Football's Fourth Quarter Rally Comes Up Short Against East Stroudsburg, 45-37
Box Score
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Oct. 27, 2012) – LIU Post team rallied for 24 points in the fourth quarter but fell short of a comeback as East Stroudsburg University hung on for a 45-37 win Saturday afternoon in a PSAC East football clash on Hickox Field.
East Stroudsburg improves its overall record to 4-4 and 3-3 in the PSAC East while LIU Post slips to 3-5 overall and 2-4 in conference play.
The Warriors totaled a single-game as well as a PSAC record 828 yards of offense, which was also the highest the Pioneers have ever allowed in a game, as quarterback Matt Soltes passed for 535 yards and five touchdowns and led his team with 131 rushing yards.
In the first quarter, East Stroudsburg scored just under two minutes into the game when Soltes completed a 16-yard pass to Steven Jones.
The Pioneers matched the score when sophomore quarterback
Steven Laurino (Boise, Idaho) found senior tight end
Pat Fitzgerald (Asheville, N.C.) for a 26-yard touchdown pass at 9:29
East Stroudsburg scored in its next series, which culminated with a 47-yard touchdown rush by Eric Deery after breaking through for an open-field run. The Warriors scored four unanswered touchdowns to close out the first half with a 35-7 lead.
In the third quarter, LIU Post scored during the first drive when junior wide receiver
Joe Botti (Holtsville, N.Y.) hauled in a 23-yard completion at 13:57. The Warriors responded with a 24-yard field goal from Taylor Groff at 8:08 and a 15-yard reception by Kendrick Williams at 4:30 to boost their lead to 45-13.
In the fourth quarter, senior
Grayson Laurino (Boise, Idaho) rallied the team, first with a 7-yard touchdown pass from younger brother, Steven, that was followed by a successful conversion to Botti. The older Laurino took over at QB and handed the ball off to junior
Jeff Mack (Bronx, N.Y.) for a 3-yard touchdown. The Pioneers got another opportunity to score after recovering a successful onside kick and capitalized on it as Laurino fired a 10-yard pass to wide receiver
Chris McGrane (Lynbrook, N.Y.) in the endzone and completed a conversion to
Ryan Derham (Linenhurst, N.Y.) that cut the deficit to 45-37.
The magic wore off on the Pioneers as East Stroudsburg safely held onto the ball on kickoff and was able to its own 39 as time expired on the clock.
Steven Laurino completed 27 of 46 pass attempts for 284 yards and three touchdowns with Botti catching six to lead the team with 71 receiving yards. Senor
Thomas Beverly (Wyandanch, N.Y.) led the Pioneers with 81 rushing yards on four carries.
Junior
Rob Bright (East Meadow, N.Y.) made a game-high 13 tackles (9u, 4a) while junior
Casey Biasi (Islip, N.Y.) made 12 tackles (9s, 3u) and recorded a 39-yard interception.
Prior to the game, the Pioneers honored their 15 graduating seniors:
James Butler (Levittown, N.Y.),
Laquan James (Syracuse, N.Y.),
Pat Fitzgerald (Asheville, N.C.),
Willie Mayoral (La Habra, Calif.),
Matt Sheehy (North Brunswick, N.J.),
Thomas Beverly (Wyandanch, N.Y.),
Sean Persch (Gap, Pa.),
Ciwan McCoy (North Babylon, N.Y.),
Rob Scheuerer (Farmingdale, N.Y.),
Ryan Derham (Lindenhurst, N.Y.),
Anton Rukaj (Greenburgh, N.Y.),
D.J. Young (Highland Mills, N.Y.),
Antonio Powell-Fields (Hempstead, N.Y.),
Chris Williams (Syosset, N.Y.) and
Grayson Laurino (Boise, Idaho).
At halftime, the Hempstead Fire Department presented sophomore
Chris McGrane (Lynbrook, N.Y.) with the Durrell “Bronko” Pearsall Award, which is given each year to a member of the team who demonstrates Bronko's belief in fair play and good sportsmanship.
LIU Post returns to action at Kutztown University next week to face the Golden Bears Saturday at 1:05 p.m.