Buffalo, NY – The Utica College football team was on the road Saturday for an Empire 8 matchup with the Buffalo State Bengals. The Pioneers forced five turnovers on defense on their way to a 36-3 victory, improving to 5-4 overall to keep their chances at a bowl game alive.

The Bengals opened up the scoring for the day, as a 14 play-61 yard drive was capped off with a 31 yard field goal to take a 3-0 first quarter lead. After the Buffalo State field goal, it was all UC as the team would go on to score 36 unanswered points.

The Utica defense was able to capitalize on the Bengals' poor field position with a safety in the second quarter to make the scoreboard read 3-2. With less than five minutes before halftime, wide receiver Peyton Miller (Chemung, NY/Waverly) caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Logan Wilcox (Utica, NY/Proctor) to mark the first touchdown of the game.

UC's defense would get its offense the ball back quickly, which turned into a 19-yard field goal from Maki Medici (Watervliet, NY/Shaker) to take a 12-3 lead heading into the locker rooms.

Tim Hogan (Glen Cove, NY/Glen Cove) recovered a fumble in the end-zone for a touchdown early on in the third, helping extend the Utica lead to 19-3. Later on in the quarter senior wide-out Imani Vincent (Brooklyn, NY/Sheepshead Bay) snagged a 41-yard touchdown reception to increase the team's lead even further. A second Maki Medici (Watervliet, NY/Shaker) field goal of 25-yards and a second receiving touchdown by Vincent in the fourth would close out the game to secure the victory for the Pioneers.

Freshman quarterback Logan Wilcox (Utica, NY/Proctor) finished the game 14-30 with 276 yards and three touchdowns through the air. Wilcox now has 19 TD passes this season, which is tied for third on the all-time single season list here at Utica. After catching two TDs in the game, senior Imani Vincent (Brooklyn, NY/Sheepshead Bay) has now caught a touchdown in six straight games. Vincent's nine TD grabs this year puts him in second place on the College's all-time single season list.

Running back and senior captain Malcolm Stowe (Coram, NY/Longwood) had himself a day, rushing for 178 yards on 24 carries. Stowe has now rushed for 1,671 yards in his career, moving into fourth place all-time at Utica in career rushing yards. Teammate Peyton Miller (Chemung, NY/Waverly) finished with seven catches for 155 yards and a touchdown. Miller now has 67 receptions this season, marking him fourth all-time on the single season list.

On the defensive side of the ball Antonio Scala (Coram, NY/Longwood) put his best foot forward in the win, coming away with 15 tackles, one sack, and an interception. Senior defensive back Matthew McCoy (Sherrill, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) also recorded an interception in the contest. Linebacker Kwasi Addo (Menands, NY/Shaker) recorded 11 tackles, which included two for a loss and 1.5 sacks on the afternoon.

Daryl Savage (Elmira, NY/Elmira) and Robbie Schempp (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) both forced a fumble on defense, which led to recoveries by teammates Jack Derby (Fonda, NY/Fultonville Fonda) and Keanu Heedram (Rochester, NY/Rush-Henrietta). Tim Hogan (Glen Cove, NY/Glen Cove) also recovered a fumble on a bad snap during a Buffalo St. punt attempt, resulting in a touchdown.

The Pioneer defense finished the game with five forced turnovers and six sacks. A strong collective effort on that side of the ball kept the Bengals to just 265 yards of total offense and just 30 yards rushing.

Utica remains bowl eligible heading into its final contest of the regular season next weekend against Empire 8 rival, Hartwick College (2-7, 0-6 E8). This game is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. and will be played at Hartwick.