UTICA, NY - Pioneer football returns to the field this Saturday after some much-needed rest & relaxation on their bye week following their 3-game non-conference schedule. Utica will head south to Oneonta and begin their 2024 Empire 8 campaign with a battle against the Hartwick Hawks. The much-anticipated conference-opener will get underway at 12:00 PM this Saturday, October 5th. It's time to get caught up ahead of this weekend's Empire 8 action.
 
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 the Pioneers' Empire 8 opener here: Link: Utica vs Hartwick Football Stream
 
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: Link: Utica vs Hartwick Football Live Stats
 
The Season at a Glance: Utica Football has begun the 2024 season with a 2-1 record, notching impressive home wins over Union and Lycoming, sandwiched by the Pioneers' lone defeat on the road at Moravian. You can read more about the Pioneers' non-conference matchups by following the links below to the game recaps for their first 3 weeks of play.
 
Utica 41, Union 26 | Week 1 Recap - Link: Brantley, Pioneers Utilize Unbelievable Offense in 41-26 Victory Over Union College
 
Moravian 18, Utica 13 | Week 2 Recap - Link: Pioneer Football Falls 18-13 After Last-Second Push by Moravian
 
Utica 42, Lycoming 17 | Week 3 Recap - Link: Pioneer Ground Game Overwhelms Lycoming in 42-17 Victory
 
The Pioneers offensive attack has been characterized by an emphasis on the rushing game, with veteran back Matt Brantley (Rochester, NY/Eastridge) spearheading the ground effort in the early-going. Brantley has been a superstar this season, living up to the "Player to Watch" title that the Empire 8 bestowed upon him during the pre-season. Speaking on the topic of Empire 8 awards, the Pioneers have already gathered a bundle of honors from the conference this season.
 
Throughout 3 weeks of play, Utica has taken home 3 Empire 8 weekly honors, with the team notching 1 award win for each week of play.
 
Matt Brantley (Rochester, NY/Eastridge) was the first Pioneer honoree, garnering the Empire 8 Co-Offensive Player of the Week award after a season-opening performance that saw him gain 185 yards via the rush in addition to a lone touchdown.
 
The following week, it was the defense who gained Empire 8 recognition, with Norman Booth (Schenectady, NY/Schenectady) taking home the E8 Defensive Player of the Week Award after forcing a fumble and recording a 76-yard scoop n' score against Moravian.
 
Utica made it three-for-three after their victory against Lycoming, with Eli Douglas (Ausable Forks, NY/Ausable Valley) blanketing the Warrior receiving corps en-route to the Pioneers' second-straight E8 Defensive Player of the Week Award.
 
To top it all off, Pioneer mainstay John Stroughn (Baldwin, NY/Holy Trinity) was named to the D3football.com team of the week after the Lycoming game where he had an outing worthy of nationwide recognition after grabbing a sack along with 4 QB hurries.
 
The Pioneers will look to add to their rapidly growing list of accolades as they begin Empire 8 play.
 
Empire Era: The Pioneers' remaining 2024 regular season schedule will feature an all-Empire 8 crop of opponents, as the team moves on to conference play following their Week Four bye week. Here's a look at their remaining schedule and how each of their remaining opponents has fared so far in 2024.
 
Hartwick Hawks (1-2) - October 5th - at Hartwick
At Maine Maritime Academy | W, 62-6
At Keystone College | L, 26-51
Vs Juniata College | L, 30-37
 
#2 Cortland Red Dragons (3-0) - October 12th - at Utica
At Hilbert College | W, 76-0
Vs Lycoming College | W, 70-7
At #11 Susquehanna University | W, 40-38
 
SUNY Morrisville (1-2) - October 19th - at Morrisville
Vs Kean University | W, 7-0
At Catholic University | L, 27-28
Vs Moravian University | L, 6-14
 
Alfred University (2-1) - October 26th - at Utica
At Hobart College | L, 7-10
Vs Juniata College | W, 64-28
Vs Catholic University | W, 45-15
 
SUNY Brockport (2-1) - November 2nd - at Utica
Vs Buffalo State | W, 27-0
At #11 Susquehanna University | L, 27-21
Vs Wilkes University | W, 31-17
 
Hilbert College (0-4) - November 9th - at Hilbert
Vs #2 SUNY Cortland | L, 0-76
At Buffalo State | L, 6-42
At #12 Endicott College | L, 0-58
At Lycoming College | L, 0-48
 
St. John Fisher University - November 16th - at Fisher
Vs Marietta | L, 0-55
Vs Keystone College | W, 42-40
At Wilkes University | L, 21-28
 
Pioneer Prestige: There are a plethora of Pioneers on the verge of some record-breaking milestones after great performances in the opening 3 weeks.
 
Matt Brantley (Rochester, NY/Eastridge), for one, will have the chance to etch his name into the record books should he keep up his current ground dominance. Brantley's current totals have him on pace for a 1,403-yard season, accruing that yardage via around 197 projected carries. Those rushing numbers would shatter the Pioneer record for rushing yards in a season, with that title being held by Malcolm Stowe who gained 1,075 yards on the ground in 2018. Brantley has also rushed for 135.6 yards per game this season, nearly 40 yards more than the next best rushing YPG season which coincidentally is also held by Malcolm Stowe. There's a long way to go in the 2024 season, but these staggering numbers from Brantley are definitely something to keep an eye on as the weeks progress. 
 
John Stroughn (Baldwin, NY/Holy Trinity) is also on the precipice of Pioneer glory, as the Graduate Student is just 3 sacks away from overtaking Utica great Nick Woodman for the title of Pioneer sack champion. Should Stroughn reach 30 sacks this season, he will stand alone at the top of the all-time Pioneer career sack charts. Stroughn also has a chance to record top-10 all-time seasons in both sacks and tackles for loss, with the veteran defensive tackle already having entries in both categories.
 
Eli Douglas (Ausable Forks, NY/Ausable Valley) and Denzere Woolcock (Schenectady, NY/Schenectady) are also looking to record top-10 all-time seasons of their own in the passes defended category (includes interceptions and breakups), with each player currently having 4 passes defended on the year. The number to reach sits at 11, with 8 players reaching that total in Pioneer history.
 
Norman Booth (Schenectady, NY/Schenectady) also has 2 forced fumbles on the season. 3 more would tie him with James Brain for the most ever in a single-season in Pioneer history. Booth has already set a Pioneer record this season, with his 75-yard scoop n' score against Moravian notching him the most fumble return yards in a single season in Pioneer history. Booth can look to add to that total with 7 games still in 2024.
 
Rewind Time: Utica defeated Hartwick in a 48-7 affair last year during their meeting at The Gaet'. Much like this season, the Hawks represented the first Empire 8 challenge of the season for Utica. This season, the Pioneers will travel south to meet the Hawks in Oneonta. Here's a look at how the Pioneers and Hawks matched up in their 2023 meeting.
 

	Hartwick	Utica
1st Downs	11	21
Rushing Yards	61	218
Passing Yards	189	155
Total Offense	250	373
Punts	6	1
Time of Possession	26:59	33:01
3rd Down Conversions	8 of 19	4 of 13

 
2024 Hartwick Outlook: The Hartwick Hawks currently sit at 1-2 on the year, with their lone win being a 62-6 demolition of Maine Maritime Academy. Since then, the Hawks have suffered a couple tough losses, first on the road at Keystone where they fell to the Giants in a 51-26 decision, followed by a 1-score loss in their home opener vs Juniata where they fell by a final of 37-30.
 
Hartwick finished 2023 with a 1-9 record, finding their sole win of the season in a home contest vs Keystone.
 
The Hawks have had a high-powered offense through the opening stages of 2024, putting up just over 39 points per contest. Their air attack is responsible for a majority of that production, with the Hawks' quarterback room gaining 358 passing yards per game along with 9 total touchdowns on the year. James Sobol and Dennis Rordan have been the difference makers in the pocket for Hartwick, with Sobol passing for 213 yards a game and Riordan throwing for 145 yards per game. The Hawks love the deep ball, evidenced by their plethora of passing yards despite just a 50.41 completion percentage. Hartwick is dangerous if they can find that long outlet, as evidenced by their staggering offensive numbers so far in 2024.
 
On defense, Hartwick has been getting to the quarterback early and often, recording 16 total QB hurries over their 3 games played so far. They've also thrived when speeding up the offense, as their strong play at the line has also allowed their defensive backs to cause 10 pass breakups and 6 interceptions.
 
On the topic of takeaways, the Hawks have forced 10 fumbles on the year, but have only managed to recover a single fumble, meaning they are adept at creating takeaway opportunities, and have been a couple bad bounces away from forcing even more turnovers.
 
Statcast: Here's a breakdown of Hartwick and Utica's 2024 feature statistics after 3 weeks of play.
 

OFFENSIVE	Hartwick	Utica
Points Per Game	39.3	32
First Downs Per Game	24.7	18.3
Rushing Yards Per Game	122.7	198
Yards Per Carry	4.5	5.7
Rushing Touchdowns	5	6
Fumbles Lost	2	2
Passing Yards Per Game	358	155.3
Yards Per Attempt	8.7	5
Passing Touchdowns	9	5
Interceptions Thrown	8	2
Sacks Allowed	6	7
Total Yards Per Game	480.7	353.3
Total Touchdowns	17	13
Time of Poss. Per Game	27:50	29:58
3rd Down Conversions	12-34 (35.29%)	22-47 (46.81%)
DEFENSIVE
Points Allowed Per Game	31.3	20.3
1st Downs All. Per Game	15.7	20.7
Rushing Yards All. Per Game	105.3	105.7
Rushing Touchdowns All.	7	2
Passing Yards All. Per Game	256.7	239.3
Passing Touchdowns All.	6	6
Total Yards All. Per Game	362	345
Touchdowns All.	13	9
Interceptions Created	6	4
Fumbles Recovered	1	4
Sacks	4	9
Record	1-2	2-1

 
 
The Series - Hartwick: Utica leads the overall series between these two teams, winning 12 of the 22 total matchups between the Pioneers and Hawks. Utica is currently in the midst of a 7 game win streak over the Hawks, with their last defeat against Hartwick occurring in the 2015 season. The Pioneers are 6-4 when visiting the Hawks.
 
Week 4 Outlook: The Pioneers will return home next weekend in a matchup that's been circled on calendars since the conclusion of last year's Division III Football Championship, with the reigning Division III National Champion SUNY Cortland Red Dragons heading to Gaetano Stadium on October 12th. Cortland is currently the #2 ranked Division III Football team in the entire nation, with their #2 ranking being the highest for an Empire 8 squad in a very long time, potentially even the highest in conference history. That game will kick off at 1:00 PM
 
Tune in this weekend when the Pioneers take on Hartwick!