UTICA, NY - The Utica Pioneers are heading to Morrisville this weekend for a meeting with the Mustangs. The game will take place on Saturday, October 17th with kickoff set for 12:00 PM.
 
How to Watch: Follow along live with this Saturday's showdown by clicking the "Watch" tab on our football schedule page or by following the link below.
You can stream this weekend's contest here: https://boxcast.tv/view/morrisville-football-vs-utica-lvrulppon4ausgl41jug?_gl=1*qtz7v2*_gcl_au*NTM4MjQ2ODM4LjE3MjQyNjE2OTY.*_ga*MTQwODAwNTU5MS4xNzA0MjEyMDkx*_ga_PXBBF7HVWQ*MTcyODk5NjMwNS41MC4xLjE3Mjg5OTY4NjMuMC4wLjA.
 
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://morrisvillemustangs.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
 
Cortland Recap: Pioneer football welcomed the number 2 ranked team in all of Division III Football on Saturday afternoon at Gaetano Stadium. The Cortland Red Dragons met Utica on ABM Field in a mid-season Empire 8 clash that was close throughout the first quarter, before a couple key Pioneer mistakes led to a few Cortland scores. Cortland proceeded to salt away the remaining time, coming away with a 45-7 win.
 
Utica gained 237 yards of offense on the day, and out possessed Cortland, having the ball for over 30 minutes. The Pioneers moved the ball well, but stalled on a couple long drives throughout the matchup, opening the door for a fast-paced Cortland offense.
 
Brett Fuller (Port Jervis, NY/Port Jervis) threw for 162 yards, but threw 3 key interceptions that led to Red Dragon points.
 
The bulk of Fuller's yards went to Pioneer wideout Peyton Ausfeld (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam), who hauled in 9 receptions for 93 yards. Ausfeld made most of his plays in the middle of the field, but broke out late in the third quarter for a 35-yard reception to get the Pioneers down into Red Dragon territory.
 
Last week's leading receiver Bryce Palmer (Verona, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) also caught 4 passes for 39 yards.
 
Matt Brantley (Rochester, NY/Eastridge) had a relatively quiet day by his standards, rushing for 38 yards on 12 attempts, but scoring an early touchdown that brought the game level at seven in the first quarter.
 
The Pioneers targeted the heart of the Cortland defense early on in the game, mounting a couple solid drives that yielded no points before the Red Dragons started hitting the gas.
 
Despite the 40-point day by Cortland, the Pioneer defense had some dynamic plays in the matchup.
 
Doug Simmons (White Plains, NY/Archbishop Stepinac) terrorized Cortland signal-caller Zac Boyes, sacking the Red Dragon signal-caller three and a half times, bringing his season-sack total to five.
 
Eli Douglas (Ausable Forks, NY/Ausable Valley) also recorded a sack on the day, ending the action as the Pioneers' leading tackler with 12 takedowns. He also forced two pass breakups in coverage.
 
Norman Booth (Schenectady, NY/Schenectady) secured half a sack as well, with the Pioneer Captain also recording nine tackles.
 
Darius Johnson (Webster, NY/Webster) provided nine tackles on the day.
 
As a unit, the Utica defense stopped Cortland behind the line of scrimmage many times, logging eight tackles for loss, with five of those being sacks.
 
Pioneer Prestige: The Pioneers captured yet another honor after their game against the Red Dragons, with Linebacker Doug Simmons (White Plains, NY/Archbishop Stepinac) taking home the Co-Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Week. Simmons recorded 2.5 sacks and cost Cortland 12 yards of offense in his dynamic outing this past Saturday.
 
Simmons is the seventh different Pioneer to earn an honor this year, an impressive feat that showcases just how balanced this Utica squad really is. Not only do the Pioneers have 7 honorees this season, but they've also gained recognition in each of their five weeks of play, capturing at least one award for every game that they've participated in. Here is the list of Pioneer award winners so far this season.
 
Matt Brantley (Rochester, NY/Eastridge) - Empire 8 Co-Offensive Player of the Week - 9/6 vs Union College
Norman Booth (Schenectady, NY/Schenectady) - Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Week - 9/14 vs Moravian
Eli Douglas (Ausable Forks, NY/Ausable Valley) - Empire 8 Co-Defensive Player of the Week - 9/21 vs Lycoming
John Stroughn (Baldwin, NY/Holy Trinity) - D3football.com Team of the Week - 9/21 vs Lycoming
Brett Fuller (Port Jervis, NY/Port Jervis) - Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Week - 10/5 vs Hartwick
Gabe Zawolo - Empire 8 Co-Special Teams Player of the Week - 10/5 vs Hartwick
Doug Simmons (White Plains, NY/Archbishop Stepinac) - Empire 8 Co-Defensive Player of the Week - 10/12 vs Cortland
 
Rewind Time: Utica welcomed the Mustangs to Gaetano Stadium last season where they came away with a hard-fought 24-6 victory. The Pioneer defense held strong in that matchup, allowing their offense to dominate time of possession and secure the key conference win. Here's a peek at last year's matchup:
 

	Morrisville	Utica
1st Downs	10	16
Rushing Yards	-15	107
Passing Yards	140	188
Total Offense	125	295
Punts	7	3
Time of Possession	24:08	35:52
3rd Down Conversions	2 of 14	5 of 16

 
2024 Morrisville Outlook: Morrisville finished last season with a 4-6 record, after going 7-4 in 2022. The Mustangs have had a stellar defense the past few seasons, but have looked for answers on the offensive end. Their gritty style of play has allowed them to stick with some fantastic opponents, giving them chances to come away with big wins, such as their win in 2022 against a ranked Hobart squad.
 
Morrisville is off to a 2-3 start this season, with their two wins being sandwiched between three defeats in games 2-4. The Mustangs defense has been a cut above as usual and got out to a great start in their season-opener. Stuffing Kean at every gap to come away with a 7-0 shutout win. Morrisville then suffered a couple close losses to Catholic and Moravian, falling in the former contest by a single point, before losing by 8 points the following week in the latter contest. Most recently, the Mustangs picked up a big home win against Alfred University by a score of 24-14.
 
Save for their fourth game against Cortland, Morrisville has held three of their four opponents under 20 points, shutting out Kean and allowing 14 points each to Moravian and Alfred University.
 
Leading the Mustang defense in stops are a duo of powerful linebackers in Camerin Camacho and Evan Salvaggio. Camacho, only a freshman, leads the team with 44 tackles, while Salvaggio, the Senior from Geneseo, isn't far behind with 43 total takedowns.
 
The Mustangs have recovered seven fumbles and caused six interceptions, stacking up 13 total turnovers in just five games.
 
Scotty Howard, a defensive back from Binghamton, NY has been at the forefront of the Mustangs turnover tally, having three interceptions and two forced fumbles in addition to a fumble recovery.
 
As a unit, Morrisville has allowed 19.4 points per game, including the 41-point tally by Cortland.
 
It's on the offensive side of the ball that the Mustangs have struggled, only scoring 12.8 points per game.
 
Statcast: Here's a breakdown of Morrisville and Utica's 2024 statistics after 4 weeks of play.
 

OFFENSIVE	Morrisville	Utica
Points Per Game	12.8	33.6
First Downs Per Game	14.4	17.4
Rushing Yards Per Game	158.2	160
Yards Per Carry	4.4	5.1
Rushing Touchdowns	4	8
Fumbles Lost	4	2
Passing Yards Per Game	128.8	199.6
Yards Per Attempt	5.7	6.36
Passing Touchdowns	4	11
Interceptions Thrown	1	6
Sacks Allowed	6	9
Total Yards Per Game	287	359.6
Total Touchdowns	9	23
Time of Poss. Per Game	30:16	30:23
3rd Down Conversions	18-65 (27.69%)	29-69 (42.03%)
Points Allowed Per Game	19.4	22.6
1st Downs All. Per Game	17.4	19.6
Rushing Yards All. Per Game	119.2	115.8
Rushing Touchdowns All.	6	7
Passing Yards All. Per Game	215.4	223.6
Passing Touchdowns All.	7	8
Total Yards All. Per Game	334.6	339.4
Touchdowns All.	13	16
Interceptions Created	6	6
Fumbles Recovered	7	5
Sacks	6	15
Record	2-3	3-2

 
Week 4 Outlook: The Pioneers will welcome Alfred University to ABM Field for a Homecoming meeting with the Saxons. That game will begin at 1:00 PM.
 
Tune in this weekend when the Pioneers take on Morrisville!