BROCKPORT, NY- For the second week in a row, the Utica College football team captured a thrilling overtime victory, this time by way of a 22-19 defeat of host SUNY Brockport in Empire 8 Conference action Saturday evening. Senior Thomas Woodburn (West Islip, NY/West Islip) hit a 35-yard field goal on the Pioneers' first possession of overtime to lift UC to victory.
Utica improves to 4-2 overall and shares the top spot in the conference standings with a 3-1 record in the Empire 8. The Pioneers remain on the road next Saturday as they travel to St. John Fisher College. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Woodburn, who entered the game leading all of Division III football with an average of 2.20 field goals per game, finished the day going 5-for-5 on field goal attempts and also added an extra point to lead the Pioneers. With 16 points on the day, he passes Jeremy Meier '13 for first on the College's career points scoring list. Woodburn now has 206 points in his career, marking the first Pioneer to score at least 200 points in his career.
The Golden Eagles got on the board first as a one-yard run by Dan Andrews capped off an 11-play, 65-yard drive in the first quarter. The Pioneers rebounded to score two field goals in the second half to head into the locker room with a one-point deficit at halftime.
Brockport extended its lead to 13-6 in the third quarter with a 47-yard touchdown run by Andrews. The Pioneers responded with scores on the next two drives to take their first lead of the game. First, Ryan Burnett (Mount Vernon, NY/Arch Bishop Stepinac) punched in a one-yard run for his second touchdown of the season. UC went ahead with 1:43 remaining in the third quarter as Woodburn hit a career-best 44-yard field goal to give Utica the 16-13 ledger. 44 yards is the third-longest field goal in UC history.
The Golden Eagles regained the lead with 8:51 left in the fourth quarter as Andrews scored his third TD of the game. A failed two-point conversion kept the score at 19-16. It appeared that Brockport would add another score with just two minutes remaining as the Golden Eagles were within 11 yards of the goal line, however Derrick Sekuterski (Depew, NY/Depew) picked off a pass in the end zone to keep Utica's comeback hopes alive. A 63-yard drive set up a 34-yard Woodburn field goal with just one second remaining to send Utica into its third straight overtime.
The Utica defense came up huge in the overtime as the Pioneers caused the home team to turn the ball over on downs. Three rushes totaling seven yards by Burnett set up Woodburn's winning kick to send the Pioneers back to Utica with their second straight win.
Junior quarterback Teddy Van Galen completed 21 passes for 290 yards to pace the offense, while Burnett was Utica's top rusher with 18 carries for 54 yards and one TD.
Senior Alex DeRusso (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) led all wide outs with seven catches for 100 yards, while Jerred Beniquez (Port Ewen, NY/Kingston) also had seven grabs, totaling 81 yards. Senior Gregory Palmer (Richland, NY/APW) had the longest catch of the day, a 32-yard completion, and finished the day with two catches for 41 yards.
The defense was led by Juwan Wilson (South Ozone Park, NY/Holy Cross), who totaled a team-high 14 tackles, including 1.5 for a total loss of seven yards. Senior Nick Woodman (Utica, NY/Proctor) added to his career sack record with one sack on the evening. Woodman now sits atop the E8 standings with eight sacks this season and an average of 1.33 sacks per game.
Sekuterski and senior Mike Sullivan (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) each had nine tackles on the day, while Chance Harris (West Henrietta, NY/Rush Henrietta) and Anthony Bierria-Anderson (Freeport, NY/Freeport) combined for 15 tackles. Mike Kata (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon) came up big on the defensive line as he collected his second sack in as many games. Sophomore Matthew McCoy (Sherrill, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) also picked up his second interception of the year to aid the defense.
Utica Tops Brockport in OT
/seasons/2015/boxscores/20151010_h8bh.xml
2015
Utica
22
Brockport
19
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utica (4-2) | 0 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 22 |
| Brockport (3-2) | 7 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 19 |
Oct 10, 2015