BROCKPORT, NY - The Utica College football team took its second loss of the season on Saturday night. In response to a difficult first half, The Pioneers mustered up a firm second half challenge to trail by as few as three points, but host Brockport produced nine points in the fourth quarter to secure a 26-14 win in an Empire 8 Conference football game at Eunice Kennedy Shriver Stadium.

Brockport improves to 4-2, while Utica's loss sets them at the same record overall. The Pioneers are now 1-1 in the E8, while the Golden Eagles go to 2-1. 

The Golden Eagles led the way in total offense by a 309-190 margin over UC. That advantage was secured in the run game, with the hosts out-rushing the Pioneers by a 246-54 total. UC had 136 passing yards to Brockport's 63 on a rainy evening. The home team also held the ball for almost 40 minutes. 

Quarterback Sonny Badyna (Brooklyn, NY/St. Peter's) threw for all 136 of Utica's passing yards and a touchdown, while rushing for another. Lamont McGriff (Yonkers, NY/Iona Prep) was UC's leading rusher as the veteran back produced 34 net yards. Wide receiver Elijah Parker (New London, CT/New London) had a team-high 78 receiving yards, while Nate Palmer (Verona, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) tacked on a receiving touchdown. 

Graduate student linebacker Kwasi Addo (Menands, NY/Shaker) had a team-leading 15 tackles on defense, which gets him much closer to fourth on the school's career list. That is the most tackles by a UC player this season. Jimmie Warren (Suffern, NY/Suffern) posted nine tackles, and Devin Bryant (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) had seven with two pass breakups. 

Running back Jala Coad led Brockport with 167 net rushing yards and a touchdown. 

The first quarter featured a resilient defensive effort by the Pioneers, who overcame some hard luck in the field position game to hold Brockport to a single field goal. 

On its opening series, the Golden Eagles incisively marched their way down to the Utica 11 yard line before their drive began to go backwards. A 10-yard penalty and a large loss of yardage on a fumble by running back Jala Coad put Brockport back to the Utica 40 and a virtually insurmountable down-and-distance scenario. The ensuing punt was muffed to give Brockport a second look deep in Pioneer territory, but the defense held again and the hosts were forced to kick a field goal for a 3-0 lead. It was the only scoring play of the first quarter. 

Brockport added a pair of second quarter touchdowns to cruise into the halftime break. Quarterback Jack Cheshire connected on a 13 yard pass to Jala Coad for a 10-0 lead, and a 17-0 lead opened up with nine seconds remaining in the half when wide receiver Imhotep Cromer scored on a 7 yard run.

The Pioneers had just 36 total yards of offense at halftime, but a struggling unit was able to find some signs of life in the third quarter. 

With 8:33 left in the third, Utica got itself on the board as Badyna put a bow on a 65 yard, eight play scoring drive with an 11 yard touchdown pass over the middle of the field to Palmer that trimmed the deficit to 17-7. The Pioneers got even closer in the early stages of the fourth quarter, as Badyna engineered another 66 yard scoring drive and capped it off with a two-yard scoring run on the seventh play of the series to thin the deficit to 17-14. 

Brockport had ideas other than a Utica lead late, as troubles with the punting unit led to nine straight points. Medici was forced back and tackled at his own two yard line in one punting situation, leading to a turnover on downs that Coad quickly converted into a Brockport touchdown, and a blocked punt at the Utica 6 yard line led to a safety as the Golden Eagles capitalized on the miscues to preserve the win. 

The Pioneers will be back in action against first place and nationally-ranked Cortland on Saturday, October 23rd. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at the SUNY Cortland Stadium Complex.