UTICA, NY - The Utica College football team may have had its longest offseason ever, but the Pioneers were able to hit the ground running on Tuesday. UC scored 21 of the game's first 24 points, and outpaced Alfred by a 9-7 margin in the second half as the Pioneers topped the visiting Saxons by a 30-17 score at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.

It was the season opener for both squads. Utica is 1-0, while Alfred is 0-1.

The Pioneers out-gained the Saxons on the ground 159-86, averaged 4.3 yards per carry, and scored three rushing touchdowns. The Utica defense intercepted three passes, and held the Saxon offense to a 1-of-15 conversion rate on third down. Alfred led Utica in total offense by a 320 yard to 288 yard margin.

The Pioneer offense was led by Lamont McGriff (Yonkers, NY/Iona Prep), who rushed for a career-high 114 yards and two touchdowns. First-time starting quarterback Sonny Badyna (Brooklyn, NY/St. Peter's) completed 14 of 27 pass attempts for 129 yards. Nate Palmer (Verona, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) was the team's leading receiver with six catches for 77 yards.

Darius Johnson (Webster, NY/Webster), Joey Lipani (Rochester, NY/Hilton), and Jordan Weaver (Goshen, NY/Goshen High School) each had interceptions to headline the defensive effort. John Stroughn (Baldwin, NY/Holy Trinity) finished with four tackles and 2.5 sacks, along with recording a safety in the fourth quarter. Safety Devin Bryant (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) had a team-high nine tackles, with five of them coming solo. Terrance Toussaint (West Orange, NJ/West Orange) added six tackles and broke up a pass, and Dan Amady (Suffern, NY/Suffern) broke up two passes.

Maki Medici (Watervliet, NY/Shaker) also had a strong day on special teams, as he averaged 41.8 yards on eight punts. Two of them went over 50 yards, and three were downed well inside the 20 yard line.

Connor Englert led the Saxons with 234 yards passing and two touchdowns. Nazier Landes went over 100 receiving yards and added a touchdown. Jason Gauthier had twelve tackles, four of which went for a loss.

After getting the ball first, the Saxons found new life not once, but twice on their opening drive. The Saxons brought out the punting unit with the ball around their own 40 yard line, but found new life when the punt was muffed by the Pioneer return unit and the offense recovered. The visitors got off the ropes again when they converted a 4th and 7 in Pioneer territory.

However, the Saxons eventually saw their luck run out. On the ensuing 1st and 10 at the Utica 22, the Pioneers took the air right out of the drive and put all the wind in their own sails with a defensive score. Englert's pass was tipped behind the line of scrimmage, and right into the waiting hands of defensive lineman Jordan Weaver (Goshen, NY/Goshen High School). The sophomore took it the distance of 91 yards down the right hand sideline for a remarkable interception return touchdown. Medici's kick was good, and the Pioneers led 7-0 with 11:30 to go in the first quarter. That score held until the end of the frame.

The lead doubled early in the second quarter when Tim Hogan (Glen Cove, NY/Glen Cove) capped off an eight-play, 58 yard drive with a one yard touchdown run. The kick was again on target for Medici, and the Pioneers opened with a 14-0 lead.

The Saxons grabbed their first points at 8:08 of the second quarter when kicker Dustin McCaslin converted a 25 yard field goal to cash in on a methodical thirteen play, 72 yard possession that chewed 5:12 off the game clock. The score at that point stood at 14-3.

The Utica defense again set the table for the Pioneers to find the end zone with under five minutes to play in the half. An interception by Darius Johnson (Webster, NY/Webster) left the Pioneers a short field at the Alfred nine yard line. Two plays later, running back LaMont McGriff charged into the endzone from four yards away, and the kick was good for a 21-3 lead. The Saxons trimmed the lead to 21-10 before the half as Englert delivered a 7 yard touchdown pass to Zach Leinenbach in the final minute.

At the half, Utica had 123 yards of total offense on 29 plays, while Alfred had 214 yards of total offense on 48 plays. The Pioneers held the Saxons to one-for-nine on third down conversions in the first 30 minutes of play. Utica rushed for 82 net yards compared to Alfred's 75, while the Saxons held a 139-41 advantage through the air.

McGriff set the tempo for the rest of the game when he found the endzone again, this time from ten yards out, for the rushing score and a 28-10 lead. Landes produced a big play to trim the lead back to 11 points, as he opened the fourth quarter scoring with a 35 yard reception from Englert to polish off a 53 yard scoring drive and a 28-17 score. Stroughn added a pair of insurance points for good measure with 3:05 to go in the fourth quarter as he ran Englert out of the back of the endzone for a safety, increasing the Pioneer lead to the final score of 30-17.

The Pioneers will battle the Saxons again on Monday at Alfred's Yunevich Stadium.