SALISBURY, Md. – Utica College senior quarterback Connor Butkiewicz (Southington, CT/Southington) completed 26-of-39 passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns, but it was not enough as host Salisbury outscored UC 22-0 in the final 20:51 of action to pull away for a 36-19 victory over the Pioneers in Empire 8 Conference action Saturday.
Senior wide receiver Anthony Acevedo (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) caught eight passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns, while Jerred Beniquez (Port Ewen, NY/Kingston) added eight catches for 112 yards as the Pioneers dropped their second straight conference contest. Acevedo, the College's all-time leading receiver, eclipsed 3,000 receiving yards for his career as he now has 3,006 in just under four seasons at UC. He also became the first player in school-history to catch over 200 career passes, as he now has 205.
Utica's record moved to 4-2 overall and 2-2 in Empire 8 play headed into a key conference game against St. John Fisher College back at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium next Saturday (1 p.m.). The contest will be a part of the College's Homecoming festivities and it will also be televised live on Time Warner Cable Sports. Next weekend's game will mark the Pioneers annual Coach to Cure MD contest as they help to raise awareness and research funding for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
The Pioneers led 19-14 with 8:18 left in the third quarter after Acevedo caught a 62-yard touchdown pass, his second score of the day, to cap a four-play, 72-yard scoring drive. Salisbury answered on its next possession with a seven-play, 74-yard drive, capped by a nine-yard rushing touchdown from Jerome Johnson, to give the home squad a three point advantage with just under 21 minutes left in regulation. Johnson finished the day with seven carries for 80 yards for the Sea Gulls.
Salisbury quarterback John Dunbar went on to score two more rushing touchdowns in the final 19 minutes of action to seal the 17 point conference victory for the Sea Gulls. Dunbar finished the day with 23 carries for 75 yards and three touchdown runs. He also added three completions for 111 yards.
The Pioneers had two costly turnovers late in the game, that both led to Salisbury scores, to essentially put the game out of reach. Butkiewicz threw his first interception of the season with 5:13 to go in the third quarter, just after Salisbury took the 22-19 lead. Then, trailing 29-19 with 12:36 to go in the contest, the Pioneers were threatening with the ball on the Salisbury six yard line and a third down scoring chance. Unfortunately for the Pioneers, the home team forced a Utica fumble and the Sea Gulls recovered it, leading to a 13-play 95-yard scoring drive that spanned 7:27 in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring on the day.
Utica senior running back Jesse Baldassare (Mt. Sinai, NY/Mt. Sinai) carried the ball 16 times for 61 yards and one score. A 24-yard touchdown carry by Baldassare with 9:09 left in the first quarter gave the Pioneers an early 7-0 advantage in the contest.
Salisbury tied the game up on the ensuing possession, but the Pioneers were able to respond on their first play after the Salisbury kickoff, to take the lead right back, 13-7, at the 5:13 mark of the first quarter. Acevedo and Butkiewicz connected on a slant route and Acevedo broke away for the 45 yard score to put the Pioneers up by six in the first quarter.
Sophomore linebacker Juwan Wilson (South Ozone Park, NY/Holy Cross) totaled a team-high 14 tackles for Utica, while Brandon Burnham (Fulton, NY/Mexico) added 13 tackles and a half sack. Senior captain Jon Treen (Ilion, NY/Ilion) also chipped in with 12 tackles (10 solo) for the Pioneers. Junior defensive end Nick Woodman (Utica, NY/Proctor) made 11 tackles and added a half sack and classmate Mike Sullivan (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) added 10 tackles on the day for the Utica defense.
It was a big offensive day for both squads. Salisbury stuck with its traditional option offense and racked up 402 total yards on the ground, while the Pioneers totaled 453 yards of total offense (367 passing, 86 rushing).
Utica's Jerred Beniquez (Port Ewen, NY/Kingston) added four kick returns for a total of 94 yards on the afternoon to finish the day with a team-best 206 all-purpose yards.
QUICK HITTERS: Anthony Acevedo (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford)'s 178 yards receiving is the 4th most receiving yards in a single game in program-history … Acevedo also moved into a second place tie on the College's all-time scoring list as he now has 132 career points, tying 2013 graduate Jake Larson (Bemus Point, NY/Maple Grove) … Butkiewitz's 367 yards passing is the second-most yards he has thrown for in a single game in his career … Jerred Beniquez (Port Ewen, NY/Kingston) moved into eighth place all-time at UC with 1,669 career all-purpose yards … He also became just the second player in program-history to register 1,000+ career kick return yards as he now has 1,030 kick return yards in less than two full seasons at UC …Nick Woodman (Utica, NY/Proctor) now has ten career sacks and needs one more sack to move into sole possession of fourth place on the College's all-time list.
Salisbury Pulls Away to Down Utica in Empire 8 Play
/seasons/2014/boxscores/20141011_1v4g.xml
2014
Utica
19
Salisbury
36
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utica (4-2) | 13 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 19 |
| Salisbury (3-2) | 14 | 0 | 15 | 7 | 36 |
Oct 11, 2014