UTICA, NY – The Utica College football team returns to action on Saturday when the Pioneers travel to Empire 8 foe SUNY Cortland to take on the Red Dragons at 1 p.m. at the SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex.

Follow the Game Live: Cortland Athletic Communications will provide live video and live stats for Saturday's contest … Links for live stats and video can be found here: http://cortlandreddragons.com/sports/2007/12/17/internetradio.aspx

Team Information
Last Time Out: The Utica College football team lost 14-0 against visiting Ithaca College in the inaugural New York State Tool Believe Bowl on Saturday at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium … The Believe Bowl was created to assist children at the Thea Bowman House as well as Firefighters battling cancer and life-threatening illnesses … The Bomber defense was stout all afternoon and held UC to 234 total yards of offense and zero points for the first time all season.

Down the Stretch They Come: Utica (3-5, 2-4 Empire 8) dropped its first home contest of the season last weekend against Ithaca … UC started the season with a win at home over St. Lawrence before dropping three straight on the road at Catholic, Alfred and Brockport … The Pioneers returned home to defeat Hartwick before falling in a memorable five overtime contest at St. John Fisher … The Pioneers then dominated Buffalo State on Homecoming (34-12), before losing against Ithaca last Saturday … UC wraps up regular season play at Cortland before hosting Morrisville for Senior Day on November 11^th. 

Last Time Against Cortland: The Pioneers got the better of Cortland last season at home … Utica hauled in a school-record five interceptions and remained undefeated as the Pioneers topped nationally-ranked No. 23 Cortland State 24-13 … During the contest the Pioneers made national news after an interception went off the back of a SUNY Cortland receiver, and off the helmet of Utica's Matthew McCoy (Sherrill, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) and landed in the arms of Pioneer defensive back Dehstin Smart (Paterson, NJ/Hackensack) … The clip of the incredible play went viral on several national media outlets … The play was featured on ESPN's SportsCenter anchored by the highly popular Scott VanPelt … It was also featured on SportsCenter's Top 10 segment, coming in at No. 6 on the top ten list.

All-Time vs. Cortland: Cortland and Utica have squared off five times previously, but this will be just their third meeting in the last 14 years … Cortland and Utica played each year in the first three years of Utica's varsity existence back in 2001, 2002 and 2003 … Cortland won all three meetings in convincing fashion … In 2015 the Pioneers lost an overtime thriller to host and then nationally-ranked No. 25 Cortland 47-40 … UC is currently 1-4 against the Red Dragons.

In the National Spotlight: Utica currently ranks 15^th nationally holding opponents to a 26.3% success rate in third down situations … The UC offensive line ranks ninth nationally allowing an average of 0.63 sacks per game ... Punt returner Dan Kehrer (Albany, NY/Colonie) ranks second nationally with an average of 19.8 yards per punt return.

Offensive Notes
Ground & Pound:  The Pioneers currently have 1,349 yards rushing this season on the ground … Junior captain Malcolm Stowe (Coram, NY/Longwood) leads the team with 425 yards rushing on 95 carries to go along with three TD's … Nicodemus Gambill (Rochester, NY/East High) ranks second on the team with 266 yards rushing and three touchdowns … Gambill is a threat to break loose at any time, averaging 6.8 yards per carry … Lindell Reed (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) is a key for the Pioneers in short yardage situations as he has three rushing touchdowns this season.

Under Center: Sophomore quarterback Vinny Aloi (Chester, NY/Chester Academy) leads the team with an average of 68.60 rushing yards per game … He also has three rushing touchdowns … Through the air he has completed 62-of-115 attempts for 635 yards and four touchdowns. 

Receiving Options: Donovan Brunson (White Plains, NY/White Plains) leads Utica with 23 catches for 201 yards and three touchdowns … Darrell Jones II (Coram, NY/Longwood) ranks second on the team with 19 catches for 198 yards while tight end Alex Damiani (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) has been a consistent threat with 17 catches for 196 yards … Josh Hood (Oneida, NY/Oneida) has 15 catches on the season.

Defensive Notes
Tackling Leader: Senior linebacker Derrick Sekuterski (Depew, NY/Depew) is one of just two players averaging over 10 tackles per game in the Empire 8 … He ranks second in the league with 10.5 tackles per game … He has 84 total tackles on the season.

Senior Leaders: Anthony Bierria-Anderson (Freeport, NY/Freeport) ranks second on the team with 47 tackles this season … He also has one interception and five pass breakups … Erik Lyndaker (Beaver River, NY/Beaver River) ranks fourth on the team with 37 total tackles. 

Defensive Line: Defensive lineman Keanu Heedram (Rochester, NY/Rush-Henrietta) has come on strong as of late, recording 24 tackles and 2.5 sacks in his last three outings … His 40 tackles this season currently rank third on the team … Robbie Schempp (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) leads the team with 3.5 sacks, while Jack Derby (Fonda, NY/Fultonville Fonda) has racked up 31 tackles … Utica ranks second in the league with 20 sacks this year.

Holding it Down: The Utica defense ranks third in the league allowing an average of 20.5 points per game.

Meet The Opponent
Meet Cortland: Cortland (5-3 overall) is currently in a fight for second place in the conference and a potential berth into the inaugural New York State Bowl Game with a 4-2 record in league play … The Red Dragons hold the tie breaker over Alfred after topping the Saxons in overtime 20-17 on Oct. 14^th … Johnnie Akins leads the Cortland rushing attack with 599 yards on 113 carries and seven touchdowns … Steven Ferreira has started all eight games for Cortland, completing 153 passes for 2,063 yards and 18 touchdowns through the air … Mark DeLuise leads the Red Dragon defense with 65 tackles and 2.5 sacks … Cortland has won three of its last four games … The Red Dragons lost 35-28 at St. John Fisher last weekend.