Football Returns to NE-10 With 24-12 Victory Over So. Connecticut
Box Score
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Sept. 14, 2013) - Junior quarterback Steven Laurino (Boise, Idaho) threw for a pair of touchdowns, while senior safety Tommy Williams (Westbury, N.Y.) intercepted a key pair of fourth-quarter passes Saturday, as the LIU Post football team defeated Southern Connecticut, 24-12, at Hickox Field in Brookville, N.Y.
After each squad failed to score on its first series, the Pioneers broke the stalemate on their second possession. Laurino, from his own 42-yard line, scrambled away from a sack, and heaved a 58-yard touchdown pass down the far sideline for red-shirt senior wide receiver Joe Botti (Holtsville, N.Y.). Senior kicker Karsten Viste (Randaberg, Norway) would convert the extra point to give the green and gold an early 7-0 cushion.
Southern Connecticut got most of those points back on its opening drive of the second quarter. The Owls capitalized on a pair of fourth-down 15-yard penalties, leading to a Michael Johnson (Enfield, Conn.) punch in from the one. That, due to a failed PAT, made it a 7-6 game.
LIU Post fired right back, however, to extend its lead to 14-6. A Laurino 16-yard pass to red-shirt freshman wide receiver Michael Richardson (West Babylon, N.Y.) capped off a 10-play, 58-yard series. The Boise native also helped the cause on the ground, scampering for 14 of his team-high 92 net rushing yards on the day. The hosts eventually took an 11-point edge (17-6) into the half, as Viste put a 23-yard attempt between the uprights just before the clock expired.
The third quarter belonged to the visitors. On the first possession of the half, Southern Connecticut drove down 61 yards to the opposing six-yard line for a first-and-goal to go. Following three unsuccessful tries for the end zone, a Jacob Jablonski (Gales Ferry, Conn.) pass went wide of his intended receiver, forcing a turnover on downs.
The Owls got a reprieve though. A muffed punt on the ensuing drive by the Pioneers' punter Tim Sternfeld (Wyckoff, N.J.) gave the Owls the ball at the LIU Post 27. A pair of red-zone rushes, along with a Williams pass interference penalty, set up a John Moscatel (Lexington, Mass.) two-yard touchdown run. A failed subsequent two-point conversion made it 17-12.
More than halfway into the final 15-minute session, SCSU had the chance to go in front, but a key sack of Jablonski by senior linebacker Rob Bright (East Meadow, N.Y.) and junior defensive lineman Bernardo Nunez, Jr. (Hoboken, N.J.) kept the Pioneers' lead intact.
Then, in the waning minutes, the Owls got the ball back with another chance to grab the lead. However, a tipped Jablonski pass fell into the lap of Williams for the eventual game-clinching interception. Seconds later, a two-yard touchdown run on the next LIU Post series by Jeff Mack (Bronx, N.Y.) sealed the deal.
For the contest, Laurino completed 18-of-30 for 206 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground, Mack took 16 handoffs for 78 yards and a score. In the air attack, Botti had three catches for 70 yards and a TD. Defensively, Williams made nine tackles, in addition to collecting his two INT's. Red-shirt freshman Kareem Folkes (Brooklyn, N.Y.) recorded seven tackles. Sophomore linebacker Julian Santiago (Selden, N.Y.), like Williams, finished with nine tackles, half of which were for a loss.
Head Coach Bryan Collins and the Pioneers are back at it Friday (Sept. 20), when they face NE-10 foe Bentley in Waltham, Mass. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.