UTICA, NY – The Utica College football team begins its 2017 season on Saturday as the Pioneers host St. Lawrence University in non-conference action at 7 p.m. at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.

Broadcast Info:  All Utica College football home games will be broadcast on the radio locally by Utica College's student radio station, WPNR 90.7 FM… Fans can also follow live video and stats provided by Pioneers All-Access: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/utica/.

"Orange Out": All spectators are encouraged to wear their Utica College Orange on Saturday night to support the Pioneers on game day. 

Taking a Look Back at 2016: The Pioneers wrapped up their 2016 campaign by tying a program-record with seven victories … UC made its second ECAC Bowl Game appearance in program-history and capped its season with a 7-4 overall ledger … Utica's banner year included five victories in Empire 8 Conference play (also tied a program-record) … The Pioneers topped three nationally ranked opponents in 2016 … On October 15th, Utica defeated Empire 8 rival St. John Fisher for the first time in program history, 23-6 … In the final regular season game against Hartwick, Utica outscored their opponent 27-9 in the second half to spark the 52-40 comeback victory that helped the Pioneers earn their second bowl game appearance in program history … Current assistant coach Ryan Burnett (Mount Vernon, NY/Arch Bishop Stepinac) ran for 995 yards on the year and 1,876 yards in his career to set new single season and career rushing records … Former wide receiver and current assistant coach Jerred Beniquez (Port Ewen, NY/Kingston) set a new single season record with 87 receptions … Juwan Wilson (South Ozone Park, NY/Holy Cross) recorded 103 tackles on the year and capped his career ranked second on the College's all-time list with 339 career tackles.

Building a Winning Tradition: Utica has now won at least five games in five of its last seven seasons … Head Coach Blaise Faggiano is now 44-48 entering his 10^th season at the helm. 

Season Opening Success: The Pioneers are 12-4 all-time in season-opening contests and they have started the year with a victory in eight consecutive seasons.

17^th Year of Football at UC: The football program is entering its 17^th season of existence … Proof of the program's maturation is that the Pioneers have posted a record of .500 or better in five of the last seven seasons … In 16 years, the Pioneers have racked up 62 victories, including 32 wins in the last six seasons alone.

Glance at the Schedule: The 2017 Utica College football schedule features five home games and five road contests … Four of the ten teams on the Pioneers schedule are either ranked or receiving votes in the D3football.com Preseason National Poll … Defending Empire 8 Champion Alfred University is ranked No. 21 nationally and St. John Fisher College is ranked No. 23, while St. Lawrence and Cortland are both receiving votes …  The schedule features three non-conference games against St. Lawrence, Catholic and Ithaca … The traditional Empire 8 Conference games include matchups against Alfred, Brockport, Hartwick, St. John Fisher, Buffalo State, Cortland and Morrisville.

Experienced Defense: The Pioneers return eight starters to the defensive side of the ball and several other key contributors will see plenty of action this upcoming season … The Pioneers secondary tied for the league lead with 17 interceptions last season and returning to the field this year will be key components including Chancellor Harris (West Henrietta, NY/Rush Henrietta), Anthony Beaubrun (West Hempstead, NY/West Hempstead), Anthony Bierria-Anderson (Freeport, NY/Freeport) and Matthew McCoy (Sherrill, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) … Utica's defensive line depth is stronger than ever with the return of standouts Nick Pizzarelli (Rockville Centre, NY/Oceanside), Jack Derby (Fonda, NY/Fultonville Fonda), Alfonzo Whitehurst (Baldwinsville, NY/Baldwinsville), Xyier Woodard (Albany, NY/LaSalle) and Nick Yelich (Lancaster, NY/Depew) … The linebacker corps will be led by veteran's Erik Lyndaker (Beaver River, NY/Beaver River), Ryan Oliver (Vernon Center, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill), Derrick Sekuterski (Depew, NY/Depew), Dehstin Smart (Paterson, NJ/Hackensack) and sophomore Antonio Scala (Coram, NY/Longwood). 

Lock Down Secondary: Defensive backs Chancellor Harris (West Henrietta, NY/Rush Henrietta) and Anthony Beaubrun (West Hempstead, NY/West Hempstead) both made their first Empire 8 All-Conference appearances last Fall …  Harris, a senior, finished the 2016 season ranked fifth in the Empire 8 with 11 passes defended … He totaled a team-high nine pass break ups and also added two interceptions …  Beaubrun led the team and finished tied for third in the Empire 8 with four interceptions … He also finished fourth on the team with a career-high 46 tackles for the Pioneers … Senior captains Anthony Bierria-Anderson (Freeport, NY/Freeport) and Matthew McCoy (Sherrill, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) provide plenty of leadership on the defensive side of the ball … Bierria-Anderson finished the 2016 season ranked second on the team with 67 total tackles … He added three interceptions and broke up three passes … He now has 20 career games played and has totaled 101 tackles, four interceptions and five pass breakups … McCoy has 28 games under his belt and has 83 career tackles to go along with six interceptions and 20 pass breakups.  

Captains: The Pioneers 2017 captains include Anthony Bierria-Anderson (Freeport, NY/Freeport) and senior cornerback Matthew McCoy (Sherrill, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) on the defensive side of the ball … The offensive captains are junior center Dan Busold (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) and junior running back Malcolm Stowe (Coram, NY/Longwood).

Old School Running Game: Utica features an extremely deep rushing attack this season with several players who could see multiple touches out of the backfield … Junior Malcolm Stowe (Coram, NY/Longwood) has played in 17 games for the Pioneers and he has 115 career rushes for 413 yards and three touchdowns … Sophomore Brad Dougherty (Rome, NY/RFA) will see his first varsity action this season and is currently second on the two-deep at the running back position … Sophomore Lindell Reed (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) returns after a dominating season in 2016 … As a freshman Reed tied the school-record with 12 rushing touchdowns (63 carries, 234 yards) … Senior All-American sprinter Nicodemus Gambill (Rochester, NY/East High) will likely earn carries out of the backfield as well as sophomore Tahj Clark (Medford, NY/Longwood). 

Deep at Defensive Line: The Pioneers will rotate a minimum of eight players on the defensive line this season … The crew will be led by senior's Alfonzo Whitehurst (Baldwinsville, NY/Baldwinsville) and Nick Yelich (Lancaster, NY/Depew) … Yelich played in 10 games last season and posted 26 tackles to go along with 1.5 sacks and one interception … Junior Xyier Woodard (Albany, NY/LaSalle) returns after posting 3.5 sacks in 2016 … Sophomore's Nick Pizzarelli (Rockville Centre, NY/Oceanside), Jack Derby (Fonda, NY/Fultonville Fonda), Robbie Schempp (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas), Keanu Heedram (Rochester, NY/Rush-Henrietta) and Joe Saladino (Selden, NY/Newfield) will also see plenty of action on the d-line … Pizzarelli posted 29 tackles and 2.0 sacks as a freshman, while Derby added 26 tackles and 2.5 tackles for a loss.

Dangerous Return Game: Senior kick returner Nicodemus Gambill (Rochester, NY/East High)haunted opposing special teams coordinators all season last year, earning an All-Conference second team selection as well as D3football.com All-Region recognition … The Track & Field All-America posted a single-season school-record 711 kick return yards in 2016 ... He returned two kickoffs for a touchdown against Morrisville and Alfred … His average of 32.3 yards per kick return led the Empire 8 and ranked fifth nationally … He also set a new school-record with a 99 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. 

Fresh Faces Under Center: The Pioneers enter the 2017 season with a competition for the starting quarterback position … The current front runners include sophomore's Peyton Miller (Chemung, NY/Waverly) and Vinny Aloi (Chester, NY/Chester Academy) … The Pioneers will look to replace 2016 graduate Teddy Van Galen who graduated ranked second on the College's all-time list in career passing yards (5,465), completions (447) and TD passes (30).

Offensive Line:  The Pioneers will rely heavily on its offensive line this season and look to improve upon a 2016 team that averaged 26.91 points per contest … The Pioneers totaled 4,168 yards of total offense last season … The front five includes left tackle Tyree Coble (Buffalo, NY/Bishop Timon), left guard Michael Brancato (Staten Island, NY/Saint Peters), center Dan Busold (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa), right guard Ryan Alphonse (Rock Tavern, NY/Washingtonville) and right tackle Matthew Nell (Vernon, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill). 

All-Time Against St. Lawrence: Saturday's matchup marks the fifth season opening contest and sixth meeting overall between the two programs … The Pioneers are 3-2 all-time against St. Lawrence … UC topped the Saints 40-7 in their most recent matchup back in 2012 at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium … The Pioneers also defeated SLU 48-35 back in 2011 ... UC has defeated St. Lawrence in three straight meetings ('10, '11, '12).

Scouting St. Lawrence: St. Lawrence (9-1 Overall, 6-1 Liberty League) capped its 2016 season in a tie for the Liberty League championship with Hobart … Hobart won the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with their win over the Saints in the regular season … Senior quarterback Sean Richardson returns under center for the Saints after setting school-records for passing yards (2,457), total offense (2,954) and rushing yards by a quarterback (497) last season … Junior running back Rodrick Payne returns to the backfield after he led the Saints rushing attack with 732 yards and three touchdowns while also contributing 20 receptions for 165 yards and a touchdown … Wide receiver Vincenzo Ferraro returns as one of the top receivers in the Liberty League ranking second in the league in yards (831), receptions (55), yards per game (103.9) and receptions per game (6.9) last year … Ryan Byrne returns to the defensive line for the Saints after earning an all-conference nod in 2016 … Byrne ranked fifth on the team with 43 tackles and was second on the squad with 4.5 sacks … Linebacker Skyler Williamson was the team's leading tackler with 92 stops last year, including team bests of 53 solo and 39 assisted tackles.