TICKET INFORMATION: For those heading to Baltimore for the game, tickets will be $8 for adults and $4 for seniors and students with college ID. Gates will open at 11 a.m. No advance ticket sales are available.
LIVE COVERAGE: For those that can't make it to Baltimore, Johns Hopkins will be providing live stats and live video coverage. Fans can also follow Union Football on Instagram and X for more gameday content.
POSTSEASON HISTORY: Union is making the 13th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and first since 2019. The Garnet Chargers, who are 11-12 all-time in NCAA competition, move onto the second round for the eighth time in program history. Union has twice reached the Stagg Bowl in 1983 and 1989 and also made the national semifinals in 1984.
HAVE WE MET (NO): For the second straight week, no we haven't. Saturday's game will be the first time that Union and Johns Hopkins will face off on the gridiron. In fact, the programs have only faced off two times in any sport, and they both happened a long time ago: the men's lacrosse team lost 14-1 to JHU in 1941, which was more recent than the baseball team's 7-6 win in 11 innings in 1937. The only common opponent between the teams this season is Ithaca College, whom Johns Hopkins beat 27-17 in its season-opener and to whom Union lost by a 17-9 score on October 14.
HAVE WE MET (YES): There is one member of the Blue Jays who Union fans will be familiar with. Former Union tight end Andrew Sheahan '22 is finishing his second season as a graduate student at Johns Hopkins and has played in eight games this year. He competed in 20 contests over three seasons on the gridiron for Union, earning D3football.com All-Region third-team and All-Liberty League first-team honors as a senior. He also earned CoSIDA Academic All-District recognition and was named Union's Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year in his final year in Schenectady.
ABOUT THE BLUE JAYS: Johns Hopkins is riding a 13-game unbeaten streak dating back to last season and is ranked seventh in the latest D3football.com and AFCA national polls. The Blue Jays ran through their six-game Centennial Conference schedule to earn their ninth outright Centennial title and the program's 12th NCAA Tournament appearance, and easily dispatched Western Connecticut State University in a 62-20 score in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Bay Harvey threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns while the rushing attack romped for 439 yards and six scores on the ground, led by a 216-yard effort by Spencer Uggla and 100 yards from Geogg Schroeder. Centennial Conference Rookie of the Year Cole Crotty added four catches for 95 yards and a touchdown through the air.
Uggla leads the team on the ground with 670 yards on 131 carries (83.75 ypg), while Harney ranks second on the team in rushing (569 yards) while also completing 67.5 percent of his passes for 2653 yards and 32 touchdowns (12th in D-III). On the defensive side of the ball, Luke Schuermann leads the team with nine sacks and 13 tackles for loss, while Cole Peters has a team-leading 73 tackles and three interceptions.
POSTSEASON HISTORY: Union is making the 13th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and first since 2019. The Garnet Chargers, who are 11-12 all-time in NCAA competition, move onto the second round for the eighth time in program history. Union has twice reached the Stagg Bowl in 1983 and 1989 and also made the national semifinals in 1984.
LAST TIME OUT: Union limited Delaware Valley to 243 yards of offense and forced two turnovers and four turnovers-on-downs in Saturday's 24-16 first-round win. Junior James Gillespie provided the momentum-changer with a 52-yard pick-six in the waning seconds on the second quarter, and seniors Nathan Sullivan and Jimaar Edwards added a team-best seven tackles each. Offensively, senior Donovan Pacatte finished 18-of-30 for 201 yards and a touchdown, with sophomore Landers Green catching five balls for a team-best 75 yards and a score.
HANGING TEN: With Saturday's win, Union reached the 10-win plateau for the sixth time in the program history. The team is currently tied for fourth on the school single-season wins list, one behind the 2005 and 2019 teams for second place.
BIG(GER) GAME JAMES: Junior James Gillespie had two interceptions and a touchdown in Saturday's win over Delaware Valley to earn Liberty League Defensive Player of the Week honors. He is the first Union player with multiple multi-pick games in the same season since Jafar Johnson '13 had two against both St. Lawrence and WPI in 2012.
ONE-TWO PUNCH: Senior Michael Fiore and junior Jonathan Anderson are one of the nation's top running back combinations, ranking third in the country (behind Greenville and Springfield) with a combined 2,018 yards on the ground. With 56 more yards by Anderson, the pair would become the 27th teammates in Division III history (and first ever at Union) to both rush for quadruple digits in the same season.
MAX ON THE MARK: Junior Max Gluck is tied for second in Division III with 14 made field goals in 2023 and ranks fourth on Union's single-season list, matching the most made kicks in a season since Cliff Eisenhut '04 knocked through 16 in 2003. Gluck, who also is third on the school single-season list with 41 extra points this year, ranks second in the Liberty League in scoring with 84 points (behind Fiore's 96) and is tied for ninth in the country in scoring among kickers.
IMMEDIATE SUCCESS: Head coach Jon Poppe is the first rookie coach in program history to make the NCAA Tournament and also is the first coach in Union football history to win more than eight games in his first season, moving ahead of Bill Smith (8-2 in 1900) and Hall of Famer Al Bagnoli HOF '03 (8-1 in 1982). Poppe also is the first mentor in program history to start his coaching career with six straight wins, surpassing Fred Dawson (3-0-2 in 1912) for the only undefeated six-game start ever.
CONFERENCE CALL: The Liberty League (Union, Ithaca) is one of three conferences in Division III with a pair of teams making it to the second week of the NCAA Tournament, joining the CCIW (North Central, Wheaton) and the WIAC (UW-La Crosse, UW-Whitewater).
FOUR DIGITS FOR FIORE: Senior Michael Fiore became the 12th player in program history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season in the regular-season finale against Rensselaer and currently has 1,074 yards on the ground to rank 13th on the school single-season list. Fiore also is tied for sixth on the school single-season rushing touchdowns list with 16, matching Ike Irabor '23 in 2019.
THEY'D BE HONORED: Union had 15 players named to the All-Liberty League teams this season. Jimaar Edwards earned a second All-Conference first-team honor, while Matt McCorkle and Spencer Goldstien were elevated to first team after second-team recognition last season. Michael Fiore and Max Gluck earned their first career honors on the first team as well. Kevin Dewing (2nd team) was recognized for the third straight season on the offensive line, while Donovan Pacatte (2nd team), Nathan Sullivan (2nd team), Tommy Cavallo (HM) and Garrett Cafaro (HM) earned their second career honors. Cole DaSilva (2nd team), Landers Green (2nd team), Ethan VanderBrink (2nd team), Matt Mitchell (HM) and Nick Olivola (HM) all were recognized for the first time in their careers.
WHAT HAS BROWN DONE FOR US: Union's game against RPI was the final regular-season home game for longtime Union assistant coach Pete Brown '83, who is retiring after 40 years with Union football - four as a player and 36 years as a coach. Beyond football, Brown ranks 17th in D-III history in career winning percentage during his time as Union's softball coach from 1998 to 2009, posting a 307-111-2 record (.733) in 12 seasons. Along with his wife Gina, he cheered for his kids, Christy '17 (swimming) and Packy '19 (football and lacrosse) as they competed as Union student-athletes as well.
CARRYING THE LOAD: Senior Michael Fiore carried the ball 38 times versus Rochester, tied for Ike Irabor '23 (38 against Ithaca, November 2, 2019) for the program single-game record. He leads the Liberty League and ranks 24th in Division III with 205 rushing attempts on the season.
END OF THE RUSH: Union allowed its first rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter of the season's seventh game against Ithaca, snapping a streak of 30 straight quarters (dating back to last year) without conceding a rushing TD. That total was almost half way to Union's Division III-record 61 straight quarters from October 23, 1982 to September 29, 1984, which included the entire 1983 season.
SIX GAMES, SIX WINS: Union went undefeated through six games for the first time since 2019, when the team won its first 11 games before falling in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. This season marks the 14th time that Union has started the season 6-0: in the previous 13 instances, Union posted a combined record of 133-13-1 and lost more than one game in a season only twice (two in 1983 and 1984).
ACCOLADES FOR ANDERSON: Junior Jonathan Anderson was named the Liberty League Offensive Player of the Week on October 9 after running for a career-best 211 yards against Rochester. He is Union's first 200-yard rusher since Connor Kinzelmann '18 gained 234 yards in November 16, 2016 against Merchant Marine.
TWO TO THE MAX: Junior Max Gluck was named the Liberty League Special Teams Player of the Week for the second time this season on October 2 after hitting all six of his kicks against St. Lawrence, going 2-for-2 on field goals and 4-for-4 on PATs. Gluck is the first Union special teams player to be recognized twice in a season since kicker Adam Henry '12 in 2011.
A STRONG START: Union's 14 points allowed in the season's first five games are the fewest conceded since 1984, when the team posted shutouts over Rochester, Hobart, WPI and RPI and allowed 14 points to Colby. The 14 points are the fewest in any five-game span since 1989, when Union allowed nine points over five games (and 15 over six games) on the way to a Stagg Bowl appearance.
HISTORICAL MARGINS: The first five games of the 2023 season were historic in the decisiveness of Union's victories. The combined 225-point margin of victory in the five contests are the largest margin in five straight games in program history, more than the 220-20 margin put up during the first five games of the 1891 campaign.
CRUSHING THE NON-CONFERENCE: Union finished its regular-season non-conference slate by outscoring opponents 205-14 in four games, an average margin of victory of 47.8 points. The Garnet Chargers are 23-2 in regular-season non-conference play since 2017, having outscored their opponents by a 909-283 margin over that span (an average of 25 ppg). Liberty League teams went a combined 21-7 in non-conference play in the 2023 regular season, the most wins of any D-III conference.
THE LONGEST (40) YARDS: Gluck's 40-yard field goal against Springfield was the first made kick of his career and the longest by a Union kicker since Blaise Ancona '11 nailed a kick from 41 yards out against Rochester on September 25, 2010. He matched his career best on November 4 at Buffalo State.
SLAM DUNC: Senior Jaden Duncan was named the Liberty League Defensive Player of the Week on September 25 after a big outing against Montclair State. The linebacker had four tackles (two for loss) and a sack, blocked a field goal in the first quarter, and also returned an interception 25 yards for a score in the fourth quarter.
BLOCK PARTY, PART II: After going over 14 years without a pair of blocked punts in a game, Union accomplished the feat for the second straight game at Worcester State, with senior Liam Hoye and first-year Dwayne Hinds doing the honors against the Lancers. Union ranks third in Division III with five blocked punts and ninth with six blocked kicks this season.
JUST FOR KICKS: Senior Andrew Lau is averaging 37.1 yards per punt on 41 boots so far in 2023. The senior's career average of 38.3 yards per punt is second-highest in program history, behind only the 39.7 average of Marc Hurlbut '66 from 1963-65.
YOU'RE ON THE LIST: The team's 65-0 win over Hilbert on September 2 marked the eighth-largest shutout victory in program history and the largest since a 66-0 blanking of Norwich on October 5, 1991, as well as the ninth-largest margin of victory in program history.
HE'D BE HONORED X2: First-year Stephen Petruzziello was named the Liberty League Rookie of the Week for the second straight week on September 11 after running for 93 yards and a touchdown at Worcester State. He is the first Union player to earn back-to-back Rookie of the Week honors since Jonathan Anderson (October 4 and 11, 2021) two seasons ago.
NEW YEAR, NEW NAME: Union's teams will be playing under a new name this year, as the College rebranded as the Garnet Chargers over the summer. Garnet has been Union's official school color for more than 150 years, while Chargers harkens to Schenectady's legacy as a hub of electrical innovation and invention. With the rebrand comes an additional Union "U" logo, which will be used alongside the traditional "Block U" logo that has been in place for many years.
WELCOME BACK: Joining Poppe on the Union sidelines this season is Greg Skjold '13, who returns to Schenectady as the team's offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. Skjold played four seasons on the offensive line at Union from 2009-12, serving as a three-year starter and earning D3football.com All-East Region honors as a senior. He joins Pete Brown '83 and T.R. Perna '92 as alumni coaches at their alma mater.
