The Empire 8 race is heating up as the regular season nears to a close. Buffalo State (5-1) took on the Utica Pioneers (4-3) at Coyer Field on Saturday.

Tied for first place in the conference and looking at a huge collision with first-place Saint John Fisher Cardinals next weekend, the Bengals may have been caught peeking ahead and overlooking the underdog Pioneers. Three lost fumbles, multiple penalties and five dropped passes from Buffalo State led to a 31-21 loss to visiting Utica.

It looked like business as usual for Buffalo State as the Bengals came right out of the gate swinging with a 38-yard toss from sophomore quarterback Kyle Hoppy to senior receiver Mike Doherty on the first drive of the game to lead 7-0. Doherty led the team in receiving with five catches for 165 yards and a score in the game.

The Pioneers responded with a long drive of their own but had to settle for a Thomas Woodburn field goal. A roughing the kicker penalty led to a 40-yard touchdown run by senior running back Jesse Baldassare gave Utica a 10-7 lead.

In the second quarter, senior receiver Anthony Acevedo beat junior Ish Height twice on the same drive on go routes. Acevedo beat Height for a gain of 36 yards and then again for a 35-yard touchdown moments later. Acevedo led the Pioneers with four catches for 128 yards and a touchdown.

Utica added another touchdown from J’von Evans to lead 24-7 at the half.

The fired up Pioneers defense came to play. They held the normally explosive Bengals offense to three-straight three-and-outs and a missed field goal in the first half.

Senior running back rich Pete came into the game with at least 100 yards in five of the Bengals first six games but was held to only 34 yards in the first half and a season-low 70 for the game. The Bengals offense was held to just 101 totals yards in the first half, compared to the Pioneers’ 277 yards.

The second half provided some theatrics as Doherty coughed up the ball on the end of a 36-yard pass play. When Buffalo State needed a big play, the defense came through with a fumble recovery of its own. Pete took advantage on the following drive with a score to cut the lead to 24-14.

The Bengals were driving on their next possession but turned the ball over on down around mid-field after a dropped pass by junior tight end Edwin Young. The team had five drops on the day at key moments in the game, which stalled any momentum they had built. A fumble by Hoppy led to another Utica touchdown and on the next possession, he was benched for the second game in a row in favor for junior quarterback Dan Serignese.

Serignese led the Bengals down the field right away on a 50-yard connection to Doherty followed by an 8-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Ryan Carney to cut the lead back to 10 points. Buffalo State had one last opportunity to close the gap but fumbled the ball away on fourth down to seal the game for the Pioneers.

Rich Pete finished the game with a season-low 73 yards rushing. The Bengals only managed 269 yards of offense as the Pioneers defense completed a dominant performance finishing with six sacks.

After falling to 5-2 on the season, the Bengals will have to put the disappointing result behind them as the look to regain 1^st place in the Empire 8 next Saturday at nationally-ranked St. John Fisher.

For a complete game story and thoughts for players and coaches, visit buffstaterecord.com on Wednesday, Oct. 29.