UTICA, N.Y. – The Union College football team dropped a high-scoring game to Utica University to begin the 2024 season on Friday night at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium, falling by a 41-26 score to the host Pioneers.
 
Junior Patch Flanagan got the start under center for Union (0-1), completing 13-of-34 passes for 206 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions while also running for a team-leading 71 yards. Junior Isaiah Russell led the team with four catches for 50 yards, while both of senior Tommy Leonard's receptions came on touchdowns and classmate Robbie Tolbert's lone catch resulted in six points as well.
 
Brett Fuller was 23-for-38 for 248 yards and two touchdowns to pace Utica (1-0), while Matt Brantley rushed for 187 yards on 20 carries and Antonio Cianfarani caught three passes for a team-leading 77 yards.
 
Utica struck first on its second possession with the game's longest drive, marching 93 yards in 15 plays to open the scoring. But Union responded quickly, traversing 62 yards in six plays to find the end zone, capped off by an 11-yard catch-and-run by Leonard.
 
After the defense forced a punt, the offense got back on the field and put together its best drive of the night, a seven-play, 87-yard drive to take the lead for the first time. Three big pass plays provided almost all the yardage on the drive, as a 26-yarder to senior Michael Fiore out of the backfield and an acrobatic 32-yard catch by junior tight end Cam Fries set up Flanagan to toss a 21-yard dime to Tolbert in the back of the endzone that put the visitors up 12-7 with 7:59 left in the second quarter.
 
However, Utica came right back down the field to score a touchdown and retake the lead at 15-12. A Flanagan interception gave the Pioneers the ball back once again and the home team turned it into seven more points to take a 22-12 lead into halftime.
 
The third quarter could not have started worse for Union, as Brantley took the first play from scrimmage 90 yards to the house to give the Pioneers a 29-12 lead. Another interception gave Utica back the ball, but the visitors regained some life when junior Guy Bellingrath took the ball away from a Utica receiver and took it 52 yards to the house for a huge pick-six. However, once again the momentum did not last as a field goal on Utica's next possession upped the lead back up to 13 headed to the fourth quarter.
 
Needing a productive drive to keep the game within reach, Union drove 77 yards in 11 plays to get back within one score. After the drive seemed to stall inside the Utica 30, Flanagan connected with junior Dan Quinn for a huge 21-yard reception on fourth down, and the next play saw Flanagan toss a six-yard touchdown to Leonard to get back within six points at 32-26.
 
But the same pattern continued as the defense again could not get a stop to keep the momentum going, as Utica responded with a touchdown of its own on the next drive to retake a 38-26 lead with 5:53 on the clock. Union turned the ball over on downs on its next possession to give the ball back to the Pioneers, and a field goal made it a 41-26 lead for the home team with under two minutes on the clock to finish off the scoring.
 
Utica finished the game with 503 yards of total offense, split almost evenly between 255 yards on the ground and 248 through the air. Union threw for 206 yards but ran for only 97, the fewest rushing yards in a game since September 25, 2021.
 
Union will look to rebound next Saturday when the team hosts SUNY Maritime in its 2024 home opener on September 14 at 4 p.m.