UTICA, NY - The Utica University football team completed its regular season home slate on Saturday afternoon with a Senior Day stomping of Hartwick College, outgaining the Hawks by over 400 yards in a 64-7 thrashing to move to a perfect 5-0 at Gaetano Stadium.
The Pioneers improved their record to 7-2 on the season, also moving to 5-1 in the Empire 8, holding onto sole possession of second place. The Hawks, meanwhile, fell to 3-6 on the season, dropping to 1-6 in conference.
Saturday Spotlight: The Pioneers saw a standout effort from nearly all units in the big victory, but it was the Pioneer defense that managed to pressure the Hawks enough to force four turnovers and a safety in just the first quarter alone.
Three interceptions and a scoop n' score by Nicholas DeForrest helped the Pioneers go from zero points to 30 points in just an eight-minute span as the hosts opened up a massive lead in the blink of an eye to cap off the first quarter of play.
The quickness of the Pioneer defense forced the Hawks into numerous mistakes in the first quarter, resulting in a lightning-quick lead to start the game. This all came after an opening drive that saw the Hawks push down inside the Utica 20-yard line, with the young Pioneer defense battling well against adversity.
Thanks to the trio of interceptions by Luke Sheldon, Isaiah Thomas, and Eli Douglas, the Pioneers never looked back as they controlled the game for the entire outing following these key turnovers.
Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter
8:03 | 7-0 UTC | Nicholas DeForrest - 16-yard fumble recovery (Nico Duarte XP)
6:42 | 14-0 UTC | Bryce Palmer - 14-yard pass from Tyler Szalkowski (Nico Duarte XP) - 3 plays, 15 yards, (0:54)
5:52 | 16-0 UTC | Hartwick safety
5:36 | 23-0 UTC | Bryce Palmer - 42-yard pass from Tyler Szalkowski (Nico Duarte XP) - 1 play, 42-yard pass (0:09)
0:13 | 30-0 UTC | Logan Frederick - 8-yard pass from Tyler Szalkowski (Nico Duarte XP) - 7 plays, 47 yards (3:21)
2nd Quarter
11:42 | 36-0 UTC | Logan Frederick - 1-yard pass from Matthew Pallouras - 4 plays, 99 yards (2:17)
3rd Quarter
7:41 | 43-0 UTC | Eze Frazier - 4-yard pass from Tyler Szalkowski (Nico Duarte XP) - 11 plays, 84 yards (7:13)
4th Quarter
14:50 | 50-0 UTC | Eze Frazier - 30-yard rush (Nico Duarte XP) - 9 plays, 78 yards (6:08)
8:24 | 57-0 UTC | Tyler Hall - 18-yard rush (Nico Duarte XP) - 4 plays, 56 yards (2:37)
3:13 | 64-0 UTC | Tony Dorozynski - 29-yard pass from Nazir Smith (Nico Duarte XP) - 5 plays, 51 yards (2:37)
1:41 | 64-7 UTC | Miles Perry - 29-yard pass from Dennis Riordan (Matteo Broun XP) - 4 plays, 73 yards (1:23)
Offensive Highlights: The Pioneer offense reached its highest level yet during a 64-point outing that saw the team outgain its opposition by 427 yards. Indeed, the orange and blue poured it on as they accrued 563 total yards on offense compared to just 136 by the visiting Hawks. Not only were the raw numbers outstanding, but the fashion in which the Pioneer offense performed was also a big factor in this being the most explosive outing of the year.
The team had by far its best rushing performance of the season on Saturday, racking up 257 yards in the ground game. This was notable due to the change in strategy that the team employed as the game progressed, with the Pioneers switching from a quick passing attack to a more possession-based offense, given their large halftime lead. The team succeeded in any offensive endeavor during the afternoon, launching deep passes in the first half, before mounting multiple 6+ minute drives to wrap up the action.
Three different Pioneers scored multiple touchdowns on the afternoon, with Bryce Palmer, Logan Frederick, and Eze Frazier each recording two straight touchdowns at different times in the action.
Palmer had an outstanding day, recording game highs in receptions (eight) and receiving yards (112), while snagging two touchdowns in the first quarter.
Frederick wasn't far behind, tying Palmer for a game-high in receptions (eight) while amassing 52 yards and his two scores.
Antonio Cianfarani rounded out the top three pass catchers for the Pioneers, succeeding on his Senior Day with five catches for 71 yards.
Tony Dorozynski also found paydirt late in the matchup, mossing multiple defenders in the endzone to connect with Nazir Kelly on a 29-yard touchdown catch.
Frazier proved to be a versatile asset for the Pioneers, rushing 11 times for 79 yards and a score, while also breaking the plane on his only catch of the day, an eight-yard receiving touchdown. The Pioneers' lead back averaged 7.1 yards per carry in the matchup.
Utica was also adept at utilizing its quarterback depth in the matchup, with all three of its suited-up signal callers producing memorable moments in the conference tilt.
Tyler Szalkowski continued his otherworldly campaign, going 25-31 (80.6%) while passing for 269 yards and four touchdowns. The Rochester native continued to gain ground in the Pioneer record books, approaching numerous single-season program records. He currently ranks 6th in completions (222 - 32 away), 2nd in passing yards (2963 - 244 away), and 3rd in passing touchdowns (27 - four away).
Matthew Pallouras had what was perhaps the play of the day, breaking lose on a rush that started from the Pioneers' one-yard line as he set a program record for the longest rush in school history (97 yards - 90 previously). Pallouras finished with four rushes for 101 yards while also tossing a touchdown pass to Frederick in the second quarter.
Nazir Smith also saw some snaps on Saturday, showing his dual-threat ability as he rushed for 27 yards (5.5 per) and went 2-2 for 36 passing yards and a touchdown.
Tyler Hall rounded out the scoring for Utica, rushing in an 18-yard score late in the matchup.
The Pioneer line was also solid once again, not allowing Hartwick to gain a single sack in the win. This marks the fourth straight matchup in which the orange and blue offensive front hasn't allowed a single sack, with an October 4th matchup against Cortland being the last matchup in which an opposing player logged a QB takedown.
The moose-clad men averaged 8.8 yards per play on Saturday, also converting six of their 11 first downs, scoring on all five redzone trips, and holding the ball for an unbelievable 34 minutes and 24 seconds.
Defensive Highlights: Aside from the takeaways noted above, the Pioneer defense saw a very balanced effort in the win, as no player gathered more than four tackles in the game. Mekhi Bailey, Mason Miranowicz, and Austin DeGroat led the team in takedowns, while DeGroat put together a monster game in his own right, with the freshman also logging half a tackle for loss, two pass breakups, and a quarterback hurry.
DeForrest, Miranowicz, DeGroat, Jordyn Davis, and Ceejay Newton all gathered a quarterback hurry, showing how often the Pioneers were able to affect their opponents' throws. Javier Rivera-Leal also logged a pass breakup to further that note.
As a team, the Pioneer defense held Hartwick to under 100 yards passing and under 50 yards rushing, stalling the Oneonta-based squad as the visitors gained just 46 yards on the ground and 90 yards through the air. Hartwick went 2 for 11 on third down, while failing on their only fourth down chance.
The Specialists: Nico Duarte hit on eight of his nine PATs, with his lone miss coming due to a blocked kick. Devin Taylor punted twice in the matchup, averaging 54 yards per boot, including launching a colossal 62-yard punt to help the Pioneers flip the field early in the game. Taylor's 62-yard punt produced the field position that led to DeForrest's scoop n' score.
Who's Next?: The Pioneers will head to SUNY Brockport next week to wrap up the regular season. Kickoff is slated for 2:00 PM over in Brockport, New York. Keep an eye on our Utica Athletics social media outlets for updates on any additional