UTICA, NY - Finally, home football is back in Utica. This weekend, the Pioneers host their annual Believe 271 Bowl sponsored by Mastrovito Hyundai, a yearly game that has brought massive success, both on and off the field, in recent memory. After a very memorable 2024 edition, which saw the Pioneers take down a tough Union team, this year will see another Liberty League team take the opposing sideline in the RPI Engineers. Following an exciting week one win down in Pennsylvania against perennial PAC players Washington and Jefferson, the Pioneers will try to keep it rolling against another constant postseason contender with the Engineers arriving on Saturday. This weekend is the first Party at the Gaet' of 2025! Get caught up on all the storylines, information, and events scheduled for this weekend's Mastrovito Hyundai Believe Bowl!

This Saturday's showdown is slated for a 6:00 PM kickoff from ABM Field at Gaetano Stadium. Tickets are available for $5 each and can be purchased at the gate with cash only.

You can stream Saturday's game by heading to the following link: https://www.empire8network.com/utica/

PLEASE NOTE: All home games will only be available to be streamed LIVE during the season. Games will be available on demand following the conclusion of the 2025 campaign, however, highlight reels will be made available on YouTube for each game. 

Interested spectators can also view live statistics by heading to this link: https://uticapioneers.com/sidearmstats/football/summary

If you'd like to listen to the matchup, the game will be available on radio by clicking this link: https://player.listenlive.co/42951

History of the Game: The annual Believe Bowl has been a Utica football tradition that has existed since the 2014 season. The game has drawn extremely well over the years, evolving into one of the premier sporting events in the yearly Mohawk Valley sports calendar. The Believe Bowl game benefits the Believe 271 Foundation. Founded in 2014, Believe 271 provides financial support to volunteer firefighters, EMTs, and members of ladies' auxiliary programs in Oneida and Herkimer counties who suffer from life-threatening illnesses such as cancer.

"Cancer in the fire service is the leading cause of deaths to both career and volunteer firefighters. Since 2014, our foundation has assisted 109 volunteer firefighters in their battles with cancer," said Brian McQueen, President and Co-Founder of the Believe 271 Foundation. 

Since 2021, Mastrovito Hyundai has sponsored the yearly event, helping to give back to the community and support the Believe 271 foundation. Mastrovito Hyundai has been integral in growing the status of the Believe Bowl and has helped guide the game into becoming the renowned spectacle that it is today. 

"As an avid supporter of first responders, Mastrovito Hyundai is proud to once again partner with the Believe 271 Foundation and the Utica University Pioneers Football Team to sponsor the Believe Bowl and give back to the community and its firefighters that give so much to us every day," said Frank Mastrovito, owner of Mastrovito Hyundai.

Believe Bowl 2025 Honorary Captains: Each year, local first responders are recognized as the Mastrovito Hyundai Believe Bowl Honorary Captains. These local heroes are celebrated for their accomplishments and have their story brought to light so that they can be recognized for their honorable actions at the start of the yearly game. Here are this year's honorary captains: 

Utica Fire Department: Firefighter Viktor Korovaynyk

Viktor was born in Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. Tragically, he lost his mother when he was just five weeks old and grew up as an orphan. Despite the hardships of his early life, Viktor remained determined to build a meaningful future.

Since joining the department in 2015, Viktor has distinguished himself as an outstanding firefighter, colleague, and public servant. His dedication, professionalism, and strength of character have earned the respect of all who serve alongside him. Earlier this year Firefighter Korovaynyk was diagnosed with B-Cell Lymphoma. Even with this diagnosis Viktor continues to inspire by showing his resilience and determination to overcome this life-changing event.

New York Mills Fire Department/Ladies Auxiliary of the Firefighters Association of the State of New York – Nancy Czupryna, Ladies Auxiliary

In May, Nancy was diagnosed with Type B Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and is currently going through chemotherapy. Nancy's journey in the fire service started as a child; her father was Assistant Chief at New York Mills, and her brother was a firefighter. In 1969, Nancy was instrumental in forming the New York Mills Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary, of which she is currently Treasurer. She is also a 50+ member of Oneida County Ladies Auxiliary and holds the title of Director, Central Ladies Auxiliary, and is a 46-year member of the Ladies Auxiliary of the State of New York and was Treasurer for 6 years.

Week One Recap: The Pioneers ventured down to Washington, Pennsylvania last weekend to open their 25th season with a matchup against the reigning PAC Champion Washington & Jefferson. In a much-anticipated contest, the Pioneers had a headline-worthy performance, sending shockwaves throughout the local Division III Football landscape as they defeated the Presidents by a 49-31 final. The attention grabber came from way more than just the win itself, though, as the visitors managed to stump Washington and Jefferson in explosive fashion, racking up 593 yards of total offense, including an outrageous 528 yards through the air. The Pioneer defense also held strong, allowing only 91 yards rushing to keep the PAC representatives under the 100-yard rushing mark. They also won the turnover battle, a huge momentum shifter, as Isaiah Thomas (Kingston, NY/Kingston) and Eli Douglas (Ausable Forks, NY/Ausable Valley) had heads-up plays on a fumble recovery and an interception, respectively. The Pioneer defense was created to be fast and disruptive, and they accomplished that goal on Saturday with seven pass breakups and lots of well-timed hits. 

Check out Utica vs Washington & Jefferson highlights by heading to this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1uwz6mKYyM

Dazzling Debuts: Speaking of the Pioneer defense, another factor that made Saturday's showing even more exciting was the array of players that were seeing either their first starting action, or first varsity action as a whole. There were only three starting Utica defenders who played major roles during the 2024 season, with Eli Douglas (Ausable Forks, NY/Ausable Valley), Ronaldo Lewis (Brooklyn, NY/Abraham Lincoln), and Jordyn Davis (Hempstead, NY/Uniondale) returning to their starting roles. The rest of the defensive personnel? They were either new to the starting lineup, or new to the varsity ranks altogether. This youth didn't hurt the Pioneers though, rather, the added ability helped to energize the Pioneer defense, with players like Isaiah Thomas (Kingston, NY/Kingston) (12 tackles, one pass breakup, one fumble recovery), Mason Nolan (Hilton, NY/Hilton Central) (eight tackles), and Nicholas DeForrest (Rome, NY/Holland Patent) (four tackles, one tackle for loss, one pass breakup, one QB hurry) doing well in their full-time starting debuts. Coach Faggiano was very impressed with the poise of his defense during Saturday's matchup, noting, "The first kickoff, we didn't do well, we didn't execute, and they ended up scoring. Our guys didn't blink. They kept battling, cleaning things up, and we made some adjustments. There's always pressure; you just have to not worry about it. There's always going to be different distractions, and you just have to focus in, which I thought they did well on Saturday."

On the other side of the ball, there were a few other debuting Pioneers who took their first snaps in new roles. On the offensive line, there were four new starters in Carson Tessitore (East Islip, NY/East Islip), Gavin Grech (Merrick, NY/Sanford H. Calhoun), Mike Malzahn, and Aidan Olsen (Rotterdam, NY/Schalmont), but that didn't hurt the Pioneers against an athletic Presidents' front as they allowed just two sacks while seeing the offense rack up nearly 600 yards of offense. Washington & Jefferson was also moving their schemes around at a rapid rate, taking advantage of their athletic front to try and move around the Pioneers' line; however, the front-5, led by a returning ADante Bianchino (Albany, NY/Shaker), stood their ground in Saturday's contest. 

In the rushing game, Eze Frazier (Garnerville, NY/North Rockland) and Jani Strong (Bronx, NY/Christ The King Regional) got their first snaps as the lead backs, taking a backseat initially but stepping in to help the Pioneers salt away the game late in the contest. Frazier finished with 66 yards and a touchdown, which helped seal the deal against the Presidents. 

Matthew Pallouras (Rochelle Park, NJ/Hackensack) was a big part of the game plan, too, getting his first snaps in the Raven set as he scored two touchdowns on two rushing attempts.

To round out the new standouts, Logan Frederick (Little Falls, NY/Little Falls) had a solid day at the tight end position after slotting in at receiver the last few years. Frederick worked hard in the offseason, seeing it pay off in week one to the tune of six receptions and 73 yards receiving. Coach Faggiano agreed, noting, "We kind of had a feeling he could be a tight end, and he worked hard in the weight room, made that commitment, and we're very fortunate to have him."

Oh, there was one other debut on offense…

Wait, How Many Yards?: Tyler Szalkowski (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute) had an opening week for the ages in his orange and blue debut, as he had unquestionably the best week in all of Division III at the quarterback position. The recent transfer was electric against the Presidents' posting video game numbers as he completed 28 passes for a school-record 528 yards along with four touchdowns. The Pioneers' new signal caller shattered the previous school record of 467, setting a new mark that exceeded that previous total by 61 yards. The Rochester native also rocked the deep ball on Saturday, completing passes of 33, 71, and 88 yards in the game as he helped the trio of Tyshawn Taylor (Syracuse, NY/Institute of Technology) (151), Antonio Cianfarani (Scotia, NY/Scotia Glenville) (126), and Bryce Palmer (Verona, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) (126) all reach at least 125 receiving yards each. Szalkowski was rewarded for his spectacular play with a variety of different accolades, including the Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Week, a Pioneer Athlete of the Week honor, and also received a Game Ball from D3football.com. His top award, though, was being named the D3football.com National Player of the Week at the quarterback position. Szalkowski wasn't alone among the Team of the Week honorees though…

Watch Tyler Szalkowski (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute) break the program passing yards record by following this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3wc4aN6u7M

The National Stage: For the first time in a long while (if ever), the Pioneers achieved the incredible feat of having TWO players named to the D3football.com Team of the Week. Along with quarterback Tyler Szalkowski (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute), the Pioneers also saw Isaiah Thomas (Kingston, NY/Kingston) earn a spot among Division III's top performers of week one. Coach Faggiano was ecstatic at the award, praising his sophomore linebacker as he mentioned, "IT is just a tremendous person, he's on the leadership council, he's a strong leader, and for him it was just about being confident. He battled all spring and battled into camp to earn that starting spot… and each day and every rep he gets, he just gets more confident within the defense."



Orange and Blue Archive - vs RPI: Now, the Pioneers will put that all-time week one win behind them, and turn their focus to the RPI Engineers. Utica and RPI will meet for the 11th time this coming Saturday, with this being their first meeting since 2019. This will also be the first matchup between these two in Believe Bowl history, as the Pioneers continue to welcome different challengers for each edition of the event. Utica is 3-7 all-time against RPI, but has fared much better in recent years as they've split the last four meetings with the Engineers. Each of those last four matchups were extremely exciting, too, including a 35-33 game in 2019 and a three-OT thriller in 2018. This will be a battle of two of New York's most established programs, and it will be an exciting night to be sure. 

Scouting RPI: The Engineers began their season with a road matchup with Worcester Polytechnic Institute, winning by a score of 26-9. RPI turned in a strong defensive performance, holding WPI to just three points until a touchdown on the final play of the game. Offensively, RPI began the game by scoring on each of its first three drives to take a 16-3 lead into halftime. The Engineer's final points came on a touchdown and a field goal that came at the midpoints of the 3rd and 4th quarters.

Junior running back Kayden White established himself as a key piece of this Engineers team. White accounted for 158 rushing and receiving yards, good for just over 50% of the team's total yardage. He found pay dirt three times in the contest, twice on the ground and once through the air on a 69-yard play, RPI's only passing touchdown of the day. Quarterback Anthony DeMatteo racked up 175 yards on a 59.1% passing completion. Seven different players recorded at least one reception, with Gage Swanger being the only player other than White to attain over 21 receiving yards, ending the day with 43 yards on two catches.

RPI's defense shone, allowing 227 total yards for an average of 3.3 yards/play. Pass rushers were able to find their way home five times, led by juniors TJ Chadwick and Owen Boland, who each recorded 1.5 sacks. Nicholas Rossi forced a fumble that WPI was able to recover, with Luke Connolly tallying the only RPI turnover on an interception that he brought back 29 yards. TJ Smith and Matt Krauza were successful in bringing down their opponents, each ending with six tackles, one tackle for loss, and at least 0.5 sacks.

Keys Against RPI: RPI is a formidable rushing team, with them looking to continue that trend against the Pioneers. They'll use lots of different personnel, including their quarterback, to get the rushing attack going. It will be up to a Pioneer defensive front that played well last Saturday to continue to keep the status quo. The orange and blue held W&J to under 100 yards rushing and doing so again will contribute heavily to success against the Engineers.

Another thing RPI excels at is the use of the screen pass, which a fast Pioneer defense will look to snuff out quickly. The speed and timing were great from the orange and blue last weekend, and Utica will look for a repeat performance as they'll try to spot out any misdirection and stop the slow-developing plays before they gain any traction. 

On offense, the Pioneers will look to establish the run and produce a balanced effort to keep the Engineers on their toes. They did well spreading the ball around this past Saturday, and that will be another constant. The rush is a point of emphasis, though, with the Pioneers looking to get the duo of Frazier and Strong going on the ground. 

Up Next After the Believe Bowl: Following this weekend's Believe Bowl, the Pioneers will move on to face another Liberty League squad in the Hobart Statesmen. That game will take place on Saturday, September 20th, at David J. Urick Stadium in Geneva, New York. Kickoff for that game is set for 1:00 PM, and it will be the final non-conference contest for Utica before they move on to Empire 8 play.

About Believe 271: The Believe 271 Foundation, Inc. was founded in March of 2014 to provide support to local heroes. With the financial support comes emotional support, letting heroes know that "No One Fights Alone." They rely on fundraising events and generous donations to fulfill their duties, and they could not survive without the support of the fire service and loyal followers. 
Other than minimal insurance costs, all of the proceeds are given back to local firefighters and ladies auxiliary members. They have an unpaid board of directors, no employees, no expenses, and dedicated professionals who volunteer their services for the good of the organization.
Believe 271 has become an integral player in the fight against cancer, offering educational programs locally and nationwide.

To visit the Believe 271 website, click here: https://www.believe271.com/

Be sure to tune into this weekend's Mastrovito Hyundai Believe Bowl!!!