The Utica College football team is set to host Catholic University in the Pioneers home opener at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium on Saturday at noon. 

Orange Out: Fans are encouraged to wear orange to the game to help celebrate the Pioneers home opener in style. The first 250 fans through the gates will receive an orange rally towel courtesy of the McQueen family. 

First Source Home Opener: First Source Federal Credit Union is the lead sponsor for Saturday's home opener at Gaetano Stadium.  For more information about First Source please visit www.fsource.org.

Broadcast Info: Saturday's game will be broadcast over the radio airwaves by WPNR 90.7 FM.  Fans can also follow the contest via Pioneers All-Access live video and stats: http://bit.ly/2wtxUV5. Alum Ray Biggs returns for play-by-play duties, while WPNR's James Den Blyker will join Biggs in the booth to handle color commentary duties.

Week 1 Recap: Utica junior quarterback Vinny Aloi (Chester, NY/Chester Academy) forced overtime when he tied the score at 6-6 after a 20 yard touchdown run with 32 seconds left in regulation and junior kicker Dan Tette (Rochester, NY/West Irondequoit) made his first career field goal in the first overtime to help lift the Pioneers to a thrilling 9-6 victory over host St. Lawrence University in the season opener at Leckonby Stadium Friday night.

In the National Spotlight: Utica's team defense ranks in the top 50 nationally after allowing just 266 yards of total offense against St. Lawrence on Friday night. Utica is one of just 19 teams in all of Division III football to allow six points or less in week one. 

Defense Wins Championships: Utica's defense narrowly missed out on securing its first shutout since 2014.  The last time the Pioneers shut out a team was back in 2014 when they traveled to Misericordia and earned a convincing 55-0 win in their season opener.

1,000 Yard Club: Senior running back Malcolm Stowe (Coram, NY/Longwood) now needs 59 more yards to become just the sixth back in program-history to eclipse 1,000 yards for a career. Stowe finished week one with 53 yards on 21 carries. 

All Over the Stat Sheet: Linebacker Antonio Scala (Coram, NY/Longwood) was all over the field in week one as he posted five tackles, two pass breakups, one interception, one tackle for a loss and one sack against St. Lawrence. 

Strong When it Matters: Utica's defense was particularly staunch in the opener against St. Lawrence.  The Pioneers held the Saints to 3-for-14 on third down and 0-for-3 on fourth down. Utica also forced five fumbles and recovered two on the afternoon. 

Sack City: Utica's defense racked up four sacks for a loss of 28 yards in the opener. Dylan Sekuterski (Depew, NY/Depew), Antonio Scala (Coram, NY/Longwood), Kwasi Addo (Menands, NY/Shaker) and Anthony Beaubrun (West Hempstead, NY/West Hempstead) each posted one sack.  Sekuterski also chipped in with a team-high seven tackles.

Lock Down Secondary: Elijah Belle (Plainfield, NJ/Plainfield) registered his second career interception in overtime on Friday night. Mark Taylor (Buffalo, NY/Kenmore West) posted five tackles and Ben Vargas (Holbrook, NY/Sachem East) added one tackle.

Air it Out: Quarterback Vinny Aloi (Chester, NY/Chester Academy) completed 27-of-51 passes for 232 yards in the opener. Peyton Miller (Chemung, NY/Waverly) and Malcolm Stowe (Coram, NY/Longwood) each caught ten balls. Imani Vincent (Brooklyn, NY/Sheepshead Bay) made five grabs for 49 yards. 

The Magic # is 50: Head Coach Blaise Faggiano needs two more wins to reach 50 for his career.  Utica has now won at least five games in five of its last eight seasons. 11^th year Head Coach Blaise Faggiano is now 48-55 overall and the Pioneers have earned an ECAC Bowl bid in two of the last four seasons.

Season-Opening Success: The Pioneers are now 14-4 all-time in season-opening contests and they have started the year with a victory in 10 consecutive seasons.

Last Year Against Catholic: Utica traveled to our nation's capital to square off against Catholic in week two last year. The Pioneers rallied with 10 second half points but their comeback bid fell just short as the Cardinals hung on for a 16-10 victory in Washington, D.C. Utica's Malcolm Stowe (Coram, NY/Longwood) finished the afternoon with a game-high 130 yards rushing on 18 carries.  Peyton Miller (Chemung, NY/Waverly) completed 15-of-26 passes for 178 yards but also threw two interceptions. 

Second Meeting Against Catholic: Utica and Catholic (CUA) are squaring off for the second time in program-history on Saturday. Sophomore Brady Berger completed 27-of-45 pass attempts, both career highs, for 226 yards and two touchdowns as the Cardinals opened the 2018 season with a 27-12 nonconference loss against McDaniel Saturday at Cardinal Stadium. Berger made his third start in his fourth career appearance and accounted for 256 yards of total offense as he was also Catholic's leading rusher, totaled 30 yards on just four carries. He completed a pass to seven different receivers with freshman MeKhail White hauling seven receptions for 70 yards and a 5-yard touchdown pass from Berger with 1:30 remaining in the second quarter. Sophomore Trey Carson also had seven catches as he totaled 54 yards receiving to go along with 45 return yards to lead the team with 103 all-purpose yards.