UTICA, NY - The Utica Pioneers are back at The Gaet' this weekend where they'll welcome the reigning Division III National Champion SUNY Cortland Red Dragons to ABM Field for a much-anticipated Empire 8 Conference clash. The matchup will kick-off at 1:00 PM, and will be Mohawk Valley Challengers day on campus. This week's game will be sponsored by Human Technologies.
 
How to Watch: Follow along live with this Saturday's showdown by visiting the "Watch" tab on our athletics website, or by following the link below to the all-new Empire 8 Network page; the new home of all Utica Pioneers athletics streams! You can also download the Empire 8 network app on your mobile device to follow along on the go!
You can stream this weekend's contest here: https://www.empire8network.com/utica/?B=1145642
 
Live Statistics: Get live statistics updates for every Football matchup by following the link below to our new live stats page, or by selecting the "live stats" tab under each matchup on our 2024 football schedule page.
Follow along with Live Statistics here: https://uticapioneers.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
 
Hartwick Recap: Before Saturday's football matchup against Hartwick, It had been 14 days since the Utica Pioneers took to the gridiron for an official game. Watching the proceedings, one would have never been able to guess that they'd been on break. The Pioneers blew away the Hawks in Saturday's game, routing Hartwick 65-7 and showing just how dangerous they are after a week of rest and careful gameplanning. Utica's domination of the weekend outing led them to a statement win in what was the first game of their Empire 8 campaign.
 
The Pioneers took a page out of the Hawks' book on Saturday, with Utica dominating the airways to the tune of 370 passing yards.
 
265 of those yards were accrued by Pioneer Quarterback Brett Fuller (Port Jervis, NY/Port Jervis). Fuller had an excellent and efficient day during Utica's journey to Oneonta, with the Pioneer signal-caller tallying 265 yards on just 12 completed passes and scoring a colossal 5 passing touchdowns. He went 12/16, finishing with a 75% completion percentage on the day.
 
Fuller's outing was one for the Pioneer record books, with the highly-composed performance breaking a multitude of Utica single-game records. Fuller averaged 22.1 yards per completion and 16.6 yards per attempt, with the former number ranking 2nd all-time for passing yards per completion in a single game and the latter topping the charts as the most passing yards per attempt in Pioneer Football history.
 
Fuller's 75% completion percentage on the day locks him into a tie with 4 other Utica Quarterbacks for the 3rd-best single-game completion percentage all-time among Pioneer QBs. The sensational Junior even managed to finish the day with the 2nd-best passing touchdown performance, landing in a 4-way tie for most passing touchdowns in a game with 5 air scores on Saturday.
 
The Pioneer Quarterback room also threw 6 combined touchdowns, as Matthew Pallouras (Rochelle Park, NJ/Hackensack) saw lots of snaps in the second half and finished with 107 yards passing and a lone passing score. The 6 total passing touchdowns ties the Utica record for the most total passing touchdowns in a game as a team, a record that was set against Buffalo State in 2012.
 
As a team, the Pioneers recorded their 4th-highest point total in team history, with the insane 65 point performance surely ranking out as one of their best offensive showings ever.
 
Utica gained 8.5 yards per play, nearly averaging a first down every single time they snapped the ball. This otherworldly offensive dominance landed them 3rd all-time for yards gained per play in a game.
 
Bryce Palmer (Verona, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) was on the receiving end of 4 Fuller completions, just reaching the 100-yard threshold with 101 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns. It was Palmer's 65-yard reception that kicked off the monumental offensive showing for Utica.
 
Utica had the deep ball open throughout the entire game, with 5 receivers each catching at least one pass of over 25 yards (Bryce Palmer (Verona, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) - 65, Tyshawn Taylor (Syracuse, NY/Institute of Technology) - 51, Logan Frederick (Little Falls, NY/Little Falls) - 35, Peyton Ausfeld (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) - 30, Izzy Maldonado (Island Park, NY/Long Beach) - 28).
 
Matt Brantley (Rochester, NY/Eastridge) and Robert Lowry IV (Rochester, NY/Hilton) shouldered the load on the ground, with Brantley logging 52 yards rushing along with a score and Lowry IV Gaining 46 yards rushing.
 
The Pioneer defense was equally as dominant as the offense, nearly pitching a 60-minute shutout with the lone Hartwick score coming near the end of the proceedings.
 
Eli Douglas (Ausable Forks, NY/Ausable Valley) got into the record books for the Pioneer defense, with his 85-yard pick-6 giving him the 5th-most interception return yards in a single game.
 
Douglas also spearheaded a defensive unit that broke up 9 passes in the contest. 
 
The Pioneer defensive line also applied massive pressure, causing 7 QB hurries.
 
Star-studded Linebacker duo Darius Johnson (Webster, NY/Webster) and Norman Booth (Schenectady, NY/Schenectady) led the tackling effort, with Johnson getting 7 and Booth recording 4.
 
Ronaldo Lewis (Brooklyn, NY/Abraham Lincoln) also nabbed an interception during the game.
 
The Utica Special Teams unit secured a complete effort by flexing their cohesion in the matchup.
 
Gabriel Zawolo (Rochester, NY/McQuaid Jesuit) gained 111 total yards during return efforts today, logging 87 punt return yards and coming up with a huge 56-yard punt-return touchdown.
 
Freddie Callo (Milton, NY/Marlboro Central) made 9 total kicks during the action, knocking in eight PAT and one 24-yard field goal.
 
Pioneer Prestige - Spreading the Wealth: Pioneer football made it four-straight weeks receiving an award after their demolition of Hartwick on Saturday. Utica received their 4th and 5th Empire 8 nods of the season, with Brett Fuller (Port Jervis, NY/Port Jervis) being named Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Week and Gabriel Zawolo (Rochester, NY/McQuaid Jesuit) being named Empire 8 Co-Special Teams Player of the Week.
 
Fuller and Zawolo joined Matt Brantley (Rochester, NY/Eastridge), Norman Booth (Schenectady, NY/Schenectady), and Eli Douglas (Ausable Forks, NY/Ausable Valley) on an ever-growing list of Pioneers that have achieved Empire 8 Awards recognition this season. John Stroughn (Baldwin, NY/Holy Trinity) also received a D3football.com Team of the Week nod for his performance against Lycoming, making it six total awards for six different Pioneer players.
 
Rewind Time: Utica traveled to Cortland last year for a matchup against the then #17 nationally ranked Red Dragons. Cortland protected their home turf in a major way, defeating the Pioneers by a score of 56-3. Here's a peek at last year's matchup:
 

	Cortland	Utica
1st Downs	31	10
Rushing Yards	360	51
Passing Yards	192	69
Total Offense	522	120
Punts	1	8
Time of Possession	32:46	27:14
3rd Down Conversions	7 of 10	5 of 15

 
2024 Cortland Outlook: The Red Dragons finished 2023 with a final record of 14-1, mounting an improbable run to the NCAA Division III National Championship Game where they beat North Central in stunning fashion by a score of 38-37 to become the 2023 National Champions. Cortland also went on a tear through the Empire 8 earlier in the season, emerging with a conference record of 6-0 and defeating each E8 opponent by at least 20 points.
 
This season, Cortland is off to a 4-0 start, led by 2023 standout Zac Boyes. Cortland has defeated a pair of Empire 8 squads in Hilbert and Morrisville so far during this year's campaign, along with Lycoming and their lone 2024 loss in #11 ranked Susquehanna.
 
The Red Dragons are currently ranked #2 in the nation, and have had outstanding offense this season despite losing their top two wideout targets in JJ Laap and Cole Burgess to graduation after their 2023 run.
 
Cortland has scored 56.75 points per game this year, while only allowing their opponents to score 11.25 points per contest. They are especially balanced on offense, possessing almost equal yardage amounts in both rushing yards per game (255.5 ypg) and passing yards per game (262.25). The Red Dragons have 19 ground scores this season and 11 passing scores.
 
Last year's 2023 playoff standout is back under center for Cortland this season, with signal-called Zac Boyes sporting 882 yards and 9 touchdowns through the air in 2024. He's averaging 220.5 yards per game despite dealing with a plethora of new targets in the passing game for the #2 Red Dragons.
 
One of these new targets is Jaden AlfanoStJohn, who has served as the main running back at Cortland for his entire Red Dragon career so far. AlfanoStJohn has been used mainly as a wideout this season, showcasing his adaptability by hauling in 18 passes for 352 yards and five touchdowns, leading the Red Dragons in all three of those receiving categories.
 
AlfanoStJohn's departure from the Red Dragon backfield has opened the way for Sophomore Ethan Gallo to establish himself as the lead back for the reigning National Champions. Gallo has rushed for 416 yards and nine touchdowns in 2024, along with averaging 102.25 ground yards per game.
 
Senior linebacker Jaden Martinez heads a Cortland defensive unit that hasn't produced a ton of turnovers, but really hasn't had the opportunity to as they've allowed only 3.8 yards per play and 40 total first downs by their opponents through 4 games.
 
The reliable Mike Baloga is also back as the main kicker and punter for Cortland, with the senior achieving Empire 8 Co-Special Teams Player of the Week honors this week alongside Gabe Zawolo of the Pioneers.
 
Statcast: Here's a breakdown of Cortland and Utica's 2024 statistics after 4 weeks of play.
 

OFFENSIVE	Cortland	Utica
Points Per Game	56.75	40.25
First Downs Per Game	28	19
Rushing Yards Per Game	255.5	181.3
Yards Per Carry	5.9	5.5
Rushing Touchdowns	19	7
Fumbles Lost	2	2
Passing Yards Per Game	262.25	209
Yards Per Attempt	10.28	6.74
Passing Touchdowns	11	11
Interceptions Thrown	1	2
Sacks Allowed	2	8
Total Yards Per Game	517.8	390.3
Total Touchdowns	32	22
Time of Poss. Per Game	31:30	30:17
3rd Down Conversions	20-37 (54.05%)	27-57 (47.37%)
Points Allowed Per Game	11.25	17
1st Downs All. Per Game	10	18.75
Rushing Yards All. Per Game	68	79.5
Rushing Touchdowns All.	1	2
Passing Yards All. Per Game	140.50	234
Passing Touchdowns All.	5	7
Total Yards All. Per Game	208.5	313.5
Touchdowns All.	6	10
Interceptions Created	2	6
Fumbles Recovered	5	4
Sacks	6	11
Record	4-0	3-1

 
Week 4 Outlook: The Pioneers will head out to take on Morrisville next Saturday. They'll kick off from the home of the Mustangs at 12:00 PM on Saturday, October 19th.
 
Tune in this weekend when the Pioneers take on Cortland!