UTICA, NY - The Utica University football team will welcome the Hartwick College Hawks to Charles A. Gaetano Stadium on Saturday to reign in Homecoming 2023. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. 
 
Follow Along: Those unable to attend can keep up with live video and/or stats through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. 
 
Last Time Out: The Pioneers closed out non-conference play last Saturday with a defensive clinic en route to a 31-7 win over visiting Curry College at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium. Utica completed an undefeated run through its non-conference schedule for a second straight year, and is now 11-1 in non-conference regular season games since the end of the pandemic-shortened Spring 2021 season.The Pioneers held a 285-129 advantage in total offensive yards, and held the Colonels to just 96 net rushing yards and 33 net passing yards. Utica allowed just 3 third down conversions on 11 attempts by Curry, and it showed in time of possession as the Pioneers held the ball for over 36 minutes.The home side flexed its muscles in the backfield with seven total tackles for loss, including a pair of sacks from Marco Baez (Bellmore, NY/Milford Academy). Utica sacked the plethora of quarterbacks the Colonels shuttled in four different times, including one from John Stroughn (Baldwin, NY/Holy Trinity) that went for a loss of six yards. Utica also induced three Curry turnovers: One on downs, a fumble recovered by Anthony Fasano (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park), and an Anthony Novello (Mepham, NY/Mepham) interception that led to Utica's first touchdown. They had fourteen points off turnovers. The Utica offense was balanced across the board with 138 yards passing, and 147 yards rushing. The Pioneers made it count in the red zone with five scores on six trips, including four touchdowns. In the process, they capitalized on excellent starting field position throughout the day, with their average drive starting at Curry's 49 yard line. Anthony Novello (Mepham, NY/Mepham) was Utica's leading tackler from the linebacker spot, where he made five total tackles and four solo stops. Aedan McDonald (Huntington, NY/Huntington) had three solo tackles, while Evan Gohringer (Utica, NY/Proctor), Doug Simmons (White Plains, NY/Archbishop Stepinac), and Anthony Fasano (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park) had three total tackles each. Eli Douglas (Ausable Forks, NY/Ausable Valley) and Gorhinger broke up one pass apiece. On offense, sophomore quarterback Brett Fuller (Port Jervis, NY/Port Jervis) completed 18 of 27 attempts for 138 yards and a touchdown. Peyton Ausfeld (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) made four grabs for 22 yards, tight end Tyler Kolenda (Harwinton, CT/Lewis S. Mills) had a team-best 43 receiving yards, and Antonio Cianfarani (Scotia, NY/Scotia Glenville) had three catches for 40 yards and the longest reception of the day for either team at 27 yards, which went for a touchdown. James Salles (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon) rushed for 53 yards and touched the ball eighteen times, including sixteen carries. Ethan Licin (North Babylon, NY/Luhi) contributed 32 net yards, and Sam Florio (Port Jefferson, NY/Port Jefferson) rushed for 27 net yards and two pivotal touchdowns from his quarterback position. 
 
Homecoming History: Since 2010 the Pioneers are 7-5 in homecoming games. This will be the third time Utica hosts Hartwick on homecoming, the most frequent matchup the team has had over the last 12 seasons, while having taken the previous two contests against the Hawks. In 2011, the Pioneers edged-out a three-point win over Hartwick thanks to a 14 point fourth quarter to cap off the comeback win. Last season Utica hung nearly 60 points on the Hawks with big offensive performances by Braedan Zenelovic, Nate Palmer (Verona, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) and Matt Brantley (Rochester, NY/Eastridge). 
 
In the Polls: The team received the No. 23 ranking in this week's American Football Coaches Association Top-25 Poll, as announced by the AFCA on Monday. Utica was previously ranked No. 24 with 112 points in last week's AFCA poll. The Pioneers are off to a 4-0 start for the second straight season following wins against Rochester, Moravian, Lycoming and Curry. Utica received 131 points this week in what was the second AFCA Division III Coaches' Poll of the 2023 season. In the D3football.com Top 25 Poll, the Pioneers received five votes as the 10th-most receiving vote-getters outside of the top 25. 
 
Teach Us How to Dougie: Opposing offensive linemen have been unable to contain Doug Simmons (White Plains, NY/Archbishop Stepinac) this season. Simmons has been tenacious on defense thus far as he currently leads the Empire 8 with four sacks and is tied at fourth in the conference with Anthony Fasano (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park) for tackles for a loss with 5.5. Along with Simmons, fellow linebackers Anthony Fasano (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park) and Anthony Novello (Mepham, NY/Mepham) have been key pieces to the Utica defense as well. Fasano currently paces the defense with 36 tackles placing him 6th in the conference. Novello has made 32 tackles thus far which ranks 9th in the conference along with one interception. 
 
A Tale of Two Lines: The Utica defensive line has been another strong piece for the Pioneers' defense this season. Their efforts have helped propel the Pioneers defense atop the conference in sacks with 11 as a team. Graduate student John Stroughn (Baldwin, NY/Holy Trinity) is quite familiar with battling offensive linemen on the interior. In the victory over Curry, Stroughn amassed 150 career tackles. He has made 20 tackles so far this season, four of them being for a loss and has also accumulated 1.5 sacks. Evan Gohringer (Utica, NY/Proctor) has been a steady contributor on the defensive line as well, making 14 tackles and recording one sack. The other side of the line has been equally as solid as they have only allowed three sacks on the season which also is first in the Empire 8. Daniel Piero, Cameron Lizardi (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon), Ben Helfeld (Syracuse, NY/Westhill), Nathan Button (Canisteo, NY/Canisteo-Greenwood), and John Aliberti (Bellmore, NY/Mepham) have all been reliable pass protectors for the Utica offense. Their efforts have helped Utica to a 4-0 start where they sit second in passing yards with 1006 and third in rushing yards with 580. 
 
About Hartwick: The Hartwick Hawks are off to a 1-3 start in the 2023 season. Dennis Riordan has taken over as the signal caller. Hartwick is Riordan's third school in three seasons of college football where he was most recently at Western Connecticut. It seems as if Riordan has found a home at Hartwick as he has thrown for 705 yards and five touchdowns through four games this season. The top target of Riordan has been senior wide receiver Nate Rath. Rath has torched opposing defenses thus far as he leads the conference in receiving yards with 462 and touchdowns with four. Carlvin McDonald leads the ground attack with 205 rushing yards and two touchdowns thus far. Defensive backs Joshua Titus and Michael Lombardi lead the team in tackles with 29 and 26 apiece. Linebackers, Tomas Struck and Jules Pierre are key cogs of the defense as well with each recording 20-plus tackles. 
 
The Series: Utica and Hartwick have squared off 21 times in the past with Utica currently leading the all-time series, 11-10. The Pioneers have won six in a row, with the most recent game resulting in a 57-7 victory in 2022. Last year's offensive onslaught had a bunch of contributors. Braeden Zenelovic threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns. Nate Palmer (Verona, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) had seven catches for 149 yards and a touchdown, Joey Nare (Canajoharie, NY/Canajoharie) made three grabs, Tyler Kolenda (Harwinton, CT/Lewis S. Mills) and James Salles (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon) had two catches apiece as well. Salles took one of his two receptions into the endzone. Matt Brantley (Rochester, NY/Eastridge) paced the rushing attack with 94 yards on the ground and a touchdown. James Salles (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon) ran for 46 yards, Jason Haas (Holland Patent, NY/Holland Patent) tallied 42 yards. Also, over the last six victories, Utica has faced little resistance having outscored Hartwick 286-109. 

Up Next: Utica will travel to SUNY Cortland next Saturday, October 7, to take on the nationally-ranked No. 16 Red Dragons at 1 p.m.