Football | 10/14/2023 3:53:00 PM
UTICA, NY - The Utica University football team (6-1, 2-1 Empire 8) got back on track collecting a 24-6 conference victory over SUNY Morrisville (2-5, 0-3 Empire 8) on Saturday afternoon.
Under center, Brett Fuller was 24-for-32 passing with 188 passing yards, 1 passing touchdown and a pair of interceptions. Sam Florio was great on the ground rushing 14 times for 69 yards and a touchdown. Matt Brantley rushed 12 times for 28 yards and was relentless in the receiving game, tallying a career-high 10 receptions for 44 yards. Travis Decker made his impact on today's game with three catches for 75 yards and one touchdown, with his longest reception being a 58-yard touchdown.
The defense was lockdown today amassing a season-high eight sacks which featured five players recording at least 0.5 a sack. John Stroughn led the way with nine tackles including five tackles for loss with three sacks. Doug Simmons was also a mainstay in the backfield recording five total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Anthony Fasano had nine total tackles with 1.5 sacks while Anthony Novello tallied six tackles and 0.5 a sack. Marco Baez also was credited with 0.5 a sack. Aedan McDonald made a stellar pick-six which he returned 14 yards to the house.
It was a scoreless first quarter, yet each team had its chances to put points on the board. Utica was driving and just outside of the red zone when Morrisville jumped on a fumble by Sam Florio at the 12:04 mark to keep the game knotted at 0-0. Utica forced a Mustangs punt and was driving at midfield again yet a pass by Fuller hit Brantley in the hands and was intercepted by the defense to end the Pioneers' drive. Each team had two more drives in the first yet could not muster any points, leaving the game tied 0-0 after one quarter of play.
The Pioneers made another stop and began driving again in the second quarter setting up a 40-yard field goal attempt for Corey Lichtman. The attempt was blocked by the Mustangs and returned for a touchdown to put them up 6-0 after a missed extra point. After a stalled drive for each team, McDonald returned an interception 14 yards to the house to give Utica a 7-6 edge halfway through the quarter after Lichtman's successful point after. The Pioneers took a 7-6 lead into halftime.
The Utica defense made another stand to begin the second half and its offense drove down the field, yet Lichtman could not convert a 42-yard field goal at the 10:03 mark. Yet, the Pioneer defense held strong again and got its offense the ball back quickly. Fuller aired one out to Decker who took it 58 yards for a touchdown to increase the Utica lead to 14-6 with 6:16 left in the frame. Morrisville responded with a 10-yard drive yet missed a 36-yard field goal and the score remained 14-6 after three quarters of play.
The fourth quarter featured two quick drives for each team before Utica put together a nine-play drive that was capped off by a 42-yard Lichtman field goal to push the lead to 17-6 Utica at the 5:22 mark. Utica's defense forced a turnover on downs and Florio punched in a rushing touchdown from 13 yards out to give the Pioneers a 24-6 edge after Lichtman's point after at the 2:39 mark. The Pioneer defense forced another quick drive and then it was victory formation to secure the 24-6 win.
Utica will hit the road to face Alfred University on Saturday, October 21 at noon.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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