UTICA, NY - The Utica University football team put an exclamation 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, NY/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, a forced fumble 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. 
 
The Pioneers got off to a quick start taking a 14-0 advantage after the first quarter. It was a slow start to the game with neither team scoring on its first few possessions. Logan Kraft (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) put Utica on the board with a nice grab on a one yard pass by Brett Fuller (Port Jervis, NY/Port Jervis) to take a 7-0 advantage. Sam Florio (Port Jefferson, NY/Port Jefferson) increased the Utica lead to 14-0 with a two yard rushing touchdown with 43 ticks remaining in the quarter. 
 
The team kept its momentum going as they were able to drive down the field quickly to begin the second quarter. Ethan Licin (North Babylon, NY/Luhi) got a few key blocks and dashed down the middle of the field for a 15 yard touchdown run to give Utica a 21-0 lead with 12:38 left in the first half.
 
Utica's defense got the offense the ball back quickly and the team used a five play drive capped off by a Corey Lichtman (Bellmore, NY/Mepham) 31 yard field goal to increase its lead to 24-0 with 6:59 left in the half. Yet, the Hawks responded by putting together its best drive of the day, going 75 yards on six plays to cut the lead to 24-7 at the 3:58 mark of the second quarter which would stand at the end of the first half.
 
The Pioneers kept firing off points, scoring two quick touchdowns to begin the third quarter. A seven play, 64 yard drive was capped off by a James Salles (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon) 11 yard touchdown run to increase the lead to 31-7 at the 9:47 mark of the third quarter. On the ensuing Hartwick drive, an Eli Douglas (Ausable Forks, NY/Ausable Valley) interception set up Utica in prime striking position and Salles struck again with a 17 yard rushing touchdown to extend the Pioneer lead to 38-7 with 6:20 left in the third quarter.
 
Lichtman added three more points with six seconds left in the third to make it a 41-7 Utica lead. In the fourth, Nick Amandola (East Northport, NY/Commack) connected with Matt Kaires (Saint James, NY/Smithtown East) in the end zone from seven yards out, making it a 48-7 lead. The finishing touches came on Hartwick's last drive when Cam Provenzano (Levittown, NY/Island Trees) picked the ball off in the end zone, allowing the Pioneers to kneel out the clock and take the 41 point win. 
 
Utica (5-0, 0-0 Empire 8) will travel to face No. 16 SUNY Cortland on Saturday, October 7 at 1 p.m.