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Saints fall to Utica in football season opener

Posted 9/3/17

The St. Lawrence University football team fell behind Utica College 20-0 in the first three quarters of their season opener on Saturday night in Utica and were unable to recover, ultimately falling …

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Saints fall to Utica in football season opener

Posted

The St. Lawrence University football team fell behind Utica College 20-0 in the first three quarters of their season opener on Saturday night in Utica and were unable to recover, ultimately falling to the Pioneers by a 20-7 score in both team's season opener.

While the Saints' defense held Utica's passing game in check, Nicodemus Gambill scored two rushing touchdowns, totaling 161 yards on 16 carries, to lead Utica to the win. Gambill scored on a 59-yard run with 27 seconds to play in the first half, then added a 39-yard touchdown with less than five minutes to play in the third quarter. Gambill's first touchdown came one play after the Saints were assessed a roughing-the-kicker penalty on a Utica punt.

Senior quarterback Sean Richardson scored the Saints' lone touchdown on a three-yard run with 6:17 remaining in the game.

The Saints opened the game with a promising drive, going 62 yards in 10 plays, but came up empty after a field goal attempt hit the left upright.

Later in the first quarter, Utica's Antonio Scala scored the first points of the game, recovering a bad snap in the end zone two plays after the Pioneers had pinned the Saints deep in their own territory on a punt by Maki Medici.

The Saints' lone score of the game capped an 11-play, 94-yard drive in which Rodrick Payne, Jack Buis and Richardson rushed for positive yardage, and Richardson completed passes to four different receivers — Travis Marnell, John Maye, Payne and Jamal Williams.

While time appeared to be running out for the Saints, the defense came up with a big three-and-out stop to give the offense the ball with 4:43 to play. Richardson drove the ball 54 yards down the field, with the biggest play coming on a 31-yard quarterback keeper, but the drive eventually stalled on the Pioneers' 20-yard line, as the Saints turned the ball over on downs.

"Sometimes the final score doesn't tell the true story of what happened in a game," said head coach Dan Puckhaber. "Today, it did. We played hard for a full 60 minutes but Utica took advantage of our mistakes."

Richardson finished the day 18-for-43 with 155 passing yards, while Payne led the Saints' rushing attack with 48 yards on 13 carries. Marnell netted 41 yards on two catches, while Vincenzo Ferraro caught seven passes for 36 yards.

Skyler Williamson led the Saints' defense with 13 tackles, including 12 solo stops, while Redden had seven tackles to go along with his blocked extra point. Tyler Mirabile had a blocked field goal for the Saints, stopping Medici's 30-yard attempt halfway through the second quarter.

The Saints held Utica quarterback Peyton Miller to 54 passing yards, as he completed just 9-of-28 passes.

St. Lawrence had 18 first downs, while Utica had just 11, but the Pioneers took advantage of a +4 turnover ratio to earn the win.

"When you play a talented team like Utica, turnovers and special teams are going to be the differnce," said Puckhaber. "We did not win either of those categories tonight. The team fought hard until the last second and is hungry to get back to practice to get ready for Norwich and bring the Hoffman Cup back to St. Lawrence."

The Hoffman Cup will be held in Norwich, Vermont, next Saturday.