UTICA, NY - The Utica College football team takes to the home gridiron for the first time this season on Saturday, September 18th as it hosts Western New England University. Opening kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.
Follow Along: Live video and stats will be available at portal.stretchinternet.com/utica, and on the FREE Empire 8 apps available on Roku, Amazon Fire, and AppleTV devices. Additionally, WPNR 90.7 FM, Utica College Pioneer Radio, will also carry the call of Saturday's game. That can be found over local airwaves, or online at PioneerRadio.org.
The Best Price of All: Admission to all 2021 UC football home games will be free of charge.
Orange Out: As the team's home opener, Saturday's game also presents an opportunity for the team to continue its "Orange Out" tradition. All fans in attendance are encouraged to wear orange. The first 250 fans will receive an orange rally towel, compliments of assistant coach/director of community outreach Brian McQueen and his wife, Sarah. The couple are both officers in the Believe 271 Foundation. The 2021 New York State Tool Believe Bowl will be held on Saturday, October 30th as the Pioneers battle Morrisville State.
Own A Piece of Pioneer Football Tradition: Last Monday, the Utica College football team unveiled its retro jerseys in commemoration of the College's 75th anniversary. The Pioneers will be wearing special uniforms modeled after the club football jerseys of the 1950s for their game against Union College on Sept. 25. The team is currently auctioning off these limited-edition uniforms with all proceeds being donated to the Believe 271 Foundation and the American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge. For more details on the jersey auction, please visit the Auction page HERE.
Back-to-Back, Belly-to-Belly: Saturday night's game marks the only time this season that Utica will have consecutive home games on the docket. The following week, Utica will welcome in Union College before playing three straight road games.
Another New Opponent: For a second straight week, Utica will battle a new opponent. Saturday marks the first meeting between the Pioneers and the Golden Bears.
Last Time Out: Exceptional field position and outstanding defense paved the way to victory for Utica as the Pioneers topped Kean University by a 27-7 score in Union, New Jersey on Saturday, September 11th. UC held Kean to just 203 yards of total offense, including just 78 passing yards. The Pioneers put up six quarterback sacks to continue a strong pass rush trend from their week one win. Utica also scored three takeaways, two by way of interception, and a third by way of a fumble. The Cougar offense was held to just a 3-of-16 clip on third down. The Pioneers used that defense, and the strong returning efforts of Joey Nare (Canajoharie, NY/Canajoharie) and Nate Palmer (Verona, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) to start four drives on the opposing side of the 50 yard line in the second half alone. Utica posted 284 yards of total offense, with quarterback Sonny Badyna (Brooklyn, NY/St. Peter's) responsible for three touchdowns.
Setting The Record Straight: Utica is 2-0 to begin the 2021 season. The Pioneers have started 2-0 in five of the last six seasons, and in five straight seasons where the team has been due to play a full schedule. The last time Utica did not start 2-0 in a full regular season was in 2015, when they lost 29-22 to Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio.
Third Down Breakdown: The Pioneers are fourth in the conference in third down conversions at 34.4 percent. They have been very stingy defensively, and have allowed just 21.4 percent of opposing third down tries to succeed. Offensively, Utica is also 2-for-2 on fourth down conversions.
The Law of Averages: Utica is averaging 33 points per game in the first two contests of the year, and are averaging 14 points per game allowed. They are second in the Empire 8 Conference in scoring offense, and fourth in scoring defense. Utica's 375 yards of total offense per game also ranks second in the conference, while the 230 yards per game they are currently permitting defensively is the third best figure in the E8.
Leaving No Doubt: After some early difficulty in late-drive execution left the game closer than desired in the season opener, Utica didn't leave any red zone points on the table in week two. The Pioneers responded to their 5-of-7 performance against Alfred State with a perfect 2-for-2 run in the second week's game against Kean.
Return Policies: The tandem of Nate Palmer (Verona, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) and Joey Nare (Canajoharie, NY/Canajoharie) have been difficult for opposing punt coverage units to deal with this season. Palmer is averaging an E8-best 20.8 yards per punt return through his first four touches of the season, and Nare is close behind with an average of 19 yards on five returns. The Pioneers rank second in the Empire 8 in both kickoff and punt return average.
Settling In Well: Junior quarterback Sonny Badyna (Brooklyn, NY/St. Peter's) has meshed well with the starting role in the first few weeks of the season. He is completing 58.3 percent of his passes, and has thrown five touchdowns, a figure that ranks second in the Empire 8 currently. His 523 passing yards also rank second among E8 quarterbacks, and he is 33rd nationally in that category. He is tied for the conference's longest completion of the year at 58 yards. He also has three rushing touchdowns.
Catch Him If You Can: In addition to his punt returning duties, Nate Palmer (Verona, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) is also the team's leading receiver this season. Bolstered by a career receiving performance in the season opener, Palmer is averaging 111.5 receiving yards per game, and has a touchdown to go with 223 total receiving yards. He is 24th in Division III in receiving yards. Combined with 62 rushing yards that led to a touchdown on Saturday, and his return yardage totals, Palmer leads the conference in all-purpose yards per game, and is fifteenth nationally in the same criterion.
Spreading it Around: Ten different players have caught a pass for Utica this season, fueling the Pioneers to the second-most productive passing offense in the conference in both yards per game (261.5), and touchdowns (5). Elijah Parker (New London, CT/New London) has 113 total receiving yards and has caught a touchdown in both games this season. Joey Nare (Canajoharie, NY/Canajoharie) has 7 catches for 78 yards, and Matt Brantley (Rochester, NY/Eastridge) has three catches for 59 yards and a touchdown.
In The Run Game: At an average of 114.0 rushing yards per game, Utica is fourth in the conference in the ground game. While Palmer's rushing total leads the team, a committee approach out of the backfield has been employed to form the bulk of the rushing attack this season. Tim Hogan's (Glen Cove, NY/Glen Cove) 40 net rushing yards are tops among Utica's backs this season. The carries have been so widely distributed that only two players have ten or more carries, and Lamont McGriff (Yonkers, NY/Iona Prep) leads the team with only fourteen touches this year.
Keeping It Clean: Utica's young offensive line has again proved valuable in pass protection in the early stages of this season. In Saturday's win, they did not allow Badyna to be sacked once. Through two weeks, the Pioneers have conceded just one sack, which is the second best total in the conference.
Making it Messy: The Utica defense leads the conference in sacks with 11 through the first two games of the year. The threat to opposing quarterbacks rests everywhere, as a variety of players have been involved in the pass rush, led by 2.5 sacks for Jimmie Warren (Suffern, NY/Suffern), and 2 for Kwasi Addo (Menands, NY/Shaker).
Hats To The Football: Utica has three players occupying the team lead in tackles with ten apiece through two weeks. Linebackers Kwasi Addo (Menands, NY/Shaker) and Jimmie Warren (Suffern, NY/Suffern) currently have reached double digits, and are joined by an impressive effort on the defensive line by John Stroughn (Baldwin, NY/Holy Trinity).
Air Traffic Control: Defensive back Dan Amady (Suffern, NY/Suffern) currently leads the team with a total of three pass breakups so far this season. Amady also has an interception, and is joined in that category by Devin Bryant (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) and Chris Washington (Suffern, NY/Suffern), who have one apiece.
About Western New England: The Golden Bears are 2-0 and receiving five votes in the latest D3Football.com poll. They have amassed wins over Springfield College and Westfield State so far this season. The program has been highly successful in recent years, with a 9-2 record in 2019, and they have eight or more wins every season since 2014. Defensive back Jerry Woodard was recently named to the D3football.com Team of the Week for his pair of interceptions in a 48-0 win over Westfield State. The offense is quite balanced, with 178 passing yards per game, and 167 rushing yards per game this season. They are also very efficient on third downs at a 46 percent conversion rate.
Up Next: Utica will host nationally-ranked Union College on Saturday, September 25th. Opening kickoff of the team's "Coach to Cure M.D." game is slated for 1 p.m.
