Utica, NY – The Utica College football team is set to travel to Morrisville State to take on the Mustangs Saturday night in the Empire 8 Conference opener for both squads at 7 p.m.

Broadcast Info:  All Utica College football games will be broadcast on ESPN 1310AM locally 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 ... Fans can also follow live video and stats courtesy of Morrisville Athletic Communications … For links visit the UC football schedule page at www.ucpioneers.com.

Receiving Votes: Utica is receiving six votes in the latest D3football.com national poll after knocking off previously ranked Ohio Northern University, 34-30, Saturday in the Pioneers home opener at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium … The last time the Pioneers were receiving votes in the national poll was at the beginning of week seven last year after they knocked off SUNY Brockport in overtime. 

Play of the Week: Matt Stone (Rochester, NY/Brighton)'s interception returned 83 yards for a touchdown sparked the Pioneers comeback victory over Ohio Northern on Saturday and was named D3football.com's Play of the Week … The 83 yard return was the third longest interception return in program-history … This honor marks the first time in program-history that the Pioneers were featured as the Play of the Week … Check out the highlight package here: http://d3football.com/awards/playoftheweek/2016/week2

Week Two Review:  Utica rallied from a 17 point deficit and scored 21 points in the final 6:35 of the contest to earn a thrilling 34-30 victory over nationally-ranked No. 18 Ohio Northern University in the home opener for the Pioneers at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium last Saturday … In the Pioneers final two drives of the game, senior quarterback Teddy VanGalen (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) marched the Utica offense for a total of 152 yards on 19 plays and threw two TD passes, both to junior Shawn Marchant (Kingston, NY/Kingston).

In the National Spotlight: As a team, the Pioneers rank ninth nationally and first in the E8 with an average of 26.43 yards per punt return … Jerred Beniquez (Port Ewen, NY/Kingston) leads the nation with an average of 38.0 yards per punt return … He also ranks 24^th nationally and second in the Empire 8 Conference with an average of 187.50 all-purpose yards per game … Freshman kicker Desmond Akpanoko (Roosevelt, NY/Roosevelt) ranks 19^th nationally with an average of 1.50 field goals per game … Teddy VanGalen (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) ranks 32^nd nationally and second in the Empire 8 with 562 total passing yards … Shawn Marchant (Kingston, NY/Kingston) ranks 16^th in the country with three receiving touchdowns this season.

Empire 8 Player of the Week: Senior quarterback Teddy VanGalen (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) was named the Empire 8 Conference Player of the Week on Monday after guiding the Pioneers to victory over Ohio Northern … He finished the day with 22 completions for 298 yards and three touchdowns, including two TD passes to Shawn Marchant (Kingston, NY/Kingston) in the Pioneers final two drives of the game with less than two minutes to go … VanGalen currently ranks second in the Empire 8 with an average of 281.0 yards passing per game … He has 45 completions and four touchdowns throws to go along with a 148.5 efficiency rating. 

Human Highlight Reel: Senior Jerred Beniquez (Port Ewen, NY/Kingston) ranks second in the Empire 8 with 16 catches this season and he is currently averaging 10.7 yards per catch … He also has 171 total receiving yards through two games … Beniquez has carried the ball three times for 52 yards and one score … He is averaging 17.7 yards per carry. 

Putting Up Points: Junior Shawn Marchant (Kingston, NY/Kingston) and freshman kicker Desmond Akpanoko (Roosevelt, NY/Roosevelt) are currently tied for fifth in the conference with an average of 9.0 points per game … Marchant has three touchdown catches … Akpanoko has three field goals and nine extra points to his credit. 

Running back by Committee: Freshman running back Lindell Reed (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) currently leads the team with 14 carries for 76 yards and two touchdowns … Sophomore Malcolm Stowe (Coram, NY/Longwood) has 11 carries for 63 yards while senior Ryan Burnett (Mount Vernon, NY/Arch Bishop Stepinac) has 11 carries for 50 yards.

Leading the Defense: Junior linebacker Derrick Sekuterski (Depew, NY/Depew) currently leads the defense with 18 tackles, two pass breakups and one sack … Anthony Bierria-Anderson (Freeport, NY/Freeport) ranks second on the team with 13 tackles, while senior Juwan Wilson (South Ozone Park, NY/Holy Cross) has 12 tackles and one pass breakup.

Pressuring the QB: Sophomore defensive lineman Xyier Woodard (Albany, NY/LaSalle) leads the Empire 8 Conference in sacks with an average of 1.25 per contest … Senior captain Frank DeNome (New Windsor, NY/Cornwall) also has a sack, a pass breakup and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown in week one against Misericordia. 

History in the Making: Senior running back Ryan Burnett (Mount Vernon, NY/Arch Bishop Stepinac) moved into fifth place on the College's all-time rushing yards list last week … He now needs 69 more yards to become the fifth back in program-history to record over 1,000 yards in a career … Jerred Beniquez (Port Ewen, NY/Kingston) needs 138 yards receiving to move into sixth place on the College's all-time receiving yards list … Beniquez moved into sole possession of fourth place on the College's all-time receptions list on Saturday … He now needs 41 more catches to move into third place on the all-time list … Beniquez totaled 114 all-purpose yards last week and now needs 49 all-purpose yards to move into second on the College's career all-purpose yards list … He is on pace to become the second player in program-history to eclipse 4,000 career all-purpose yards (currently has 3,721) … Junior Matthew McCoy (Sherrill, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) is currently tied for sixth on the College's all-time interceptions list with six … He needs two more to move into a tie for third all-time … Senior linebacker Juwan Wilson (South Ozone Park, NY/Holy Cross) needs 13 tackles to move into third on the College's all-time tackles this (currently has 249). 

All-Time vs. Morrisville: Utica and Morrisville will be meeting for the third time in program-history on Saturday … The record stands at 1-1, with Utica earning the most recent victory against Morrisville in 2015 … The Pioneers downed the Mustangs 38-14 in the Empire 8 Conference opener for both squads in week three of 2015 at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium … Utica's Teddy VanGalen (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) completed 25 passes for a career-high 313 yards and two touchdowns as the Pioneers compiled 526 yards of total offense in the victory … The UC defense also forced a safety and scored a defensive touchdown in the fourth quarter to seal the victory for the home team … Back in 2014, Morrisville got the better of the Pioneers, 52-41, in the ECAC North Central Bowl.

Meet Morrisville: The Mustangs are entering their second season in the Empire 8 Conference after spending time as a member of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) … The Mustangs are currently 0-1 on the year after falling to St. Lawrence University 28-0 in week one … Cory Benedetto went 18-for-36 on the night for 194 yards, while adding 63 net yards in the running game to lead the Morrisville State offensive efforts in their first outing of 2016 … Darrell West added 66 yards on the ground, while Joseph Faniel was the lead target for Benedetto, hauling in 10 receptions for 124 yards … Marcus Jackson-Conner added 63 yards on six catches.

Familiar Face On The Sidelines: Morrisville Head Coach Curt Fitzpatrick spent five seasons as the offensive coordinator at Utica College before accepting the position to lead the Mustangs in 2013 … In just over three seasons at the helm of the program, Fitzpatrick has compiled a 18-14 overall record … He guided the Mustangs to a program best record since becoming a member of the NCAA Division III as they wrapped up the 2014 regular season with a 9-2 overall record.

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.