ONEONTA, NY – Despite a lead after three quarters, the Hartwick football team saw a win in their Empire 8 opener just slip through their grasp, as they dropped a tough 16-10 decision to visiting Utica. The loss drops the Hawks to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in conference, while Utica is 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the Empire 8.
The day could not have started out better for 'Wick, as on the game's first play from scrimmage Nelon Priest (Schenectady, NY/Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons) picked off Utica quarterback Sonny Badyna' long heave to set the Hawks up at their own 15. The Hawks immediately started driving, with rushes of seven and eight yards from Davien Kuinlan (Bethpage, NY/Plainedge) and Kyle Szokoli (Greenlawn, NY/Elwood John H. Glenn) 16-, 17-, and 21-yard completions to Justin LoBasso (honesdale, PA/Honesdale), Kuinlan, and Justice Mansfield-Beaulieu (Hartford, CT/Bloomfield) respectively. The drive ended up stalling out, however, as some trickery saw a pass from wide receiver Jason Fucci (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon) fall short of Szokoli on 4th and 5 at the Utica 25.
The teams then traded possessions for a while, with the only drive that was not a three-and-out coming from the home side later on in the first quarter. It was the visitors that broke the ice, however, midway through the second quarter. A plethora of James Salles rushes did the bulk of the work, and standout kicker Maki Medici made it count with a 45-yard field goal with 6:55 on the clock.
The Hawks evened things up right away, coming away with three on their next drive, although they left four points on the board that would come back to haunt them later. Starting on their own 25, Szokoli found Nate Rath (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley) up the middle and he took off, racing all the way down to the Utica 16 for a 59-yard gain. A sideline interference penalty on the Pioneers gave the Hawks 1st and goal at the eight yard-line. A defensive pass interference call in the endzone a couple plays later set 'Wick up with 1st and goal from the two. A trio of Kuinlan rushes did not do the trick, and on 4th down Kevin Roberts (Montgomery, NY/Valley Central) came out for the chip shot field goal from 23 yards out with 3:30 left in the half.
The Pioneers took it right back to the Hawks on the next drive, using a 31-yard Tim Hogan kickoff return and an extra 15 yards tacked on for unsportsmanlike conduct as a springboard for a drive that started at their opponents 47. A mix of Salles and Hogan rushes eventually set Utica up at the Hartwick 21 on fourth down, and Medici came on again for a 38-yard field goal with 48 seconds remaining. At the half, the Pioneers led 6-3.
Szokoli and Rath again connected to start the opening drive of the second half, this time for 20 yard to the Hartwick 45. The Hawks continued to drive, but were eventually stalled out after Utica's Kwasi Addo took down Szokoli for a 15-yard loss, bringing Hartwick all the way back to the Pioneers' 46. Hartwick was forced to punt two plays later.
That Nick Andrade (Shelton, CT/Shelton) punt was downed at the Utica 6, and set up a field-position game that nearly paid off for Hartwick on their next drive. After Justice Mansfield-Beaulieu (Hartford, CT/Bloomfield) fumbled the ball (but recovered it) on Utica's punt, he made up for it with a 28-yard gain on the ensuing drive's first play. 'Wick could not keep the ball moving, however, and this time Roberts pushed a 36-yard try wide right.
After a 22-yard Salles rush was wiped out for a holding penalty on the next Pioneers' drive, Hartwick started their next offensive drive from the 20-yard line. As they did all day, 'Wick picked up a big gain on their first play of the drive. This time, Szokoli and Kuinlan connected for a 23-yard gain. A couple plays later, Szokoli found LoBasso for a 15-yard gain and a roughing the passer penalty on the Pioneers put the Hawks at 1st and 10 from the Utica 27. One play later, Szokoli fired one up the middle to Rath, who found a seam and powered his way into the end zone. A Roberts extra point gave Hartwick a 10-6 advantage with 1:18 to play in the third.
The Pioneers would not go down quietly, however, as Badyna completions to Nate Palmer (17 yards) and Joey Nare (22 and 21 yards) gave Utica 1st and 10 from the Hartwick 17. Hartwick's defense stood tall from there, however, forcing a 29-yard Medici field goal to make the score 10-9 with 11:32 remaining. Hartwick had a pair of double-digit gains on their next drive, but were forced to punt from their own 45. It could have been worse, whoever, as on 3rd and 15 Szokoli was sacked by Jimmie Warren and fumbled, but Kuinlan jumped on it for a four-yard loss.
Starting from their own 28 with 7:53 on the clock, Badyna and co. faced a critical 3rd and 7 from their 31. They converted, as the junio quarterback found Travis Decker for 14 yards and a first down. The turning point of the game came two plays later, and a 2nd and four from the Hartwick 49. Badyna lofted one down the left sideline that looked like it might be a spectacular leaping pick by Jake Ely, but it just slipped through his hands and into the hands of Nare for a 31-yard gain. Salles took the next play up the gut for an 18-yard score and, after a Medici PAT, a 16-10 lead with 5:17 remaining.
Szokoli connected with LoBasso for 12 yards to begin the next Hartwick drive, but an incompletion and a sack left the Hawks with a must-convert 3rd and 19 from their own 28. Head Coach Mark Carr called timeout to think it over, and perhaps say a little prayer, because on the next play Szokoli found Rath for 40 yards up the left sideline. In a bit of symmetry to the prior drive, this pass too was nearly picked off but slipped through the hands of Jamel Smith and into the hands of Rath, who wrestled his defender for the ball. Hartwick could not make it stick, however, as a Szokoli effort to Mansfield-Beaulieu on 4th and 10 resulted in a turnover on downs.
The Hawks gave themselves one more chance, forcing a Utica three-and-out on their next drive. It looked like they may have squandered it as the first play of the drive was a Szokoli pick into the hands of Utica's Addo. For some reason, Addo did not immediately go down, and the Hawks took advantage as Kyle Berry (Hamburg, NY/Wallkill Valley Regional) forced a fumble that Rath recovered on the Hartwick 17. Ultimately, 'Wick could not take advantage of the second chance in the 57 seconds they were allotted, and a Kuinlan desperation heave on the game's final play was intercepted and immediately downed.
Szokoli had a career day, throwing 41 times and picking up 22 completions for 378 yards as well as one touchdown. Kuinlan did the bulk of the rushing, with 18 attempts for 49 yards. Rath led the Hawks receiving corps with a game-high 146 yards on four receptions (one a touchdown), while Mansfield-Beaulieu snagged six catches for 104 yards of his own. LoBasso also had six receptions, his for 70 yards.
Defensively, Charles Virella (Staten Island, NY/Port Richmond) led the way with eight tackles (six solo). Jack Colbath (Monroe, NY/Monroe Woodbury) had seven tackles, 2.5 of which went for a loss and one of which was a sack. Jeremy Gerdvil (East Northport, NY/Northport) was the only other Hawk with more than five tackles, as he had six (three solo).
As a team, the Hawks' heavily outgained the Pioneers, 373 to 260, including 378 to 155 in the air. Some of that difference has to do with Utica's robust special teams game, as they generally set themselves up with better field position than the Hawks. Time of possession was in Hartwick's favor, at 32:45 to 27:15.
'Wick looks to bounce back next week, as they'll travel to Alfred on Saturday, October 9 for a 5 p.m. kickoff.
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