UTICA, NY - The Utica University football team is set to travel to Rochester, NY on Saturday for a crucial Empire 8 showdown against the SUNY Brockport Golden Eagles. Kickoff from Bob Boozer Field is set for 2 p.m. 
 
Follow Along: Brockport will provide live video through https://gobrockport.com/watch/?Live=1676&type=Live and live stats at https://gobrockport.com/sidearmstats/football/summary. 
 
Last Time Out: Nine years after its 55-0 over Misericordia University, the Utica University football team once again held an opponent scoreless thanks to its 28-0 road win at Alfred University last Saturday. The Pioneer defense limited the Saxons to just eight first downs over the course of the contest - two of which stemming from penalties. Utica limited Alfred to under 100 yards both in the air and on the ground (75 passing yards, 81 rushing) and forced a pair of turnovers. Along with that, the Pioneers held Alfred to 1-of-12 on 3rd downs as well as 0-for-2 on 4th. James Lanier (Syracuse, NY/Corcoran) led the defensive unit with six tackles while Anthony Fasano (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park) totaled five. John Stroughn (Baldwin, NY/Holy Trinity) continued his red-hot play on the defensive line with three tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble. Aedan McDonald (Huntington, NY/Huntington) and Liam Horodnik (River Edge, NJ/River Dell) had one sack each also. In the secondary, Mason Payton (Hopewell, NY/John Jay) had an interception and a pass breakup which was one of five from the Utica defense. Utica also dominated time of possession with a whopping 42:16 minutes of offense to just 17:44 for the Saxons. Under center, Brett Fuller (Port Jervis, NY/Port Jervis) went 24-of-33 for 225 yards, two touchdown passes and an interception. The sophomore also rushed one in for three total scores. Also on the ground, Matt Brantley (Rochester, NY/Eastridge) dazzled for 107 yards on 21 touches. The receiving corps were led by Antonio Cianfarani (Scotia, NY/Scotia Glenville), who totaled six receptions for 72 yards and a touchdown. Travis Decker (Oneida, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) added five catches for 66 yards and a score while Peyton Ausfeld (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) led the team with eight receptions for 52 yards. After an empty opening drive for Utica, the team struck on its second possession. On the eighth play of what would be a 71 yard drive, Fuller connected with Decker for a 28 yard score for what would be a 7-0 lead following Corey Lichtman's (Bellmore, NY/Mepham) converted point after. The Pioneers opened the second quarter in gorgeous field position from the Alfred 49. Right away, Brantley took a handoff 42 yards to the Alfred seven. However, the Saxons' defense stiffened up, forcing Utica and Lichtman to settle for a field goal to make it 10-0. Following an Alfred three-and-out, the Pioneers once again began their drive from the Saxons' 49 - this time ensuring a six-spot would go on the board. Deep into the possession from the Alfred five, Fuller connected with Cianfarani in the end zone to cap off an 11 play, 51 yard drive and, once again, a converted Lichtman extra point made it 17-0. Utica's ensuing possession began with 2:28 left in the half with the ball once again near midfield. Calm and collected, Fuller completed all three passes and, with help from Brantley on the ground, took the Pioneers down to the goal line. With 30 seconds left in the quarter, Fuller pounded the ball into the end zone for six more. Alfred was able to block the extra point as the game moved into halftime with the Pioneers ahead 23-0. On what would be their only drive of the 3rd quarter, Lichtman tacked on three more points with a 27 yard field goal to push the lead to 26-0. On this possession, however, Utica ate up over eight minutes of the clock to push Alfred farther away from any comeback hopes. The only points scored in the 4th quarter came on an Alfred safety - much of this thanks to Freddie Callo (Milton, NY/Marlboro Central). On what was his first punt of the game, Callo sent a 66 yard rocket deep into Alfred territory that would be downed at the one yard line. On the Saxons' first play, Lanier broke through for the tackle for loss and the two Utica points that sealed the game. 
 
Where we Stand: Utica's record of 7-1 is the best in the Empire 8 yet their one loss to conference opponent Cortland places them third in the conference standings. This weekend's matchup vs Brockport is a pivotal conference game where a victory would tie them with Brockport for a 4-1 record in conference play. Both team's defenses have not allowed a touchdown over the past two games so a defensive game could be in store. The Pioneers are chasing their eighth victory of the season, a mark that has only been achieved once in program history by the 2022 team. 
 
Not to be Tested: It's been a while since an opposing team registered an offensive touchdown on the Pioneer defensive unit. In fact, the last team to do so was SUNY Cortland who punched one in with 13 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter back on October 7. Over the last 133 minutes of game time since then, not a single one. As a matter of fact, the only points scored on Utica over the last near-nine quarters of play was a blocked field goal that Morrisville returned for a touchdown two weeks ago. 
 
MB3: Over the past two contests, senior running back Matt Brantley (Rochester, NY/Eastridge) has played an integral role in the offense. After being used primarily as a pass catcher against Morrisville where he tallied a career high 10 receptions, Brantley was deployed as the feature back against Alfred where he rushed for 107 yards, the second highest mark in a game of his career. Brantley averaged 5.1 yards per carry against Alfred with his longest rush of the day going for 42 yards. 
 
Heatin' Up: Wide receiver's Travis Decker (Oneida, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) and Antonio Cianfarani (Scotia, NY/Scotia Glenville) have ascended into Brett Fuller's (Port Jervis, NY/Port Jervis) top targets over the past two matchups. Travis Decker (Oneida, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) has scored touchdowns in back-to-back contests now to go along with eight catches and 141 receiving yards. Antonio Cianfarani (Scotia, NY/Scotia Glenville) has been the most targeted receiver over the past two matchups. He leads all wide-outs with 10 catches over the past two games for 102 yards and a touchdown. Decker and Cianfarani will look to keep their momentum going against the stout Brockport defense. 
 
Jamin' James: Lanier had a wonderful outing on defense for Utica on Saturday, helping guide the team to its first shutout since 2014 with its 28-0 win over the Saxons. Lanier led the team with seven total tackles (six solo) with 1.5 tackles for a loss. One of his TFL's resulted in two points for Utica as he broke through the Alfred offensive line for a 4th quarter safety. For his efforts, Lanier was awarded Co-Defensive Player of the Week by the Empire 8. Lanier's seven tackles vs Alfred mark a single game career high for him. The senior now has 22 tackles on the season and will look to continue his strong play this weekend. 
 
Freddie on Fire: Despite limited punting attempts, Freddie Callo (Milton, NY/Marlboro Central) made an impact in Utica's 28-0 win at Alfred on Saturday. Over his three punts, Callo averaged 45.7 yards per attempt with a long of 66. On that 66 yard punt he pinned the Saxons on their own one yard line which ultimately resulted in a safety and two points of the Pioneers. On the season, Callo is averaging 38.6 yards per punt, with two going 50+ yards and 11 of his punts pinning opposing teams inside the 20. 
 
About Brockport: The Brockport Golden Eagles sit at 6-1 on the 2023 season with their only loss coming in week two when they fell 6-5 vs #22 ranked Susquehanna. They have played dominant football thus far scoring 40.6 points per game and only allowing a miniscule 5.7 points per game which is third-best in the nation. This Brockport defense has allowed four touchdowns all season and hasn't allowed a point over their last two games. This impenetrable defense is headed by linebacker's Ben Robinson and Mike Talbert Jr. The duo has combined for 89 tackles and seven sacks on the season. Defensive back's, Kyle Haettich and Raylens Boutin have provided blanketing coverage on wide receivers all year as well with seven broken up passes and three combined interceptions. Brockport's offense is led by freshman signal caller Ben Gocella. Gocella has played solid football in his first campaign with the team, throwing for 12 touchdowns with an elite 112.2 quarterback rating. The Golden Eagles are a run-first team with a three-headed monster for a running back committee. Gino Fontanarosa leads all rushers on the team with 464 rushing yards on the season and eight touchdowns. Jala Coad has accumulated 365 rushing yards with five touchdowns and Cameron Mesh has totaled 293 yards with three touchdowns. As a team, Brockport has rushed for almost 1500 yards thus far, trailing Cortland for second best in the Empire 8. 

Up Next: Utica will enter its bye week next week before wrapping up its regular season at home against St. John Fisher University on November 11. The GPO Federal Credit Union Veterans Day Game will kickoff at 1 p.m. with Senior Day festivities to take place prior to game time.