UTICA, NY - The Utica University football team is set to travel to Cortland, NY on Saturday for a pivotal Empire 8 matchup against the No. 17 SUNY Cortland Red Dragons. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.
Follow Along: Those unable to attend can watch live through
https://www.cortlandreddragons.com/sports/2019/8/15/BlueFramePage.aspx or listen via
https://rdr1.mixlr.com/. Live stats will also be provided through
https://www.cortlandreddragons.com/sidearmstats/football/summary.
Last Time Out: The team put an exclamation mark on homecoming weekend with a decisive 48-7 win over the Hartwick College Hawks in front of a packed Charles A. Gaetano Stadium crowd on Saturday afternoon. The Utica offense pushed the rock on the ground all afternoon with 218 rushing yards and four scores. On the flip side, the defense limited the Hawks to just 61 yards on the ground.
James Salles (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon) punished Hartwick defenders with 102 yards on 13 touches with a pair of touchdowns.
Jimmy Polito (Hull, MA/Hull) made good use of his four carries with 62 yards that included a 48 yard rush.
Ethan Licin (North Babylon, NY/Luhi) also accounted for 52 yards and a score on eight attempts. Through the air, the Pioneer passing attack completed 22 of 23 attempts led by
Brett Fuller (Port Jervis, NY/Port Jervis), who went 18-for-19 for 137 yards.
Nick Amandola (East Northport, NY/Commack) and
Sam Florio (Port Jefferson, NY/Port Jefferson) made their one attempt each count as both threw for touchdowns. Utica saw 11 players catch a pass on the day,
Peyton Ausfeld (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) leading the way with five for 64 yards.
Logan Kraft (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) and
Matt Kaires (Saint James, NY/Smithtown East) each found the end zone once on plays that were inside of the 10 yard line. On defense,
Doug Simmons (White Plains, NY/Archbishop Stepinac) turned in a team-leading seven tackles along with 1.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, and an interception that he returned for 17 yards.
Eli Douglas (Ausable Forks, NY/Ausable Valley) and
Cam Provenzano (Levittown, NY/Island Trees) recorded the other two Utica interceptions.
Jordyn Davis (Hempstead, NY/Uniondale) and
Evan Gohringer (Utica, NY/Proctor) led the team with one sack apiece while
Jordan Weaver (Goshen, NY/Goshen) assisted on Simmons' sack.
Aedan McDonald (Huntington, NY/Huntington) was second on the team with five total tackles, all of which solo takedowns. Utica also punted just once in the contest while forcing the Hawks to kick it away on six different drives.
In the Polls: The team moved up one spot to the No. 22 ranking in this week's American Football Coaches Association Top-25 Poll, as announced by the AFCA on Monday. The Pioneers are off to a 5-0 start for the second straight season thanks to a decisive 48-7 win over Hartwick College on Saturday. Utica received 170 points this week, up from last week's 131, in what was the third AFCA Division III Coaches' Poll of the 2023 season. The entire poll can be viewed
here. In the
D3football.com Top 25 Poll, the Pioneers received 10 votes; the ninth most for a team outside of the top 25.
Where We Stand: The Pioneers are off to their second 5-0 start in a row. They have played dominant football thus far, outscoring opponents 192-86 through the first five games. Through one week of Empire 8 play, Utica is tied for first in the Empire 8 with Brockport and Cortland who also are 1-0 in conference play. The offense is averaging 34.4 points per game which ranks second in the conference behind only Cortland. The defense has been solid as well, only allowing 17.2 points a game which marks them third in the conference. The individual play of sophomore quarterback
Brett Fuller (Port Jervis, NY/Port Jervis) has powered our high scoring offense. Fuller is throwing for 228.6 yards a game with a total of 1143 passing yards, only 29 behind the Empire 8 passing leader, Zac Boyes. Wide Receiver's
Joey Nare (Canajoharie, NY/Canajoharie) and
Peyton Ausfeld (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) have been Fuller's top targets through the first half of the season. Nare has 21 catches for 277 yards and a touchdown. Ausfeld has made 18 catches for 273 yards and two touchdowns. The Pioneers' have a pair of running backs ranking top 10 in the conference in rushing yards. Senior
Matt Brantley (Rochester, NY/Eastridge) has rushed for 266 yards for two touchdowns in only three games played and is targeting a return to the backfield this week against Cortland.
James Salles (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon) has added 281 yards with two touchdowns and has led the Utica backfield in the last two games amidst Brantley's absence.
Sam Florio (Port Jefferson, NY/Port Jefferson) has scored the second most points in the Empire 8 with 36. His usage as a goal line rusher has been nearly impossible to contain as he has rushed for six touchdowns which leads the conference.
Corey Lichtman (Bellmore, NY/Mepham) is fourth in the conference in points with 34. Utica's linebacker's
Anthony Fasano (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park),
Anthony Novello (Mepham, NY/Mepham) and
Doug Simmons (White Plains, NY/Archbishop Stepinac) have combined for 100 tackles this season, leading the way for the defense.
Perfect Week: Corey Lichtman (Bellmore, NY/Mepham) was named the Empire 8 Special Teams Player of the Week for his all-around performance against Hartwick last Saturday. Lichtman accounted for 12 Utica points with a pair of field goals and six extra points in the team's 48-7 win over Hartwick on Saturday. Lichtman converted each of his six point after attempts, improving him to 22-for-23 on the season. He also converted on both field goal attempts of 31 and 40 yards. Over his six kickoffs, Lichtman averaged 58.7 yards and booted one touchback.
Doug Does it Again: Doug Simmons (White Plains, NY/Archbishop Stepinac) compiled yet another fantastic outing for the Utica defense on Saturday vs Hartwick. Simmons led the defense in tackles with seven, including 1.5 tackles for a loss. He assisted
Jordan Weaver (Goshen, NY/Goshen) with a sack for a five yard loss. Simmons also forced a fumble and snagged his first career interception in the matchup.
Can't Bring Him Down: Junior running back
James Salles (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon) notched his first 100 yard rushing game of the season with 102 rushing yards on 13 carries in the victory over Hartwick. With that, Salles also scored his first two touchdowns of the year. In the 2023 season, Salles is currently eighth in the conference with 281 rushing yards. He is also currently sixth all-time in rushing yards in the Utica career record book. Salles will look to continue his strong efforts on the ground against Cortland.
TE U: Tight ends
Matt Kaires (Saint James, NY/Smithtown East) and
Logan Kraft (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) made a big impact in Utica's 48-7 homecoming victory over Hartwick, coming through on Utica's two passing touchdowns. Both players caught their first career touchdown in the victory.
Tyler Kolenda (Harwinton, CT/Lewis S. Mills) has been a steady contributor for the Pioneers' as well. The junior tight end has caught 12 passes for 104 yards on the season.
About Cortland: The Red Dragons are 3-1 to start the 2023 campaign. Last season, Cortland won the Empire 8, finished 9-2 and lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Quarterback Zac Boyes is back to lead the offense this season and has played some great football thus far. Boyes is leading the Empire 8 in passing yards with 1172, throwing for 293 yards per game, and touchdowns with 14. He has also thrown only one interception through four games. The dual threat quarterback has ran for 170 yards and two touchdowns as well. Boyes' top target is senior wide receiver JJ Laap. Laap is a premier talent who is as tough of a matchup as can get for opposing defensive backs. This season he has tallied 552 yards receiving and scored five touchdowns. Both of which lead the Empire 8. The star receiver was recently selected to the D3 National Team of the Week for his 250 yard, two touchdown effort in their week three loss to Susquehanna. Cortland's running game is headed by a two-headed monster in Jaden AlfanoStJohn and Ashton Capone. AlfanoStJohn has totaled 333 yards on the ground, and Capone has 246. The running backs have scored four touchdowns a piece. Cortland's defense is led by linebacker Jack Winey who ranks fourth in the Empire with 37 tackles.
Up Next: The Pioneers will return home to host SUNY Morrisville at noon on Saturday, October 14 for the Gilroy Kernan & Gilroy, Strategic Financial, and Sullivan Contracting Breast Cancer Awareness Game in support of Real Men Wear Pink.
