UTICA, NY - The Utica College football team plays its second game, and first road game of the Spring 2021 season as the Pioneers pay a visit to Empire 8 rival Alfred University on Monday. Kickoff at Alfred's Yunevich Stadium is set for 5 p.m.

Follow Along: Live video and stats are available at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/alfred/. Coverage is presented by Alfred University Athletic Communications. 

The Series: This will be the 21st All-Time meeting between Utica and Alfred. Utica has five wins against the Saxons all-time, which have all come in the last nine meetings. The Pioneers have won three straight against the Saxons. They have met every year Utica has had a varsity program as a conference opponent.

Last Time Out: The Pioneers got three interceptions from their defense, and running back Lamont McGriff (Yonkers, NY/Iona Prep) had a career day as the Pioneers rolled by the Saxons 30-17 in their first game in over a year's time. Alfred outgained the Pioneers 320-288 in total offense.

Breaking Out: Running back Lamont McGriff (Yonkers, NY/Iona Prep) had a seismic performance in Tuesday's home victory, and one that can be easily classified as the best individual performance of his career. The senior ripped off a career-best 114 net rushing yards to go with two touchdowns. He also made two catches for six yards in the passing game. He had more rushing yards in the first game than in the rest of his career combined. He entered with 109 career rushing yards and a touchdown. Tim Hogan (Glen Cove, NY/Glen Cove) had seven carries for 33 yards.

A First Go Of It: Tuesday marked the first career start for quarterback Sonny Badyna (Brooklyn, NY/St. Peter's). He was 14-of-27 in his first varsity outing for 129 yards, and had a long completion of 23 yards. Freshman Sam Florio also saw time under center and attempted two passes.

Into The Palms of Palmer: Junior wideout Nate Palmer (Verona, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) performed exactly as expected in last week's win. He stands at just 5'7, but the diminutive dynamo made six catches for 77 yards, and the longest Pioneer reception of the day at 23 yards. Utica's top returning receiver had 323 yards and two scores.

A Big Time DEVelopment: Senior safety Devin Bryant (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) had the game of his career in last week's win over Alfred. He led the team with nine tackles and a pass breakup in what was also his first college start. Bryant is a local product who played football for Oriskany and Rome Free Academy during his high school career. Five of his tackles were solo.

You Don't Mess With Big John: John Stroughn (Baldwin, NY/Holy Trinity) had a monstrous day in the trenches for Utica at defensive line. He had 2.5 sacks to go with four total tackles, and led a Pioneer defensive unit that allowed just 86 rushing yards. He also scored a fourth quarter safety.

Strong Days at Linebacker: Anthony Fasano (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park) and Daryl Savage (Elmira, NY/Elmira) were terrific at linebacker in the opener. Fasano had seven tackles and one tackle for loss in the win, while veteran rover Daryl Savage (Elmira, NY/Elmira) was one of the first hats to the football all day with six stops.

Dan The Man: Dan Amady (Suffern, NY/Suffern) had a versatile day, but was best at defending the pass in Tuesday's win. The junior defensive back had two pass breakups, and was especially visible early in the game alongside Terrance Toussaint (West Orange, NJ/West Orange) in the defensive backfield. 

Pick Party: The Pioneers had three interceptions on Tuesday. Darius Johnson (Webster, NY/Webster) had a pick that set up a 10 yard score by McGriff, Joey Lipani (Rochester, NY/Hilton) added a pick of his own, and Jordan Weaver (Goshen, NY/Goshen High School) hustled 75 yards for an interception return score.

Third is The Word: Utica was outstanding at defending third downs in the opener. The Pioneers held the Saxons to just 1-of-15 on third downs.

Alfred Leaders: Quarterback Connor Englert threw for 234 yards and two touchdowns in the opener. Kevin Bragaglia had 65 yards on the ground. Nazier Landes had 103 receiving yards and a touchdown. Jason Gauthier had a game-high 12 tackles.