UTICA, NY - The Utica University football team is set to open home on Saturday against the Moravian University Greyhounds in the Mastrovito Hyundai Believe Bowl. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. 
 
Follow Along: For those unable to attend, live video and stats will be available through https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/. 
 
Last Time Out: The Utica University football team opened its 2023 season with a hard-fought 20-17 road win over the University of Rochester Yellow Jackets on Saturday. The win marked the 15th consecutive season in which Utica won its season-opener, a streak that dates back to the 2009 season. In his first career start, Brett Fuller (Port Jervis, NY/Port Jervis) threw for 164 yards on 19-for-26 passing with a pair of touchdowns on one interception. Travis Decker (Oneida, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) dazzled with six receptions for 66 yards and a score while Matt Brantley (Rochester, NY/Eastridge) reeled in four catches for 30 yards and a touchdown. Brantley also rushed for 123 yards on 18 carries for an average of 6.8 yards per touch. On defense, Anthony Fasano (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park) led the unit with 11 total tackles (six solo) and 2.5 tackles for a loss, a mark that was also matched by teammate Doug Simmons (White Plains, NY/Archbishop Stepinac). Simmons was also responsible for Utica's lone sack of the afternoon. Terrance Toussaint (West Orange, NJ/West Orange) and Anthony Novello (Mepham, NY/Mepham) finished with eight tackles each while Nick Billand (Towaco, NJ/Montville), Eli Douglas (Ausable Forks, NY/Ausable Valley) and Simmons all had five-plus. John Stroughn (Baldwin, NY/Holy Trinity) finished his day with four tackles, 0.5 for a loss, and a pair of quarterback hurries. The sides traded three empty drives each to open the game before the Pioneers opened the scoring. Matt Brantley (Rochester, NY/Eastridge) capped off a six play, 55 yard drive with an 18 yard touchdown reception from Brett Fuller (Port Jervis, NY/Port Jervis) for a 6-0 lead. Corey Lichtman's (Bellmore, NY/Mepham) ensuing point after was no good as the Utica defense took the field with a six point edge. With under two minutes to play in the first and Rochester set to punt from its own nine, Doug Elsesser (Massapequa, NY/Plainedge) got a hand on the ball, allowing Darius Johnson (Webster, NY/Webster) to recover at the line of scrimmage to set Utica up with a 1st and goal opportunity. On the first play of the drive, Fuller hit Travis Decker (Oneida, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) in the end zone for six more and after Lichtman's converted PAT, a 13-0 lead. Rochester would go on to avenge its botched punt with a block of its own on Utica punter Freddie Callo (Milton, NY/Marlboro Central). With just under 10 minutes to play in the half, the Yellow Jackets returned the blocked punt 21 yards to the house to come back within one possession. On the ensuing drive, however, Utica marched down the field on 10 plays for 75 yards that resulted in a Sam Florio (Port Jefferson, NY/Port Jefferson) goal line touchdown rush to make it a 20-7 lead. The Yellow Jackets added a field goal before the break as Utica led 20-10 with 30 minutes to play. Offenses settled in throughout the third quarter and much of the fourth as neither side could muster up points for over 25 minutes. With under four minutes to play in the fourth though, Rochester made things interesting thanks to an 11 yard touchdown pass to finish off a 14 play, 76 yard drive that took 4:478 off the clock.  Now up by three points, the Pioneers looked to run out the clock and did just that. Utica did not face a 3rd down over the first three minutes of the drive until a 3rd and 3 with 58 seconds to go. Florio called his own under and pounded the ball up the gut for seven yards to wind down the clock and secure the week one win. 
 
Game Sponsor: Mastrovito Hyundai will be the presenting sponsor of the 6th annual Believe Bowl in support of the Believe 271 Foundation. The game helps to benefit the missions of the Believe 271 Foundation, the Thea Bowman House, and the American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge. The Believe 271 Foundation was created in March of 2014 as a means of helping members of the fire service who are affected by cancer. The organization aims to help local firefighters, who are often at increased cancer risk because of their work in the line of duty, with the immense financial and personal burdens that can come with battling cancer.  
 
Getting in: For those attending, tickets will be $5 for adults and $2 for students with a valid ID. Fans can also purchase their 2023 season tickets for $20.
 
Watch Him Go: Senior running back Matt Brantley (Rochester, NY/Eastridge) shined in the Pioneers' season opener. Brantley was a nightmare for the Yellow Jackets defense as he tallied 156 yards from scrimmage. The senior rushed 18 times for 126 yards and caught four passes for 30 yards with a touchdown. When Brantley touched the ball out of the backfield, the Rochester defense didn't have much of an answer as he averaged 6.8 yards per carry with his longest rush going for 20 yards. Taking the lead back role this year, Brantley's 118 rushing yards were a single-game career high. His 156 yards from scrimmage are also a single-game career high for the former Third Team All-Conference runner. Brantley should continue to lead the Pioneers backfield and wreak havoc on defenses this season. 
 
The Fuller Frenzy: Sophomore quarterback Brett Fuller (Port Jervis, NY/Port Jervis) made his first career start for the Pioneers on Saturday against Rochester. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound quarterback was solid in his debut, posting 164 passing yards and two touchdowns while completing 19 of his 26 passing attempts. Fuller and the Pioneers came out hot with two first quarter touchdown passes caught by Matt Brantley (Rochester, NY/Eastridge) and Travis Decker (Oneida, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill). On the day, Fuller compiled a great 98.9 quarterback rating. Fuller has big shoes to fill following the departure of the former Second Team All-Conference quarterback Braeden Zenelovic, who is now the Pioneers quarterback coach. Fuller's debut on Saturday shows he's ready to pick up right where Zenelovic left off. 
 
Love for the Big Men: Utica's front five turned in an exceptional opening week with zero sacks allowed while also allowing just three quarterback hurries on the team's new signal caller, Brett Fuller (Port Jervis, NY/Port Jervis). With that, the o-line paved the way for 184 rushing yards on 39 attempts which both rank within the top-three in the conference through one game. The likes of Ben Helfeld (Syracuse, NY/Westhill), Daniel Pearo (Holtsville, NY/Sachem East), Cameron Lizardi (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon), John Aliberti (Bellmore, NY/Mepham) and Nathan Button (Canisteo, NY/Canisteo-Greenwood) will look to repeat the same protection this week against a Moravian defense that allowed 490-plus yards of offense to Muhlenberg College last weekend. 
 
No Fly Zone: The secondary trio of Terrance Toussaint (West Orange, NJ/West Orange), Nick Billand (Towaco, NJ/Montville), and Eli Douglas (Ausable Forks, NY/Ausable Valley) made their presence known in the Pioneers' season opener as they limited Rochester to completing just 53 percent of passes. Terrance Toussaint (West Orange, NJ/West Orange) was second in tackles for the Pioneers totaling eight which marks the second highest tackles in a single game for his career. The graduate student also broke up two passes in the victory. Billand had seven tackles and Douglas had six which marked a single game career high for him. This strong secondary core rounds out what looks to be another solid defense this season for the Pioneers.
 
Second Level Success: The linebacking corps led by Anthony Fasano (Deer Park, NY/Deer Park) and Anthony Novello (Mepham, NY/Mepham) anchored a defense that allowed just 43 yards on the ground to the Yellow Jackets last week. Fasano earned Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Week honors after leading the unit with 11 tackles (six solo, five assisted). He also recorded 2.5 tackles for loss in the win. His 11 tackles were the second-most he's recorded in a single game over his career while his six solo tackles and 2.5 for a loss were new career bests. As for Novello, he was tied for the second-leading Utica tackler with eight total (two solo, six assisted) while assisting on a tackle for a loss. Across NCAA Division III, the Pioneers' 43 rushing yards allowed rank 24th amongst qualified teams. 
 
About Moravian: The Greyhounds tallied a record of 3-7 during the 2022 season and began their 2023 season with a 53-12 loss against conference opponent, Muhlenberg. Junior quarterback Jared Jenkins returns under center for Moravian this season after starting three games as a sophomore compiling 592 yards and five touchdowns. The rushing attack is led again by senior running back Nate Boyle. Boyle has logged 1,472 rushing yards in his career with a team high 815 yards last year on 215 attempts for 3.8 yards per carry. He rushed for seven touchdowns last season and caught one touchdown reception. The Greyhounds receiving core is led by the trio of Tim Garlick, Brad Bryan, and Jordan Lewis. Garlick totaled 367 yards last season along with 348 for Bryan, and Lewis had 213. The three combined for seven touchdowns. After losing their two top tacklers from last season, Moravian returns linebackers Clay Basile and Chris Ortalano who combined for 98 tackles in the 2022 season. Both Greyhounds starting corners, Colin Conway and Isaiah Johnson return this season as well to lead the defense. 

Up Next: The Pioneers will travel to Williamsport, PA on Saturday, September 16 to take on Lycoming College at noon.