UTICA, NY - Pioneer football picked up a huge victory on Saturday against a plucky Lycoming College squad. Utica started slow, but eventually blew the game wide open with a couple big plays, launching themselves to a 21-10 halftime lead. Despite another slow start in the second half, the Pioneers used a clutch pick-6 from Eli Douglas (Ausable Forks, NY/Ausable Valley) to pad the lead. James Salles (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon) and Jimmy Polito (Hull, MA/Hull) rumbled through the Warrior defense to put the final touches on a 42-17 bounce back victory for the Pioneers in their Teacher Appreciation and Coach to Cure MD Game sponsored by First Source Federal Credit Union.
The Pioneers demolished visiting Lycoming on the ground, running over the Warriors for a rushing total of 292 yards. Utica only registered 65 passing yards, but massive days from every single running back on the Utica depth chart ensured that the Pioneers would come away with an important victory. The entire roster of backs got in on the action for the hosts, with Matt Brantley (Rochester, NY/Eastridge) totaling 151 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns, James Salles (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon) rushing for 104 yards, and Jimmy Polito (Hull, MA/Hull) gaining 23 ground yards along with a touchdown. Every single time the Pioneer running backs toted the rock, the Warriors defense was in danger, as Brantley, Salles, and Polito all averaged over 7 yards per carry (Brantley 7.9, Salles 8.7, Polito 11.5).
Bryce Palmer (Verona, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) hauled in 2 catches for 37 yards and an incredible diving score, while Izzy Maldonado (Island Park, NY/Long Beach) also logged a touchdown grab late in the contest.
The Utica offense as a whole out-gained Lycoming by a total tally of 357 yards to 314 yards. The Warriors, despite having 43 less yards on the day, recorded 20 first downs as opposed to 19 first downs for the Pioneers.
The defense was also solid for Utica, only allowing 17 total points while also coming a few inches away from multiple turnovers. Utica managed 2 interceptions on the day, and was a few close plays away from even more takeaways.
The Pioneer line held it down, allowing the Warriors to rush for only 95 yards on 36 carries, an average yards per carry of 2.6. The Utica defensive line also caused havoc yet again in the opposing backfield. Norman Booth (Schenectady, NY/Schenectady) and John Stroughn (Baldwin, NY/Holy Trinity) each recorded sacks in the victory. Stroughn was dangerously close to even more QB takedowns, as he caused 4 QB hurries in the matchup.
Stroughn is inching closer and closer to Pioneer royalty, as the 5th-year is now 4 sacks away from the all-time Utica sack title.
Booth, in addition to his sack, also procured 10 tackles in the game. Booth, the reigning Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Week, appeared at the site of multiple huge stops during the entire bout.
Utica's secondary was all-encompassing on Saturday, breaking up myriad passing attempts and not allowing the Warrior offense to get into a rhythm until the game was already out of reach.
Three Pioneers recorded pass breakups in the victory, with Eli Douglas (Ausable Forks, NY/Ausable Valley) nabbing 2, while Denzere Woolcock (Schenectady, NY/Schenectady) and Karyll Rony-Dorceus (Jamaica Queens, NY/Christ the King) each had 1.
Douglas had the assignment of marking the Warriors #1 target in the passing game. Douglas displayed excellent coverage all day and was a couple inches away from having 2 interceptions at halftime. Despite posting a 0 at halftime in the takeaway department, it didn't take long for Douglas to find his moment, as he jumped a passing route and intercepted the Warriors quarterback in stride for a third quarter pick-6. Douglas also recorded 9 tackles on the day.
Freddie Callo (Milton, NY/Marlboro Central) had a perfect day from the spot, going 6-for-6 in PAT attempts.
Game Summary: Utica started off slow in the proceedings, stalling out in their first possession and struggling to move the ball in their second. Around 5 minutes into the contest is when the Pioneers started picking up steam with Brantley bursting outside the tackles for a 22-yard gain into Lycoming territory. The Brantley rush was immediately followed up by a 24-yard rush from Salles. An unsportsmanlike penalty for the Warriors on the ensuing play set the Pioneers up at the goalline, where a Matt Brantley (Rochester, NY/Eastridge) rush would tidy up the first touchdown drive of the day for Utica. Brantley and Salles compiled a combined 61 yards rushing on the scoring drive.
Utica forced a quick punt on the following Warrior drive on the backs of the Pioneer secondary who caused Lycoming signal-caller Will Fish to throw 3-straight incompletions.
The Pioneer offense went back to work, engineering a very similar drive to their first scoring possession. Brantley picked up a quick 25 yards via 2 strong totes and Salles immediately followed him up with 14 yards of his own. The Brantley-Salles one-two punch was on full display during Saturday's action. After the 4 efficient rushes, Utica took to the skies as Brett Fuller (Port Jervis, NY/Port Jervis) launched a ball deep into the Warrior endzone which was hauled in on a diving play by Bryce Palmer (Verona, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) for a 31-yard touchdown. Palmer extended just far enough to be able to secure and trap the ball as he simultaneously dove across the plane.
Now with a 14-0 cushion, the Pioneer defense mounted another quick and efficient stand, causing another three-and-out that was set into motion by a Norman Booth (Schenectady, NY/Schenectady) 4-yard sack.
Utica looked to make it 3 scores in 3 drives but ultimately fell short of their goal, enduring a three-and-out of their own.
It was Lycoming ball as the game moved to the second quarter of play. The Warriors drove deep into Utica territory, but the orange and blue mended their tactics and managed to force a 25-yard field goal from kicker Kyle Flack.
The Pioneer offense piloted another quick drive on their next possession. However, this one had a much better result than the last one, with Brantley finding a gap up the gut and turning on the jets for a 61-yard house call.
Lycoming responded with a 13-play 75-yard drive that lasted 6:22 and led to a Warriors touchdown.
The score remained 21-10 in the Pioneers' favor as the game reached halftime.
The Williamsport natives underwent a long opening drive to begin their comeback effort, but ended up stalling out after a couple hits and QB hurries from Booth and Doug Simmons (White Plains, NY/Archbishop Stepinac).
Utica and Lycoming traded possessions throughout the middle area of the third frame, with 4 punts being launched to start the second half.
Lycoming was looking for a huge opportunity to cut the lead late in the third quarter, when Eli Douglas (Ausable Forks, NY/Ausable Valley) sniffed out a Will Fish pass over the middle. Douglas, always lurking dangerously in the secondary, hopped on the opportunity and intercepted Fish's pass without losing any speed, promptly taking the turnover right into the endzone to balloon the lead to 28-10.
As the fourth quarter got underway, Utica was looking for one more push to put away their Week 3 opponent.
3 punts put a hold on the scoring for a couple minutes, before Lycoming found themselves deep in Utica territory after a fumbled punt by the Pioneers. Lycoming was forced to try a field goal in order to bring the game back within reach, but the ensuing kick found the mitt of Mason Miranowicz (Pine Bush, NY/Pine Bush), who sent the kick to the ground with a spectacular field goal block.
The block sprung the Utica offense to life, and the response was a 10-play, 74-yard drive that resulted in a Fuller-Maldonado connection to all but put the game away.
Lycoming managed to score one more time, but the combination of Salles and Jimmy Polito (Hull, MA/Hull) salted the clock and drained away the Warriors' chance at a comeback. The win was secured after Jimmy Polito (Hull, MA/Hull) sliced his way in for a 22-yard touchdown to bring the score to the eventual final tally at 42-17 Utica.
With the win, the Pioneers improved to 2-1 and will be on a bye next weekend as they prepare to open Empire-8 play at Hartwick on October 5th. After their bye, Utica will face Empire 8 opponents the rest of the way with the conference slate starting up in Oneonta for the aforementioned matchup.
Pioneer Ground Game Overwhelms Lycoming in 42-17 Victory
/seasons/2024/boxscores/20240921_d15r.xml
2024
Lycoming
17
Utica
42
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lycoming (1-2) | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Utica (2-1) | 14 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 42 |
Sep 21, 2024