Football | 9/11/2021 6:01:00 PM
UNION, NJ - The Utica College football team improved its record to 2-0 on Saturday. The Pioneers had another strong second half to break a 7-7 halftime tie, as they scored the final 21 points of the game in the second half to secure a non-conference win by a 27-7 score over host Kean University at Alumni Stadium in Union, New Jersey.
The game was Utica's first-ever regular season meeting with Kean.
Defense was the order of the day for the Pioneers. UC held Kean to just 203 yards of total offense, including just 78 passing yards. The Pioneers put up six quarterback sacks to continue a strong pass rush trend from their week one win. Utica also scored three takeaways, two by way of interception, and a third by way of a fumble. The Cougar offense was held to just a 3-of-16 clip on third down.
Utica had a balanced offensive showing with 284 yards of total offense. 173 of those yards came through the air, while 111 came on the ground. The Pioneer offensive line kept Sonny Badyna clean all afternoon, as the unit did not allow a sack.
Jimmie Warren was the top performer on the Pioneer defense. The senior linebacker had a team-best nine tackles, which included 2.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. He also broke up a pass. Graduate student Devin Bryant recorded six tackles and an interception, and Anthony McDonald also posted a six tackle afternoon. John Stroughn and Kwasi Addo each had five tackles and two tackles for loss. Dan Amady added an interception, and Darius Johnson recovered a fumble.
On offense, Sonny Badyna had another effective afternoon at quarterback. He had 178 yards on 15-of-28 passing, and threw two touchdown passes. He also rushed for another score. Wide receiver Nate Palmer was the team's leading rusher with 60 net yards rushing, and rushed for a 62 yard touchdown in the first quarter.
On special teams, Joey Nare had 74 punt return yards, and Nate Palmer had a 15 yard punt return. That tandem helped Utica maintain strong starting field position all afternoon. In the second half alone, UC started four offensive series ahead of the 50-yard line.
After getting Kean to punt on the opening series, the Pioneers offense struck quickly. On just the third play of their opening series, they sent Nate Palmer across the field as a motion man. Badyna handed it off for the end-around, and Palmer turned the corner around his blockers and sprinted to the end zone for a 62 yard score. The kick from Medici was good, and Utica led 7-0 with 10:56 left in the first quarter.
Kean responded before the end of the frame. With the Cougars facing a 4th down situation with 21 yards to go, quarterback Antonio Scott completed a 26 yard pass to Jake Zerillo to find the endzone and tie the game through the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter would be a defensive showcase, with no points scored, and three interceptions between the two teams.
The teams traded punts to start the second half, with the Pioneers getting a big boost in the field position battle to help take the lead. After Utica punted to start the half, the defense forced the Cougars to punt from their own 30 yard line. Palmer got a 15 yard return, and a 15 yard penalty on the Cougars moved Utica into prime real estate at the Kean 40-yard line. From there, it took Utica just four plays to collect the go-ahead score. On a fourth-and-five, the offense stayed on the field and took to the skies to make it happen. Badyna dropped back and tossed a 35 yard touchdown pass to Matt Brantley to put Utica up 14-7.
The Pioneers threatened to get even more points out of the third quarter as wide receiver Joey Nare ripped off a terrific 32-yard punt return to the Kean 31 yard line, but the offense went three-and-out and an ambitious 48-yard field goal try by Cory Lichtman did not find the mark as Utica maintained a one-score lead going into the fourth.
Utica capitalized on a pair of short fields in the fourth quarter to pull away. After Nare pulled off another monstrous punt return of 37 yards to get UC to the Kean 9, Badyna took it the distance for a nine-yard rushing score for a two-touchdown lead. The final scoring play of the day happened when Kean fumbled at its own 15 yard line. Facing a 3rd and 9 at the 14 yard line, Badyna flighted a pass to Elijah Parker for the touchdown, and the Pioneers put a bow on a commanding 27-7 win.
The Pioneers will return to Gaetano Stadium for their 2021 home opener on Saturday, September 18th, as they host Western New England. The game kicks off at 6 p.m.