Football | 9/14/2025 12:05:00 AM
UTICA, NY - Gaetano Field came to life once again on Saturday night for the annual Mastrovito Hyundai Believe Bowl, with the Utica University football team packing a ton of events and excitement into the home-opener of their 25th anniversary season. The most exciting part of the night? A massive 41-14 win over Liberty League representative RPI that marked the seventh-straight Believe Bowl victory for the orange and blue.
The Pioneers picked up right where they left off last weekend against Washington and Jefferson, leaping out to a 28-0 halftime lead as the Pioneer faithful cheered on among a sea of orange. The second half was more of the same, with the team shifting to more of a rushing-oriented attack to salt away the clock and move to 2-0 on the year.
The offense was extraordinary once again during the tilt, producing a second-straight 500+ yard game as they racked up 519 yards and six touchdowns to get the home campaign off to a good start. On this night, though, the Pioneer defense held it down in a major way, allowing RPI to record just 81 yards in the first half while pitching a shutout during that same time. RPI's late scores came off of a few Utica turnovers, as a staunch Pioneer defensive unit used its speed and tenacity to remain disruptive all night long.
Saturday Spotlight: Leading that monstrous defensive performance was Pioneer captain Eli Douglas, who blanketed the entire field on Saturday night. Douglas, an All-Empire 8 and All-ECAC performer from last season, used his superior athleticism and foresight to stuff the stat sheet, turning in an impressive outing while slotting in at the safety position. From the deepest part of the secondary, Douglas' aggressive play saw him secure eight total tackles (four solo), a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, a pass breakup, and an interception that allowed him to inch ever-closer to Jon Klosner's program record 17 career picks (Douglas now has 10). A career night from one of the Pioneers' defensive captains set the tone on Saturday, as Douglas' play caused the other Pioneer defenders to become even more effective.
The Utica secondary kept RPI from recording a passing touchdown in the game, only allowing a pair of rushing TDs as the game came to an end. Thanks to the explosive start on offense, powerful defense, and yet another victory in the turnover battle, the Pioneers put away the opposition handily and improved to 2-0.
Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter
9:21 | 7-0 UTC | Bryce Palmer - 42-yard pass from Tyler Szalkowski (Nico Duarte XP) - 4 plays, 54 yards (1:48)
5:37 | 14-0 UTC | Logan Frederick - 13-yard pass from Tyler Szalkowski (Nico Duarte XP) - 4 plays, 52 yards (2:10)
2nd Quarter
7:28 | 21-0 UTC | Bryce Palmer - 16-yard pass from Tyler Szalkowski (Nico Duarte XP) - 14 plays, 87 yards (9:03)
00:00 | 28-0 UTC | Logan Frederick - 16-yard pass from Tyler Szalkowski (Nico Duarte XP) - 12 plays, 80 yards (5:41)
3rd Quarter
10:08 | 34-0 UTC | Tyshawn Taylor - 26-yard pass from Tyler Szalkowski - 8 plays, 83 yards (4:47)
5:00 | 34-6 UTC | Kayden White - 1-yard run (2pt conversion failed) - 7 plays, 25 yards (3:10)
00:57 | 41-6 UTC | Lorenzo Velez - 37-yard pass from Tyler Szalkowski (Nico Duarte XP) - 7 plays, 80 yards (3:57)
4th Quarter
7:48 | 41-14 UTC | Kayden White - 2-yard run (Gage Swanger 2pt good) - 6 plays, 40 yards (2:12)
Offensive Highlights: Not to be forgotten among the defensive clinic is the titanic offensive night that the Pioneers had, headlined once again by reigning D3football.com Team of the Week honoree Tyler Szalkowski. The Rochester native put together another all-time great outing, tying the program record for single-game passing touchdowns with six dimes in the rout. Szalkowski once again was firing on all cylinders, coming one miscommunication away from ending the first half with a 100% completion rate. He finished 27-29 with a ridiculous 385 yards, placing within the top-10 for single-game passing yards in Utica history once again after breaking the record last weekend. Were it not for a late completion, he would have his second solo school record in as many weeks, ending Saturday's showdown just a few ticks beneath the completion percentage mark as he finished with a 93.1%.
In addition to the second straight week of Szalkowski putting up video game-like numbers, the Pioneer receiving corps also had another stellar showing, with the unit shredding the Engineer secondary all night.
Bryce Palmer had his second game of the year with over 125+ yards, catching nine passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns, all game-highs. Well… except for the touchdowns, as Logan Frederick also found the endzone twice, including assisting Szalkowski on a buzzer-beating score to end the half. The Pioneers' tight end finished with five receptions for 51 yards, along with the two touchdowns.
Tyshawn Taylor fell just short of the 100-yard mark, instead settling for 99 and a touchdown off of six receptions.
Lorenzo Velez was the final of the four Pioneers to receive a Szalkowski dime in the game, hauling in two passes, with one of them being a deep fade in the endzone for a 37-yard score.
Eze Frazier and Jani Strong got the rushing game clicking against the Engineers, with the pair combining for 117 yards off of 26 attempts. Strong was especially effective, laying the smacketh down on multiple occasions during his six carries.
Defensive Highlights: Alongside Douglas' big day, the Pioneer defense managed to grab three pass breakups, two sacks, and six tackles for loss as they got to the opposing quarterback all night long.
With a powerful front and a speedy secondary, the team snuffed out screens left, right, and center, forcing the Engineers to look past the line of scrimmage or run the ball into a hungry Pioneer defensive front. Big performances from reigning D3football Team of the Week honoree Isaiah Thomas and rookie sensation Austin DeGroat made sure that neither option was a pleasant one.
Thomas picked up six tackles (one solo) and assisted in one of the team's tackles for loss. He clogged gaps at a rapid rate, while also complementing the secondary and ensuring that the middle of the field was closed for business on Saturday night.
DeGroat also showed out in his first home game repping the orange, as the mighty freshmen from Oneida grabbed five tackles (three solo) and forced a fumble in his first party at the Gaet'. DeGroat possesses a blend of size and speed that makes the youngster fierce at the front of the Pioneer defense alongside players like Jordyn Davis and Jerome Nembhard.
Speaking of Davis and Nembhard, both players procured a sack in the win, with Davis grabbing his second sack of the season to pair with a pass breakup.
The final Pioneer to record a pass breakup was Nicholas DeForrest, who also extended his influence into other parts of the game as well…
The Specialists: Thanks to a legendary 2024 season, DeForrest already holds the program record for career blocked kicks. Any blocks now are just icing on the cake, and the icing was made sweeter on Saturday night when DeForrest broke through the line and blocked RPI's sole field goal of the game. The Holland Patent product has done great in his starting defensive end role so far, but his presence on special teams changes the entire unit, a fact that hasn't changed after an All-American season in that phase of the game last season.
Nico Duarte also added five extra points in his first career orange and blue home game.
Who's Next?: The Pioneers will hit the road for their final non-conference contest of 2025, traveling down the thruway to face off with Hobart in a rematch of the 2023 Clayton Chapman Bowl. Utica will meet the reigning Liberty League Champions at 1:00 PM next Saturday at Davis J. Urick Stadium. You can find more information about that matchup in next week's Pioneer Football preview.