Football Falters at Stonehill, 38-28
Box Score
EASTON, Mass. (Oct. 26, 2013) - On Saturday afternoon, the LIU Post football team dropped a Northeast-10 Conference clash versus Stonehill, 38-28, at W.B. Mason Stadium in Easton, Mass. Red-shirt junior quarterback
Steven Laurino (Boise, Idaho) completed 36-of-60 for 404 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.
Following a three-and-out by the Skyhawks (6-2, 6-1 NE-10) on their opening drive, Laurino put together a six-play, 56-yard drive to give the Pioneers a quick 7-0 advantage. The Boise native hit red-shirt freshman wide receiver
Michael Richardson (West Babylon, N.Y.) for an 18-yard strike, which opened the series, to bring LIU Post down to the opposition's 38. He capped it off with a 26-yard TD pass to red-shirt senior wideout
Joe Botti (Holtsville, N.Y.).
The Pioneers would put up another seven on their first drive of the second quarter. Three plays after senior linebacker
Rob Bright (East Meadow, N.Y.) recovered a fumble in plus territory, Laurino and Botti hooked up again, this time on a 27-yard pass. The touchdown occurred off a third-and-12.conversion.
The hosts rallied before halftime, however, and went into the locker room trailing 14-10. Sophomore Steve Grzywacz (Manchester, N.H.) converted on a 22-yard field goal with under four minutes left, while junior Nate Robitaille (Attleboro, Mass.) hauled in a 37-yard pass in the end zone at the 57-second mark to account for the scoring.
Robitaille and signal-caller Logan Meyer (Ventura, Calif.) connected for subsequent scores in the third (five yards), and fourth quarter (36 yards) to push Stonehill's lead to two possessions at 24-14. The Skyhawks sealed the deal with a Nate Morris (Providence, R.I.) 37-yard pick-six of Laurino on a second-and-three.
In addition to Laurino's season-best passing performance, Botti caught 10 balls for a game-high 157 yards and two touchdowns. Richardson contributed seven catches for 81 yards. Defensively, Bright accumulated 14 tackles, one forced fumble, and a pass break-up. Senior
Chris DiIorio (Holtsville, N.Y.) and freshman
Ryan Renfroe (Oakdale, N.Y.) added nine tackles each. DiIorio also intercepted a pass for LIU Post (3-5, 2-5 NE-10).
For Stonehill, Meyer was 20-of-39 passing for 244 yards and three touchdowns. On the ground, sophomore tailback Colin Markus (Monroe, Conn.) gained 203 net yards on 29 total carries. He also scored a touchdown. Through the air, Robitaille made 10 catches for 124 yards and three scores.
Head Coach
Bryan Collins and the Pioneers are back at it Friday (Nov. 1) at Saint Anselm. The opening kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.