UTICA, NY - Homecoming was in full swing on Saturday afternoon in Utica, with a bustling crowd filling Gaetano Stadium to the brim for the Pioneers' First Source Teacher Appreciation Game against visiting Alfred State. Saturday's main event ended up leaning heavily in the hosting Pioneers' favor, as a balanced performance, along with three blocked kicks, sent the team to a big 45-13 victory. The Pioneers moved to 3-1 with the win, improving to 2-0 at home field.
 
Saturday Spotlight: Amidst an extremely balanced offense and defensive performance, the biggest source of strength for the orange and blue was on special teams, where an array of blocked kicks helped give the Pioneers momentum and field position at different points in the contest. Leading the superb special teams effort was sophomore Nathan Hernandez (Mechanicville, NY/Mechanicville), who had his Homecoming moment (or two) as he burst through the line to block two punts against Alfred State on Saturday. Freshman Breon Campbell Jr. (Buffalo, NY/St. Joseph Collegiate Institute) also joined in on the block party, laying a mitt on Alfred State's only field goal attempt of the afternoon. The Pioneers entered the game tied for fourth in the country in blocked kicks; however, thanks to Hernandez and Campbell Jr., the team might just top that chart when the dust settles around the country.
 
Adding on to the special team success was Nico Duarte (Kearny, NJ/Saint Peter's Prep), who nailed all six of his extra point attempts and added a 23-yard field goal to turn in a perfect kicking day. Rounding out the special team showcase was punter Devin Taylor (New Port Richey, FL/Wendell Krinn Technical), who trapped the opposing Pioneers inside their own 20-yard line on all three of his boots. Taylor also launched a 49-yard howitzer in addition to averaging 40.7 yards on his three punts.
 
The combined power of the Pioneer special teams gave them a massive edge in the contest, helping them get off to a solid start in many possessions due to superior field positioning. Their kicking prowess also helped them maintain momentum during the entire game.
 
Scoring Summary:
 
1st Quarter
12:40 | 7-0 UTC | Logan Frederick (Little Falls, NY/Little Falls) - 8-yard pass from Tyler Szalkowski (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute) (Nico Duarte (Kearny, NJ/Saint Peter's Prep) XP) - 2 plays, 10 yards (00:40)
 
2nd Quarter
13:15 | 14-0 UTC | Matthew Pallouras (Rochelle Park, NJ/Hackensack) - 1-yard run (Nico Duarte (Kearny, NJ/Saint Peter's Prep) XP) - 9 plays, 50 yards (4:25)
10:57 | 21-0 UTC | Bryce Palmer (Verona, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) - 10-yard pass from Tyler Szalkowski (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute) (Nico Duarte (Kearny, NJ/Saint Peter's Prep) XP) - 5 plays, 23 yards (2:17)
6:45 | 21-7 UTC | Noah Currier - 31-yard run (Matthew Perry XP) - 8 plays, 68 yards (4:07)
1:55 | 28-7 UTC | Logan Frederick (Little Falls, NY/Little Falls) - 21-yard pass from Tyler Szalkowski (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute) (Nice Duarte XP) - 9 plays, 75 yards (4:43)
0:16 | 35-7 UTC | Antonio Cianfarani (Scotia, NY/Scotia Glenville) - 35-yard pass from Tyler Szalkowski (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute) (Nico Duarte (Kearny, NJ/Saint Peter's Prep) XP) - 4 plays, 80 yards (0:27)
 
3rd Quarter
3:43 | 38-7 UTC | Nico Duarte (Kearny, NJ/Saint Peter's Prep) - 23-yard field goal - 9 plays, 46 yards (4:25)
 
4th Quarter
1:55 | 45-7 UTC | Gabriel Zawolo (Rochester, NY/McQuaid Jesuit) - 22-yard pass from Brett Fuller (Port Jervis, NY/Port Jervis) (Nico Duarte (Kearny, NJ/Saint Peter's Prep) XP) - 5 plays, 73 yards (2:25)
1:43 | 45-13 UTC | Noah Currier - 83-yard kickoff return
 
Offensive Highlights: The Pioneers had another outstanding offensive outing, rushing for 140 yards and passing for 338 as they piled up 478 yards of total offense and six touchdowns against Alfred State.
 
The biggest takeaway from the Pioneers' offensive performance on Saturday was the sheer number of players who were involved and the fresh looks that the coaching staff was able to create. Utica used many new packages, debuting new sets and running new plays at a high rate. In this game alone, the Pioneers registered seven different rushers, saw nine different players catch a pass, and also utilized all four quarterbacks on the roster in different and unique ways.
 
Tyler Szalkowski (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute) had another excellent outing, tossing for 285 yards and four touchdowns in his Utica Homecoming debut. Helping the Pioneer signal caller reach those numbers was Bryce Palmer (Verona, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill), who continued to torch opposing secondaries, as he tormented Alfred State to the tune of 10 catches for 112 yards and a touchdown. Palmer has 39 receptions and 469 yards through four games this season, averaging around 10 catches and 100 yards per contest. Coach Jerrod Clowes utilized Palmer in a new way during the matchup, as the VVS grad connected with Szalkowski in the backfield on many occasions, with 86 of his total receiving yards coming after the catch as a result of a screen-heavy usage style.
 
Speaking of interesting sets, the Pioneers were having fun getting their quarterbacks in for different looks. Alongside the normal passing dominance of Szalkowski, the team also re-introduced the Raven early in the second quarter, as Matthew Pallouras (Rochelle Park, NJ/Hackensack) took over for the Pioneers' second score of the day, slicing through the Alfred State defense to make is 14-0. Pallouras rushed eight times for 37 yards and a score. Nazir Smith (Newark, NJ/Malcolm X Shabazz) also saw some action, with the young Pioneer QB getting called on in a few unique wildcat situations. Finally, Brett Fuller (Port Jervis, NY/Port Jervis) finished off the win, going a perfect 5-5 for 53 yards and a dagger touchdown to Gabriel Zawolo (Rochester, NY/McQuaid Jesuit). As far as looks go, the Pioneers got plenty heading into next week's showdown with Cortland.
 
Logan Frederick (Little Falls, NY/Little Falls) and Antonio Cianfarani (Scotia, NY/Scotia Glenville) continued to play at a high rate, with Frederick hauling in four catches for 64 yards (34 YAC) and two touchdowns, while Cianfarani grabbed five catches for 69 yards and a highlight-reel touchdown to end the first half.
 
Defensive Highlights: The balanced nature of the contest was present on the defensive side of the ball as well, as the Pioneers didn't need anything flashy to shut down the opposition. More often than not, swarms of orange and blue defenders stopped Noah Currier and the Alfred State attack in the trenches. The team racked up seven tackles for loss in the game, as the linebacker duo of Isaiah Thomas (Kingston, NY/Kingston) and Ceejay Newton (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood) led the way with seven and five tackles, respectively. Thomas also had a team-high four solo tackles.
 
Arguably, the two best individual performances on the defensive side of the ball came from the Pioneers' two defensive captains: Jordyn Davis (Hempstead, NY/Uniondale) and Eli Douglas (Ausable Forks, NY/Ausable Valley).
 
Davis was a force on the defensive front, only getting home for one quarterback sack, but heavily pressuring the opposing signal caller three separate times. Douglas grabbed his third interception of the season during the action, inching ever closer to the all-time mark. The stellar safety also logged another tackle for loss.
 
Davis and Douglas led a unit that allowed Alfred State to record just 10 first downs and 166 total yards in the game. The opposing Pioneers only managed to record one touchdown against the Pioneers' defensive force.
 
Who's Next?: The Pioneers will travel south to SUNY Cortland next week, venturing into the Dragon's Den with the hopes of ending Cortland's run of 28-straight Empire 8 victories. Kickoff for that matchup is slated for 1:00 PM at Grady Field. Both teams will most likely be receiving D3football.com ranking recognition in some form or another, and will both be undefeated in Empire 8 play entering the bout.