NCAA Div 3: UC FOOTBALL TO PARTICIPATE IN 2011 QUEBEC CLASSIC


Utica, NY – The Utica College football team will travel to Quebec City Saturday, May 21 to compete in the 2011 Quebec Classic. The Pioneers will play last year’s league champions, the Saguenay Mercenaries.

The Mercenaries compete in the Major Football League of Quebec (LFMQ) which primarily consists of players with college degrees who don’t want to give up the game after college.

Division III teams are allowed to play an international game once every three off-seasons, and the Pioneers are very fortunate to have the opportunity to do so this year. This contest allows the team 10 practices with pads prior to the game to prepare. One week prior to the game, on Friday, May 13, UC will have its “Blue vs. White” Spring Game at Gaetano Stadium at 7 p.m. The Pioneer family is encouraged to participate in this event with no parking pass required.

“We are looking forward to the international exposure for the UC football program,” said third year Head Coach Blaise Faggiano. “This can help extend our recruiting role into international markets.”

The trip provides student-athletes a unique cultural opportunity as well as a chance to experience a French speaking culture first hand. UC will also take tours of Montreal and Quebec City while visiting. For the Mercenaries, they have the opportunity to play against a NCAA team and fine tune their game before the start of their season.

Back in 2007, the Pioneers defeated the Quebec Monarks 29-24 after producing 400 yards of offense at Laval University’s PEPS Stadium in Quebec City.

This past season the Pioneers had their best start in program history (4-0), setting the school-record for consecutive victories. At one point, UC was leading the nation in scoring with an average of 59.67 points per game. Utica broke several school-records including points in a single game (78), pass completions (231), passing and receiving yards (2,742), passing yards per game (274.2), total offensive yards (4,007), total yards of offense per game (400.7), all purpose yards (5,049), total tackles (805) and quarterback sacks (24). Nine Pioneers received Empire 8 All-Conference Honors. Three Pioneers, Rick Rados, Brendon Ring, and Travis Ladd represented Utica College in the Division III Senior Classic All-Star Game in Salem, VA.

This past fall marked UC’s first ever televised game on Time Warner Sports. The game featured a great homecoming victory against Wilkes University and a crowd of 3,000+ fans. UC also participated in its first ever home night game which drew a crowd of 5,000+ fans. Utica will continue to play at least one night game per year in the future. This year, the Pioneers’ home opener will be at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10 against Union College.

UC will open its 2011 campaign on September, 3 as they travel to Canton, NY to face St. Lawrence University. The season is scheduled to kick-off at 2 p.m.


—www.ucpioneers.com—

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