Football

Hawks Defeat Utica 31-21 on Senior Day

ONEONTA, NY - Hartwick kept its NCAA Tournament hopes alive on Saturday with a gritty 31-21 win over local rival Utica at Wright Stadium. The Hawks close out the regular season 7-2 overall, tie for second in the Empire 8 at 4-2, and give the tournament selection committee a great deal to consider until tomorrow afternoon when the 32-team field is announced.

Down 21-17 in the third quarter, Jason Boltus (Baldwinsville, NY) and Jack Phelan (Slingerlands, NY) connected twice in the end zone in the second half to give the Hawks the victory. The first was a 37-yard hookup that gave the 'Wick a three-point advantage, 24-21, with 3:22 left in the third, and the second gave Hartwick a 10-point cushion with 7:28 left to play on a 19-yard play.

Boltus finished his final home game with 313 passing yards on 20-of-32 passing and four touchdowns. Phelan caught five balls for 122 yards and three scores, while Dan Gill (Massapequa, NY) led the Hawks in receptions with seven for 106 yards. Tosh DeMulder (Unadilla, NY) had an impressive day earning 223 all-purpose yards, including 150 yards rushing. It was DeMulder's third game this season of 100 yards or more. Utica was led by Billy Northey who rushed for 108 yards on 21 attempts. The Pioneers ended up with 258 yards on the ground.

Utica took the lead in the game with just 4:21 elapsed as Cody Elliot ran for a 29-yard score to cap a nine-play 70-yard drive to give the visitors the early lead. 'Wick came right back on their first possession as Boltus found Phelan for a 28-yarder and their first of three touchdown connections to tie it at seven four minutes later.

It took nearly a quarter to break the tie before Boltus connected for four passes for 39 yards, DeMulder broke free for a 24-yard rumble, and Noah Koreman (Albany, NY) caught a 23-yard pass from Boltus in the end zone to seal the 91-yard drive. Utica would battle right back as Northey and Michael Clark drove the Pioneers up the field on a 12-play 60-yard drive finished off by a Clark five-yard TD run.

Hartwick got the ball back with 1:29 left in the half and needed just 25 seconds to get to the Utica 15 after a DeMulder 17-yard return, and two passes to Gill for a total of 48 yards. The Hawks would have a first and goal from the six, but the Pioneer defense held up, limiting the home team to a Ryan Boyea (Scotch Plains, NJ) 21-yard field goal and a 17-14 halftime lead.

The Hawks received the kickoff to start the second half but were forced to punt. Utica took advantage going 77 yards on seven plays in three minutes to retake the lead 21-17. Northey rushed for 35 yards on the drive and Clark found Tyler Maligasi for a 20-yard score.

Both teams could not generate much on their next possessions and each had to punt before the Hawks would take the lead for good. Boltus hit senior Max Meisel (Weston, CT) for a pair of catches for 22 yards, DeMulder ran for 13 yards, and Boltus found Phelan for the 37-yarder for the touchdown.

With 11:23 left in the game, DeMulder would almost single-handedly get the Hawks the insurance touchdown as he shaved nearly four minutes off the clock rushing for 61 yards on six plays before the Boltus-Phelan tandem struck again for perhaps the last time ever at Wright Stadium. This time it was for 19 yards with seven and a half minutes left.

Utica got the ball back and drove to the Hartwick 40 yard-line, but on a fourth and one, a Clark pass intended for Elliot was deflected away by a diving Justin Oelgeschlager (Highland, NY) and the Hawks ran out the remaining five minutes for the win.

Defensively, the Hawks recorded eight tackles for a total loss of 26 yards. Dan Contrastano (Hastings, NY) led the team with 12 tackles, and two tackles for a loss of 11 yards, including a big 10-yard sack. Oelgeschlager also recorded his 11th career interception to move into sole possession of fourth place on the all-time Hartwick charts.

Phelan's three touchdown receptions broke his own record of 23 from last season. He now has 25 on the season and is just two shy of setting the all-time single-season NCAA record. Boltus with his four touchdowns moved into third all-time in NCAA D-III history in TD passes and his 326 total yards (rushing and passing) gives him 13,806 yards and leaves him only 85 yards short of breaking Josh Vogelbach's (Guilford College) all-time NCAA Division III record.

The Hawks will learn their NCAA fate tomorrow afternoon between 3 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. The 32-team NCAA Tournament Field will be announced in a five-minute span within that time frame on ESPNews. Should Hartwick not gain an at-large berth, the team will await word from the ECAC regarding a possible ECAC Bowl bid.