Utica 42, Brockport 28 - Empire 8 Football Final
Utica, NY (September 27, 2014) – The Utica College football team racked up a season-high 472 yards of total offense on its way to a 42-28 victory over visiting SUNY Brockport in Empire 8 Conference action Saturday night on the turf at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium. The Pioneers improved to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in conference play for the first time in in the program's 14-year history.
UC senior running back Jesse Baldassare (Mt. Sinai, NY/Mt. Sinai) rushed the ball 24 times for 147 yards and three scores, while classmate Anthony Acevedo (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) made a season-high 12 catches for 199 yards. Acevedo's 12 catches helped him break the College's all-time record for receptions in a career, as he now has 197 catches over the course of four seasons. Senior quarterback Connor Butkiewicz (Southington, CT/Southington) got his first start of the season under center and did not disappoint, completing 15-of-28 passes for 247 yards and one touchdown throw.
"We were happy with the way the offense moved the ball tonight and it was good to see our upperclassman stepping up and making plays when we needed them to," said Utica Head Coach Blaise Faggiano. "This is a huge win for our program. Brockport has a great tradition of success at this level. The atmosphere here at Gaetano Stadium was outstanding once again and I am really proud of the effort our guys put forth. You have to be able to succeed in all facets of the game to be successful in this conference and I think we did a good job of that tonight."
It was Utica's first win over Brockport in three meetings all-time. The Golden Eagles, who were receiving votes in the D3football.com National Poll just two weeks ago, have now dropped two straight as their record fell to 2-2 overall and 0-2 in conference play.
Sophomore linebacker Juwan Wilson (South Ozone Park, NY/Holy Cross) led the Pioneer defense with 14 tackles for the third straight contest. With the score set at 35-28 with 3:31 to go in the contest, UC senior cornerback Rob Alexander (Dobbs Ferry, NY/Dobbs Ferry) jumped an out route and intercepted Brockport quarterback Chase Venuto on the Brockport nine yard line, to set up Baldassare's third score of the day to essentially put the contest out of reach.
Venuto finished the afternoon completing 20-of-37 passes for 220 yards and a touchdown. Brockport's Dan Andrews led the Golden Eagle' ground game with 25 carries for 145 yards and a touchdown. Eric Malave led the Brockport receiving corps with nine catches for 83 yards.
UC punter Dakota Peel (Alden, NY/Alden) once again provided great field position for the Pioneers all afternoon, punting the ball four times for 203 yards (50.8 yard average), including a long of 65 yards.
The Pioneers jumped out to a quick 21-7 lead in the first quarter behind a Baldassare 2-yard touchdown run, a 19 yard touchdown catch by Alex DeRusso (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) and an 11-yard touchdown run by freshman J'Von Evans. Baldassare now has four touchdowns this season, while Evans has five.
Brockport outscored UC 14-7 in the second quarter to set the score at 28-21 as the halftime horn sounded.
The Pioneer defense came up big when it had to in the second half, holding the Golden Eagles to just seven points, including a scoreless fourth quarter, to help the home team earn the 14 point victory. Sophomore transfer quarterback Will Kassar (Lattingtown, NY/Glen Cove) punched in his team-high fifth touchdown run of the season in the third quarter to put the Pioneers on top 35-21 with 9:22 to go in the third.
Utica senior safety James Lenahan (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac) picked off his team-best third pass of the season as Brockport made one last ditch effort to get back in the game with 1:03 remaining on the game clock. Lenahan now has 13 interceptions for his career and he needs four more this season to tie the school-record of 17 set back in 2006 by Jon Klosner.
Senior captain Jon Treen (Ilion, NY/Ilion) made 11 stops for the Pioneers, while Brandon Burnham (Fulton, NY/Mexico) added ten tackles of his own. Junior defensive end Nick Woodman (Utica, NY/Proctor) recorded his fourth sack of the season and he now has 8.5 for his career.
The Brockport defense was led by 14 tackles for Jake Brickler, while Matt Szymanski added eight solo stops.
UC kicker Thomas Woodburn (West Islip, NY/West Islip) made five extra points on the afternoon and broke the College's all-time record for extra points in a career. He now has 62 in three seasons, breaking the previous record of 61 which was held by Casey McNulty '09.
The Pioneers were a perfect 6-for-6 in red zone chances, while holding Brockport to a 1-for-2 effort inside the 20 yard line.
Utica returns to action on the road next Saturday at nationally-ranked No. 19 Ithaca College. The contest is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Brockport will take a week off before returning home to take on Frostburg State in conference play on October 11 at 1 p.m.
Utica Improves to 4-0 After Empire 8 Victory Over Brockport
/seasons/2014/boxscores/20140927_unzx.xml
2014
Brockport
28
Utica
42
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brockport (2-2) | 7 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
| Utica (4-0) | 21 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
Sep 27, 2014
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