Football Falls to Assumption in Regular-Season Finale, 37-27
Box Score
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Nov. 9, 2013) - On Saturday, the LIU Post football team rounded out the 2013 regular season with a 37-27 defeat versus Assumption at Hickox Field in Brookville, N.Y. Red-shirt senior wideout Joe Botti (Holtsville, N.Y.) had 10 catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
The Greyhounds (6-4, 6-3 NE-10) didn't take long to to claim the early lead, utilizing their ground game to put up a quick seven-spot in only 3:17 of clock time. Senior running back Matt Pedone (Holden, Mass.) carried the ball five times in the series for 28 net yards, including a 13-yard rush that put Assumption in the red zone. Junior Matt Heriveaux (Everett, Mass.) then scored from 14 yards out to put his squad on the board.
The visitors, only two drives later, beat the Pioneers (4-6, 3-6 NE-10) through the air to double their advantage. After three straight Heriveaux rushes, senior quarterback Bobby Jordan (Cromwell, N.J.) hit receiver Ben Kiley (Newton, Mass.) for an impressive 49-yard completion, and followed that up with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Eddy Frazier (Worcester, Mass.), who finished with 69 yards on four catches.
Assumption would strike once more before the end of the opening quarter, via a field goal, to make it a 17-0 contest. Ted Beuchert (Danvers, Mass.) converted from 38 yards out on the play.
In the second quarter, LIU Post struck for a touchdown on their opening series to close the gap to a 10-point margin. Red-shirt junior quarterback Steven Laurino (Boise, Idaho) staged a 12-play drive, including five pass completions, for 75 total yards that resulted in a 10-yard pass in the end zone to Botti. Laurino capped off his afternoon at 15-for-26 for 164 passing yards and three scores.
The Greyhounds answered with a touchdown of their own on the ensuing possession, but the Pioneers fired back, tallying 14 unanswered points to go into the break down three (24-21). Laurino hit red-shirt freshman wide receiver Michael Richardson (West Babylon, N.Y.) on a 36-yard pass for the first score, and later connected with Botti at the Assumption one-yard line for the other.
Botti's second TD was set up by a Chris DiIorio (Holtsville, N.Y.) interception at the opposition's 32-yard line with 3:04 left. Defensively, DiIorio registered seven tackles, one of which was for a loss. Senior inside linebacker Rob Bright (East Meadow, N.Y.) led the way with 14 tackles (seven solo, seven assist). Red-shirt sophomore lineman Brandon Cheney (Hewlett, N.Y.) added 11 tackles.
During the second half, an early injury to Laurino kept the green and gold off the board until it was too late. A field goal from inside 30 yards by Beuchert in each 15-minute session, coupled with a Pedone 55-yard scamper for seven in the final minutes, made it a 37-21 game, and put the contest out of reach.
Head Coach Bryan Collins and his LIU Post squad earned the No. 7 seed in next Saturday's (Nov. 16) Northeast-10 Conference Championship Weekend. The Pioneers will face the 10th-seeded Setters of Pace at Hickox Field in Brookville, N.Y. Kickoff is set for noon. In their regular-season meeting on Oct. 19, LIU Post was victorious, 58-0.