UTICA, NY - The Utica College football team delivered its most decisive victory of the season to close out the 2019 regular season. The Pioneers scored 44 of the game's first 51 points to build a 44-7 lead by the fourth quarter, and never once looked back as it prevailed by a 58-14 score over the visiting Hartwick Hawks in Empire 8 Football action.

The Pioneers improve to 5-5 overall, and are at .500 or better at the end of the regular season for the eighth time in their 19 year history. They are also 3-3 in the Empire 8. The even 5-5 record would make Utica eligible for bowl selection by meeting the minimum criteria, but the Pioneers would have to be offered an available spot in one of up to four games sponsored by the ECAC on Monday to continue.

Utica recorded a season-high in points, as they totaled over 50 for a second time this season. The Utica defense excelled by holding an opponent to two touchdowns or less for a third straight week, and they also cashed in offensively by scoring a pair of touchdowns. The Pioneers defense kept Hartwick's ground game silent as they held the Hawks to a negative rushing total for a second straight meeting at -29 yards. That is a new program best performance for the Pioneer defense against the run, eclipsing the previous best of -19 set in last season's meeting against the Hawks. It is the third negative rushing performance by an opponent against Utica in the last two years. The team had eight sacks for 61 yards. The eight sack performance is tied for third in a single game in school history. 

The Pioneer defensive unit was led by a balanced team effort. Senior Jack Derby (Fonda, NY/Fultonville Fonda) had a whale of a day in his final regular season home game with six tackles, 1.5 sacks, and the first touchdown of his college career on an interception return in the third quarter. Senior classmate Markell Griggs also had a lot to smile about when the day was over as he finished off the tail end of a remarkable fumble return touchdown in the fourth quarter. Senior John Nish (Canastota, NY/Oneida) had eight tackles, and Kwasi Addo (Menands, NY/Shaker) had seven on the day to go with 3.5 tackles for loss. Addo moved into the top ten on Utica's career tackles list, and is now tied for eighth. Eli Belle, Terrance Toussaint (West Orange, NJ/West Orange), Jamel Smith (Spring Valley, NY/Avon Old Farms), and Robbie Schempp (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) each had two pass breakups. Belle extends his school single-season record up to fourteen pass breakups. Antonio Scala (Coram, NY/Longwood) recovered two fumbles.

Ryan VanGalen (Clifton Park, NY/Shenedehowa) had the best day of his college career as he completed 26 of 40 passes for 297 yards and four touchdowns. Wide receiver Peyton Miller (Chemung, NY/Waverly) had the fifth 100 yard game of his college career. He tied a season-high with 12 catches, and produced a season-high 120 yards and a touchdown. He moved into a tie for third in school history alongside Imani Vincent (Brooklyn, NY/Sheepshead Bay) in receiving touchdowns, and also moved into the top five in career receiving yards. Keegan Wright (Cicero, NY/Cicero North Syracuse) had five catches for 58 yards and two touchdowns, and Anthony Goffe (Plainfield, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) caught a second quarter touchdown pass.

Tim Hogan (Glen Cove, NY/Glen Cove) led the Pioneers in rushing yardage with 41 yards on just two carries, and Brad Dougherty (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) powered home two rushing touchdowns.

Hartwick's Kishaun Bell had six catches for 122 yards and both Hawk touchdowns.

The defenses were the star of a scoreless first quarter, while the offenses were slow starting on both sides with a string of six straight three-and-outs to open play in the first quarter. The Pioneers were first in rising to the challenge of getting their offense on track, and they began to begin momentum on their final drive of the first quarter. The Pioneers got the ball via a punt at their own 42 yard line, then proceeded to traverse 57 of the 58 yards needed to get on the board before the clock ran out on the first quarter. Much of that distance was covered on the final play of the frame as VanGalen found Miller on a 34 yard pass.

A short field to begin the second quarter helped lead to the game's first points.The Pioneers had to overcome a holding penalty on a Dougherty run from the one yard line, but made up the distance through the air as Miller came through with a 12 yard catch, and the Pioneers turned to fullback Anthony Goffe (Plainfield, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) on a quick pass from VanGalen to get the ball into the end zone from five yards out. The kick was blocked, and Utica led 6-0.

The Pioneers quickly set themselves up to do more damage. On the next play from scrimmage, Hartwick quarterback Grant Harman was blasted into the turf by Derby, and the fumble fell into the hands of Rocky Davis (Mastic Beach, NY/William Floyd) at the Hawks' 23 yard line. The Pioneers capitalized moments later as VanGalen tossed his second touchdown to Wright, and the kick by Medici made the score 13-0 with 11:59 to go until the half. 

Hartwick trimmed the deficit back to a one score game on the next series, as Bell keyed the Hawk offense with four catches, including an 11 yard touchdown reception from Harman that made it 13-7. The Pioneers made a run for it before halftime with ten more points, as VanGalen hooked up with Wright a second time, and Maki Medici (Watervliet, NY/Shaker) kicked a 34 yard field goal through the uprights after Cam Davis set him up with three straight catches. That combination of factors put the Pioneers up by a 23-7 score at halftime.

Utica then bolted ahead further with three third quarter touchdowns, two of which came just ten seconds apart. A fumble recovery by Scala at the Hartwick 17 ignited the explosive string of events. At 11:19 of the quarter, VanGalen connected with Miller for a six yard touchdown pass. Not to be left out, the defense struck ten seconds later. Derby picked off a Harman pass at the line of scrimmage and ran it back sixteen yards for the touchdown at 11:09. A two yard touchdown run by Brad Dougherty (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) gave Utica a 44-7 lead after three quarters.

The Pioneers scored twice more after Bell's second receiving touchdown for Hartwick slimmed the lead down to 44-14, and one of the team's two touchdowns had to be seen to be believed. With 8:23 remaining in the matchup, Robbie Schempp (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) came barreling in on Harman and sacked the quarterback, which sent a fumbled football rolling away. That was recovered by Antonio Scala (Coram, NY/Longwood), who forged ahead into Hartwick territory on the return. As the Pioneer linebacker was set to be chased down, the ball came out to Markell Griggs, who ran the ball into the endzone for his first college touchdown. Brad Dougherty (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) added a second rushing score with just over two minutes left as the Pioneers cruised to a 58-14 win.

The Pioneers have won four straight against the Hawks.

Before the game, Utica honored the achievements and efforts of the largest senior class in the history of the program. That group polished off its final regular season game with a win. The class is the now the winningest in school history with 22 victories.