UTICA, NY – Utica College junior receiver Jerred Beniquez (Port Ewen, NY/Kingston) made the game-winning touchdown grab on the Pioneers first offensive possession of overtime to lift the home team to a thrilling 30-27 victory over nationally-ranked No. 17/19 Ithaca College on Homecoming at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Utica quarterback Teddy VanGalen (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) completed 18 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning completion in overtime, to help the Pioneers improve to 3-2 overall on the year. More importantly, the Pioneers improved to 2-1 in Empire 8 Conference action. UC also defeated Ithaca for just second time in program-history and handed the Bombers their first loss of the season as their record dropped to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the Empire 8.
The Pioneers cruised out to a 24-0 lead over Ithaca with 2:53 to go in the third quarter of play and it appeared that Utica would come away with its most lopsided victory of the season. But the visiting Bombers had other plans, as they scored an incredible 24 consecutive points in a span of 11:05, including the game-tying field goal by Matt Rottenecker with 4:03 left in regulation.
The Bombers had the first possession in overtime and converted on a 30 yard field goal to take a 27-24 lead, their first advantage of the contest.
Utica then lined up for its overtime chance and VanGalen connected with Beniquez for the 25 yard TD to hand the Pioneers the key Empire 8 victory. UC has now brought a nationally-ranked opponent to overtime for the second consecutive week. The Pioneers lost a heartbreaker to nationally-ranked and undefeated Cortland 47-40 in overtime on the road last Saturday.
Utica's Juwan Wilson (South Ozone Park, NY/Holy Cross) registered a game-high 12 tackles and he also picked off a career-best two passes, including one that he returned 36 yards for a touchdown to open the second half scoring for the Pioneers. Wilson's second interception of the day came just 1:32 into the second half and gave the Pioneers a commanding 17-0 lead.
Senior captain Gregory Palmer (Richland, NY/APW) and VanGalen then connected on a 27 yard touchdown pass with 2:53 to go in the third quarter to hand the Pioneers the 24-0 advantage. Palmer finished the day with three catches for 41 yards and one touchdown.
The Pioneers put pressure on Ithaca quarterback Wolfgang Shafer all afternoon, forcing eight sacks and several hurries that led to his four interceptions. Utica's Frank DeNome (New Windsor, NY/Cornwall) and Jimmy McLaughlin (Schenectady, NY/Guilderland) posted two sacks each while Nick Woodman (Utica, NY/Proctor) added 1.5 sacks for the Pioneers. Derrick Sekuterski (Depew, NY/Depew) added six tackles and one sack, while Mike Kata (West Babylon, NY/West Babylon) also added a sack on the afternoon.
Utica's Matthew McCoy (Sherrill, NY/Vernon Verona Sherrill) made seven stops, broke up two throws and picked off his first pass of the season.
Freshman running back Malcolm Stowe (Coram, NY/Longwood) carried the ball 20 times for 51 yards and opened the scoring on the day when he punched in a six yard touchdown run with 3:39 to go in the second quarter. Stowe now has three touchdowns in the last two weeks.
UC's Thomas Woodburn (West Islip, NY/West Islip) gave the Pioneers a 10-0 lead at the half after he knocked down a 21 yard field goal with just three ticks left on the first half clock.
Ithaca's comeback charge was led by three touchdown passes from Shafer, who is the son of Syracuse University football Head Coach Scott Shaffer, and two field goals from the leg of Rottenecker. Two of those touchdown passes were caught by Josh Oliver and a third was caught by Kyle Hastings.
The Pioneers will now hit the road for two consecutive conference contests, beginning with SUNY Brockport next Saturday at 7 p.m. All Utica College football games will be broadcast on the radio locally at WTLB 99.1 FM/1310 AM (ESPN Radio) by Dave Peroni and UC alum Ray Biggs. Live streaming audio can also be accessed on WTLB's website, www.espnur.com.