UTICA, NY -- Utica College junior wide receiver Anthony Acevedo and quarterback Connor Butkiewicz connected on two consecutive touchdown passes in a span of 2:01 -- the second of which came with 26 seconds left in the first half -- to help spark a 25-16 victory for the Pioneers over visiting Union College at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium Saturday night. Utica improved to 2-0 for the fifth consecutive season as the Pioneer defense racked up nine sacks on the evening to help keep the Union offense at bay.
The Pioneers held a 22-9 advantage late into the fourth quarter until Union's
Connor Eck capped a nine-play, 49 yard drive, with a six yard touchdown run to put the Dutchmen within striking distance, 22-16, with 5:19 remaining in the contest. Utica freshman Jerred Beniquez returned the ensuing kickoff 57 yards before being forced out of bounds at Union's 33 yard line. The Pioneers were unable to take complete advantage of Beniquez's big return, but UC sophomore kicker Thomas Woodburn converted on a crucial 34 yard field goal with 2:43 to go in the contest to essentially seal the victory for the Pioneers.
Peel finished the night with seven punts for 286 yards (40.9 yard average) and he also pinned the Dutchmen inside the 20 yard line twice.
Acevedo capped the day with a team-best eight catches and two touchdowns, while Butkiewicz completed 22-of-41 passes for 237 yards. Senior captain Joseph Gerbino caught a career-high six balls for 108 yards for the Pioneers.
The Pioneers defensive unit recovered two fumbles and also picked off two passes, to go along with nine key sacks. Junior cornerback Rob Alexander recorded a career-high 12 tackles, picked off one pass and broke up another, while senior linebacker Joe Giametta added ten tackles and two sacks for the Pioneer defense. Utica junior linebacker Sean Hulser, who was filling in for injured teammate Dana Christofferson got the Pioneers on the board with 3:04 to go in the first quarter of play when he returned his first career interception 30 yards for a touchdown to give UC an early 7-0 lead.
Union quarterback
Connor Eck completed 24-of-42 passes for 261 yards on the evening, but he also threw two interceptions for the visitors. Eck also carried the load in the ground game as he rushed the ball 24 times and punched in the late fourth quarter touchdown.
Joseph Vito led the Union receiving corps with eight catches for 62 yards, while
T.J. Franzese made three catches for 72 yards, including a huge 61 touchdown grab to put the Dutchmen on top 9-7 with 5:34 to go in the second quarter.
Union's
Josh Rose totaled a team-high eight tackles for the Dutchmen, while
Vito-Joseph Capuano added seven tackles of his own.
Union totaled 314 yards of total offense on 82 plays compared to the Pioneers 299 yards of offense on 69 plays. Union also won the time of possession battle as the Dutchmen held the ball on offense for 31:49.
Utica junior safety James Lenahan made seven stops and registered two sacks, including a key sack of Eck for a nine yard loss on fourth down with just 37 seconds left on the game clock. The Pioneer defense came away with three sacks to force a turnover on Union's final possession of the game.
Senior linebacker Ryan Hansen made eight tackles and added a sack, while Hulser finished the day with seven tackles, one sack and the interception returned for a touchdown in the first quarter.
The Pioneers return to the gridiron next Saturday night when they travel to nationally-ranked No. 7 Hobart College to take on the Statesmen at 7 p.m. Tonight's contest marked the first of the year for Union and the Dutchmen will return to action at home next Saturday when they square off against Ithaca College at 1 p.m.
