BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Oct. 18, 2014) - The LIU Post football team exploded for seven offensive touchdowns Saturday in a 49-21 rout of Northeast-10 Conference foe Saint Anselm on Homecoming at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium.

Red-shirt senior quarterback Steven Laurino (Boise, Idaho) had a hand in every Pioneer (5-2, 5-1 NE-10) score, passing for four touchdowns and rushing for three. He completed 31-of-51 passes in the contest for 346 yards, while rushing 16 times for 77 net yards. As a team, LIU Post, now winners of four in a row and five of six, accrued 578 yards of total offense, and converted 12-of-18 attempts (66.7 percent) on third down.

The green and gold dominated play from the opening kickoff. On their first drive, Laurino had a one-yard push into the end zone to give the hosts a 7-0 lead. Two snaps earlier, Laurino connected with red-shirt freshman wide receiver Kyle Ward (Elizabeth, N.J.) on a 21-yard pass, which set up shop at the Saint Anselm (5-2, 5-1 NE-10) five-yard line.

One Pioneer possession later, after Anthony Brunetti (Bayville, N.Y.) recovered a Nick Marcella (North Bridgton, Maine) fumble, it was Laurino on a one-yard run again for the TD, making it a 14-0 game. LIU Post effectively used its ground attack on that series, as eight of the 16 plays called in the drive were runs.

The Hawks managed to cut the deficit in half on a Justin Bernard (Cambridge, Mass.) six-yard touchdown catch, but the Pioneers fired back with 14 unanswered points to bring a 28-7 cushion into halftime. Laurino hooked up with junior tight end Sean Binckes (Brooklyn, N.Y.) for both touchdowns. The latter saw Binckes make the reception at his own 29-yard line on a third-and-five, cut to the outside, and tip-toe down the sideline for seven points.

The second half was much of a mirror of what the fans saw in the first 30 minutes. Saint Anselm did manage to score a touchdown (Yianni Gavalas 23-yard pass to Ahkeen Williams) on its opening series of the third quarter to close the gap to 28-14.

However, LIU Post again reeled off 14 consecutive points to put the decision out of reach. The Pioneers' first scoring drive in that run resulted in an eight-yard touchdown on a screen pass from Laurino to red-shirt sophomore tailback Mike Williams (Westbury, N.Y.). Though the green and gold drew two key flags in that possession, Laurino ran a 13-yard keeper on a third-and-10 to keep the punt team off the field. 

Following a subsequent three-and-out by the Hawks, Laurino staged a 10-play, 63-yard series that culminated in a Laurino three-yard push over the goal line. That made it a 42-14 game.

LIU Post rounded out its scoring for the afternoon on its first drive of the fourth quarter. On a first-and-10 from the Saint Anselm 12-yard line, Laurino found red-shirt senior wideout Kamron Palmer (Brooklyn, N.Y.) in the middle of the end zone for the touchdown.

On offense, Williams rushed for 68 yards on nine carries. Binckes hauled in eight catches for 91 yards and two TD's. Red-shirt sophomore wide receiver Shane Hubbard (St. Albans, N.Y.) caught six balls for 76 yards. Palmer added seven catches for 68 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, Brunetti recorded a game-high 13 tackles (two TFL) with one forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a pass break-up. Senior defensive back Roger Hamilton (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had 11 tackles, one forced fumble and a pass break-up. Red-shirt junior linebacker Brandon Cheney (Hewlett, N.Y.) made nine tackles. Junior defensive back Jhaleel Oswald (Rosedale, N.Y.) collected seven tackles, while coming up with an interception and breaking up three passes.

Head Coach Bryan Collins and the Pioneers return to action next Saturday (Oct. 25), when they round out their three-game homestand against NE-10 rival American International in a battle for first place atop the league standings. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.