LIU Post wins conference title

The Island Now

The Pioneers were determined this time around to assure there would be no necessary fourth quarter heroics as the team defeated the Greyhounds 43-23 in the NE-10 Conference Championship on Saturday, Nov. 13, on the LIU Post campus in Brookville.

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the Pioneers though, as they faced adversity right out of the gate. 

The Greyhounds drove down the field and into the red-zone on their opening possession but were held up at the four yard-line and had to settle for a 21-yard field goal. 

After a Pioneer interception, the Greyhounds started their drive in LIU territory, again entering the red-zone, and stalled at the four yard-line and settled for another field goal. 

On the ensuing Pioneer drive, senior LIU Post quarterback Jeff Kidd tossed another interception and the Greyhounds set up shop 13 yards from a touchdown. 

Another red-zone trip and the same result; the Greyhounds settled for three points instead of punching it in for a touchdown. They led 9-0 with just over two minutes left in the first quarter. 

The LIU Post defense stood tall, holding the Greyhounds to three field goals and no touchdowns in the first 15 minutes. 

“I think it was just us settling in,” head football coach Bryan Collins said. “It’s a totally different game being down 21-0 and 9-0. It’s funny — we did spend one extra day on goal-line defense this week and so it paid off obviously.” 

Seeking a jumpstart, the Pioneers’ special teams made a play and red-shirt sophomore running back Malik Pierre almost broke a kickoff back to the house, but was tackled at the LIU 45 yard-line. 

After a 20-yard rush by senior tailback David White, Kidd dropped a pass into the bucket for red-shirt junior receiver Kyle Ward, who scored the game’s opening touchdown. 

The drive took four plays and 54 seconds. Even though they still trailed on the scoreboard, the score was a confidence boost for the Pioneers, who seized control from that point forward. 

On their first drive of the second quarter, the Pioneers got a second chance with a 15-yard personal foul penalty that kept their drive alive. 

The possession culminated with a touchdown to red-shirt senior receiver Shane Hubbard, who found the soft spot in the zone for six. 

The score not only gave the Pioneers a 13-7 lead, but it also put Hubbard ahead of former Pioneer Jim Byrne on the all-time touchdown reception list in program history, with 31. 

A 41-yard field goal in the waning seconds of the half put the Pioneers up 16-9 at the break. 

After a first half that saw the Pioneers come alive late, they owned the second half; outscoring the Greyhounds 27-14. 

The tone was set on the half’s first play. Pierre, who already had a big kickoff return to his credit, ran back the kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown, making it 23-9 in favor of the Pioneers. 

Pierre added two more touchdowns to widen the Pioneer advantage and put them one step closer to becoming NE-10 champions.  

Pioneers concluded their scoring onslaught with a 37-yard strike to Hubbard, who added to his historic day with another touchdown. 

The 43-23 victory for LIU Post earned them the NE-10 Conference Champion title. 

Kidd went 14-0f-27 through the air for 203 yards and three touchdowns. 

On the ground, the Pioneers got 100 yard games from both Pierre and White. 

In addition to his two touchdown receptions, Hubbard was also a security blanket for Kidd, as he hauled in seven passes for 100 yards. 

Defensively, sophomore linebacker Connor Farrell led the squad with nine tackles, while senior defensive back Jhaleel Oswald accumulated seven tackles and was all over the field making plays. 

Defensive backs Jared Chester and Joshua Flowers each had great performances, with Chester intercepting a pass and totaling seven tackles and Flowers making six tackles and two pass break-ups. 

Kidd, Pierre, Hubbard and Farrell were all named to the NE-10 All-Championship Team. 

With the win, the Pioneers will play in the NCAA Division II Tournament and host a game. 

Winston-Salem State University will visit Brookville, N.Y. on Saturday, Nov. 19 to play the No. 2 seeded Pioneers. 

 

This article was originally published in the Pioneer, the award-winning student newspaper of LIU Post, www.liupostpioneer.com, and is republished here by Blank Slate Media with the permission of the Pioneer. 

By Michael Otero

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