UTICA, NY - Pioneer football returned from a well-deserved bye week on Saturday afternoon, heading down to the Southern Tier to face a tough Alfred University Saxon squad. In the matchup, the successful Pioneer secondary reigned supreme, picking off the Saxons' senior signal caller on three different occasions while holding Alfred to just 10-29 passing and allowing only 55 total passing yards. Thanks to their dominance of the airways, the orange and blue secured a 51-28 road victory.
Utica improved to 5-2 with the win, also advancing to 3-1 in conference play. Alfred University fell to 3-4 on the season, also dropping to 1-3 in the Empire 8.
Saturday Spotlight: The Pioneers' biggest area of strength on Saturday was a superb defensive effort, more specifically from the secondary, where the team created a no-fly zone for all 60 minutes of play. Mason Payton, Jah-Kobiah Cancer, and Eli Douglas all notched interceptions in the game, while Payton also added three pass breakups in the game. With Payton and Cancer locking up the sidelines, Douglas and the heart of the Pioneer defense were able to halt any Saxon momentum in its tracks.
The trio of defensive backs also headed up an effort that limited Alfred University quarterback Chris Kelly, to just 23 passing yards. Kelly has been averaging 179 yards through his first six games of the year, meaning the Pioneers held him to 156 yards under his average. Even with the introduction of backup Caleb Eastman into the mix, the visitors allowed just 32 passing yards from the Saxons' latter quarterback.
In coverage, the Pioneers held Alfred's leading receiver, Jonye Rosebury Jr. to just 22 receiving yards, while no other Alfred University player accrued more than 10 total receiving yards in the game. Alfred racked up just over 200 total yards with 201 yards of offense, however, thanks to a great showing all around, the Pioneers put up 505 yards of offense, outgaining the hosts by 304 yards as they doubled up Alfred's offensive output.
Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter
6:57 | 3-0 UTC | Nico Duarte - 22-yard field goal - 7 plays, 42 yards (3:32)
5:02 | 10-0 UTC | Mason Mascari - 39-yard fumble return (Nico Duarte XP)
2nd Quarter
13:25 | 16-0 UTC | Matthew Pallouras - 2-yard rush - 10 plays, 61 yards (5:06)
11:24 | 23-0 UTC | Tyler Szalkowski - 1-yard rush (Nico Duarte XP) - 3 plays, 38 yards (1:09)
2:08 | 30-0 UTC | Logan Frederick - 6-yard pass from Tyler Szalkowski (Nico Duarte XP) - 8 plays, 63 yards (4:07)
0:29 | 30-7 UTC | Steven Bidwell - 1-yard rush (Dominic Broco XP) - 5 plays, 26 yards (1:30)
3rd Quarter
9:41 | 37-7 UTC | Eze Frazier - 7-yard pass from Tyler Szalkowski (Nico Duarte XP) - 6 plays, 75 yards (3:13)
6:53 | 44-7 UTC | Eze Frazier - 13-yard rush (Nico Duarte XP) - 3 plays, 26 yards (1:21)
1:55 | 44-14 UTC | Steven Bidwell - 8-yard rush (Dominic Bronco XP) - 7 plays, 59 yards (2:47)
0:53 | 44-21 UTC | Tommy Nyquist - 1-yard rush (Dominic Bronco XP) - 1 play, 1 yard (0:04)
4th Quarter
5:35 | 51-21 UTC | Jani Strong - 23-yard run (Nico Duarte XP) - 7 plays, 87 yards (5:04)
1:39 | 51-28 UTC | Lucas Freeland - 8-yard pass from Caleb Eastman (Dominic Bronco XP) - 9 plays, 69 yards (3:50)
Offensive Highlights: The Pioneer offense had everything clicking on Saturday. Utica rushed for 144 yards, passed for 361 yards, and held the ball for nearly 36 minutes as they drove up and down the field. The orange and blue attack also averaged 7.5 yards per play and scored on all six of its redzone trips, being efficient near the endzone.
Despite a massive day from the aerial attack, the Pioneers turned their sights towards a rush-heavy offense when near the goal line, as four different players notched rushing touchdowns on the afternoon. Eze Frazier led the rushing effort, racking up 96 yards on 17 carries, averaging 5.6 yards per rush while also gaining a rushing score. Frazier also posted a total scrimmage yards total of 126, as he proved to be a reliable outlet option with five catches for 30 yards and a passing score.
A pair of Pioneer quarterbacks, Tyler Szalkowski and Matthew Pallouras, each nabbed rushing touchdowns in the game, with Pallouras reaching paydirt on a Raven set selection, and Szalkowski breaking the plane via a tush push. Jani Strong rounded out the ground game, using a 23-yard run to put the game away and secure his touchdown.
Speaking of Szalkowski, the bye week did nothing to slow down his offensive momentum, as he kept up his premier passing numbers, going 24-33 with 351 passing yards and two touchdowns. It was the Rochester native's fourth game of the year with over 300 passing yards. He has also thrown under 250 passing yards in just one singular game, a 249-yard performance against Morrisville before the bye week.
Szalkowski's most dangerous target this weekend was a returning Logan Frederick, who saw his first game action since being named to the D3football.com Team of the Week after a big outing against Cortland a few weeks ago. Frederick was fast to maintain his stellar form, catching eight passes for a game-high 124 yards and a touchdown. He once again put up one of the best weeks for any tight end in all of Division III.
Also having a big day in the receiving game was Antonio Cianfarani, who hauled in four passes for 91 yards, averaging well over 20 yards per catch.
Defensive Highlights: On the other side of the ball, plenty of Pioneer defenders had solid outings in an impressive, combined effort.
Aside from the secondary, the Pioneer linebackers had busy afternoons, as the central duo of Ceejay Newton and Isaiah Thomas each had a team-high seven tackles. Newton, the explosive senior, saw all seven of his takedowns be recorded as solo tackles. Thomas also notched a quarterback hurry in the game.
Mason Mascari had the play of the afternoon, scooping up a fumble and returning it 39 yards to the house for the Pioneers' first touchdown of the afternoon. His return gave him the 10th most fumble return yards in a single game in program history and set the defensive tone for the rest of the afternoon.
Sophomore linebacker Brady Rhatigan had a breakout outing on Saturday, getting four tackles (three solo) and a powerful sack to shut down a Saxon drive midway through the game. That sack was the first of Rhatigan's career.
Also adding a sack was Nicholas DeForrest, who finished with two solo tackles and a quarterback hurry. DeForrest, in his first season as a top edge rusher, has racked up 5.5 tackles for loss so far this season.
Douglas, in addition to his interception, also logged six tackles in the game, with four of them being solo takedowns.
The Saxons were stumped on Saturday, averaging just 1.9 yards per play and converting on five of their 14 third-down attempts.
The Specialists: Nico Duarte nailed six of his seven PATs, with his lone miss coming due to an Alfred block. Devin Taylor only punted once in the game, sending his lone boot 41 yards.
Who's Next?: The Pioneers will return to Gaetano Stadium next weekend, meeting a resurgent St. John Fisher squad in this year's Mohawk Valley Challengers Bowl presented by Human Technologies. Both teams will enter next Saturday with 5-1 records and 3-1 Empire 8 marks. Saturday's game will kick off at 1:00 PM in Utica, New York.