Hills West) and Darrell Jones II (Coram, NY/Longwood) … Connor looks to have a break out year for the Pioneers after playing in eight games and catching a career-best 20 balls for 173 yards last season … Senior tight end Peter Mueller (Yorktown Heights, NY/Somers ) played in all ten games last year and ranked fourth on the team with 21 catches for 222 yards and two touchdowns.

Powerful Backfield: The Pioneers return three running backs who logged considerable playing time last season including Ryan Burnett (Mount Vernon, NY/Arch Bishop Stepinac), sophomore Malcolm Stowe (Coram, NY/Longwood) and senior Nicodemus Gambill (Rochester, NY/East High) … Burnett led the team with 347 yards rushing, while Stowe had a tremendous freshman season, carrying the ball 94 times for 326 yards and three touchdowns … Gambill, who was an all-American sprinter on the track last Spring and has devastating breakaway speed, carried the ball for touchdowns of 50 and 72 yards last season.  

In the Trenches: The Pioneers starting offensive line is made up three seniors and two juniors … Left guard Jack Doyle (Greenlawn, NY/Harborfields) and left tackle Robert Pontbriand (Yorktown Heights, NY/Somers), both Empire 8 All-Conference picks last season, will protect VanGalen's blindside … Junior Dan Pamlanye (Oakdale, NY/Connetequot) is expected to deliver snaps to VanGalen at the center position, while right guard Austin Berninger (River Edge, NJ/Riverdell) and right tackle Ryan Alphonse (Rock Tavern, NY/Washingtonville) complete the starting offensive line on the right side.

In the Secondary: Matthew McCoy (Sherrill, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) and Dylan Sekuterski (Depew, NY/Depew) will be joined in the secondary by junior cornerback Chancellor Harris (West Henrietta, NY/Rush Henrietta) and junior safety Anthony Bierria-Anderson (Freeport, NY/Freeport) … Both Bierria-Anderson and Harris played in all ten games last season with Harris totaling 51 tackles, a team-best nine pass breakups and two interceptions … Bierria-Anderson added 34 tackles and one interception for the Pioneers. 

Big Men Up Front: The Pioneers defensive line will be led by senior Frank DeNome (New Windsor, NY/Cornwall) who posted 23 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for a loss last season on his way to earning captain status … Defensive tackle Nicholas Bruzzese (Utica, NY/Proctor) heads into his senior season with high expectations after posting 33 tackles and 2.5 sacks last season … Keanu Heedram (Rochester, NY/Rush-Henrietta) has earned a starting role at tackle after playing in eight games as a freshman last year and posting 13 tackles and 2.5 tackles for a loss … Freshman Jack Derby (Fonda, NY/Fultonville Fonda), a big 6-foot-4 245 pound presence, will get the start at defensive end for the Pioneers after earning two consecutive Class C All-State honors at Fonda-Fultonville High School … Sophomore linebacker Dehstin Smart (Paterson, NJ/Hackensack) is also expected to start after an impressive freshman season which included 27 tackles and one interception. 

Freshman to Watch: Coach Faggiano has listed nine freshman on the two-deep to start the season … Watch out for tight end Alex Damiani (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) on the offensive side of the ball, while six freshman are listed as players who could potentially see time on the defensive side of the ball … This defensive cohort of youngsters includes ends Jack Derby (Fonda, NY/Fultonville Fonda) and Nick Pizzarelli (Rockville Centre, NY/Oceanside), to go along with defensive tackles Robbie Schempp (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas), linebacker Antonio Scala (Coram, NY/Longwood) and safety's Elijah Belle (Plainfield, NJ/Plainfield) and Ben Vargas (Holbrook, NY/Sachem East) … Two freshman will start at special teams as Dan Tette (Rochester, NY/West Irondequoit) will take the kickoffs and Desmond Akpanoko (Roosevelt, NY/Roosevelt) will line up and kick extra points. 

History in the Making: Senior running back Ryan Burnett (Mount Vernon, NY/Arch Bishop Stepinac) needs just eight more yards rushing to move into fifth place on the College's all-time rushing yards list … He needs 119 yards to become the fifth back in school-history to reach the 1,000 yard plateau for a career … Burnett needs three touchdowns to move into fifth on the College's all-time list … Senior quarterback Teddy VanGalen (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) needs 272 yards passing to become just the third quarterback in program history to register over 3,000 yards passing … Jerred Beniquez (Port Ewen, NY/Kingston) needs 75 yards receiving to surpass current student assistant coach Gregory Palmer (Richland, NY/APW) for seventh place on the College's all-time receiving yards list … Beniquez also needs four catches to move into fifth place on the College's all-time list … Beniquez needs 424 all-purpose yards to move into sole possession of second on the College's all-time list … Matthew McCoy (Sherrill, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) needs three interceptions to move into third place on the College's all-time interceptions list … Senior linebacker Juwan Wilson (South Ozone Park, NY/Holy Cross) needs 25 tackles to move into third place on the College's all-time tackles list. 

Meet Misericordia: The Cougars, who enter their fifth year of existence in Division III football, went 1-9 last season with their lone win coming against Wilkes University in week nine … The win snapped a 15 game losing streak for Misericordia … The Cougars will be looking to replace standout Jeff Puckett, who graduated after earning first-team all-Middle Atlantic Conference status one year ago … Senior Ryan Kurtz returns after carrying the ball 109 times for 424 yards and a touchdown in 2015.

Get The App: Utica Athletics recently launched a fan rewards program to promote fan engagement for all 26 of UC's intercollegiate sports… Powered by SuperFanU, the "Pioneer Pride Points" Fan Rewards app uses GPS tracking to recognize where fans are located at specified home games… Points are earned by attending and "Checking In" to UC athletics games, participating in a variety of contests and interacting with social media platforms through the app… The app is available on all IPhone and Android devices by searching 'Pioneer Pride Points' in the Apple App Store or GooglePlay Market and is free to all Utica College students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni and fans.

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 ... Fans can also follow the Pioneers on Instagram or Snapchat by searching UCPioneers.