UTICA, NY – The Utica College football team responded to last week's loss to nationally ranked SUNY Cortland with a 20-3 win over the Morrisville St. Mustangs in the fourth annual Believe Bowl. 
 
The Pioneers deferred the kickoff to the second half as the Mustangs started the game with a 16 play, 81-yard drive that ate up over eight minutes. However, the Utica defense held strong after holding Morrisville to just four yards from inside the 10 yard line, forcing a field goal. Owen Cole nailed the kick through the uprights to put the Mustangs ahead, 3-0. This would serve as the only blemish for the UC defense. 
 
After the team's traded 3-and-outs, Utica took over on offense at the Morrisville 43 yard line with 4:23 remaining in the first quarter. A steady combination of James Salles (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon) rushes and Sonny Badyna (Brooklyn, NY/St. Peter's) darts gave the Pioneers a 1st and 10 from the Mustangs 11. That's where Badyna found tight end Tobey Callender (Higganum, CT/Haddam-Killingworth) for an 11-yard score, capping off a five play, 43-yard drive that took just over two minutes. Maki Medici (Watervliet, NY/Shaker) converted the point after as Utica took a 7-3 lead. 
 
After Nate Palmer (Verona, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) returned a punt for 23 yards to the Mustangs' 44, a targeting call on Morrisville gave the Pioneers excellent field position, setting up a 1st and 10 at the Morrisville 29. On the third play of the drive, Badyna connected with Nate Palmer (Verona, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) for a 16-yard touchdown. A false start penalty backed the Pioneers up on the PAT which resulted in a miss, leading to a 13-3 Utica lead which they would hold until halftime. 
 
After both teams punted on their first drives of the half, the Pioneers put together a lengthy drive of their own. Starting on their own 30, the Pioneers put together a 12 play, 70-yard drive that took just over five minutes off of the clock and ended in a two-yard rushing touchdown for Salles. The freshman running back accounted for 45 of the 70 yards on the drive. 
 
Utica dipped into its bag of tricks on the ensuing kickoff. Mitch Carley (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) pooched a dribbler up the middle of the field to catch the Mustangs return team sleeping and would recover his own onside kick to give the Pioneers possession on their own 47. While both sides failed to score throughout the remainder of the game, UC took plenty of valuable time off the board with a 10-play drive in the fourth quarter that took the clock down from 8:06 to 3:31.
 
The Utica defense only allowed the Mustangs to cross midfield one time in the second half, running four plays from the Utica 48 yard line which resulted in a turnover on downs thanks to a Jimmie Warren (Suffern, NY/Suffern) sack on 4th and 10. 
 
Sonny Badyna (Brooklyn, NY/St. Peter's) finished the game with 211 yards on 21/35 passing along with a pair of touchdowns. James Salles (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon) ended the afternoon with 121 net yards on the ground including an impressive 30-yard run in which he carried multiple members of the Morrisville defense for nearly 15 extra yards. Tobey Callender (Higganum, CT/Haddam-Killingworth) and Travis Decker (Oneida, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) led the team with five catches each, Callendar going for 56 yards and Decker finishing with 45 through the air. Nate Palmer (Verona, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) also added four catches for 42 yards as well as a touchdown. The young offensive line of Utica allowed Badyna to get sacked just one time during the game. 
 
Devin Bryant (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) led the Pioneers with 11 total tackles while Kwasi Addo (Menands, NY/Shaker) finished with 10 including a team high six solo tackles. Josh Powell (Tampa, FL/Sickles) was in on 1.5 sacks to lead the team while Jimmie Warren (Suffern, NY/Suffern) (one), Doug Simmons (White Plains, NY/Archbishop Stepinac) (one) and Ben Arthur (Sayreville, NJ/Sayreville War Memorial) (.5) also recorded sacks. 
 
Overall, the Pioneers out gained the Mustangs 320-150 while running only six more plays (71-65) while the secondary allowed just 59 passing yards. 
 
UC (5-3, 2-2 Empire 8) is back on the road next week as the team will travel to Alfred University on Saturday, November 6. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.