BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Nov. 8, 2014) - Trailing 31-21 in the fourth quarter, the LIU Post football team scored 14 unanswered points Saturday to rally past Bentley, 35-31, in its 2014 regular-season finale and Northeast-10 Conference action at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium.

The win gives the green and gold the No. 2 seed in next Saturday's (Nov. 15) Northeast-10 Championship. LIU Post (7-3, 7-2 NE-10) will travel up to Springfield, Mass. for a re-match with American International at 1 p.m. In their regular-season meeting, the Pioneers dropped a 27-24 decision to the Yellow Jackets.

On their first full series of the fourth quarter, LIU Post had the ball deep in its own territory. The hosts would not be denied though. Starting at his own five-yard line, red-shirt senior signal-caller Steven Laurino (Boise, Idaho), who scampered for five yards on the first play from scrimmage, followed with 13- and 22-yard completions in succession to Shane Hubbard (St. Albans, N.Y.) and Kamron Palmer (Brooklyn, N.Y.). The drive ended in a 16-yard touchdown pass up the seam from Laurino to junior tight end Sean Binckes (Brooklyn, N.Y.), which made it a 31-28 game.

Two possessions later, Laurino again led the offensive attack. After Bentley's (4-6, 3-6 NE-10) Tyler Ford (Amherst, N.H.) downed a punt at the Pioneer 47-yard line, Laurino completed his first four passes to set up shop at the Falcons' seven-yard line. Shortly thereafter, on a first-and-goal from the three, the Boise native dialed his own number and took the ball into the end zone on a three-yard keeper for the lead.

Yet, with 2:34 still remaining on the clock, Bentley had one last chance. Graduate quarterback Danny Guadagnoli (Framingham, Mass.) drove his team down to the LIU 25-yard line. The visitors wouldn't get much further though. Following back-to-back incompletions, Guadagnoli hit Jet Kollie (Lowell, Mass.) on a seven-yard strike to make it fourth-and-three. Needing one last stop, red-shirt sophomore defensive lineman Kenny Scotland (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) channeled his inner J.J. Watt, and swatted the fourth-down pass away to end the game.

The Pioneers got out to a hot start in the contest, as they scored on their opening drive. Laurino, despite being flushed out of the pocket, ran for a two-yard touchdown with 8:11 left in the first quarter. Later in the stanza, the green and gold capitalized on a Jared Chester (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) interception by turning it into seven points. This time, Laurino, on a second-and-goal from the eight-yard line, connected with David White (Bronx, N.Y.) for the score.

Bentley managed to cut the deficit in half (14-7) on a Martin Bannerman (Pawtucket, R.I.) four-yard touchdown catch, but LIU Post maintained a one-touchdown advantage (21-14) at the break. The third quarter, however, belonged to the visitors. The Falcons, on the heels of an Alex Farkes (Boston, Mass.) 26-yard touchdown reception to end the half, put up 24 consecutive points to grab their first lead of the afternoon.

That set the stage for Laurino's fourth-quarter heroics and the Pioneer comeback. Laurino was 34-of-48 passing on the day for 363 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 74 yards and a pair of scores. Hubbard (102 yards receiving) and Palmer (90 yards receiving) each caught eight balls. Red-shirt senior wideout Chris McGrane (Lynbrook, N.Y.) made seven catches for 92 yards. Binckes added five catches for 45 yards and two TD's.

Red-shirt senior linebacker Anthony Brunetti (Bayville, N.Y.) led LIU Post's defensive efforts with 13 tackles. Red-shirt senior defensive lineman Dan Belfiore (Glen Cove, N.Y.) collected nine tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Red-shirt junior linebacker Brandon Cheney (Hewlett, N.Y.) amassed eight tackles. Red-shirt sophomore defensive back Justin Ortiz (Staten Island, N.Y.) pitched in six tackles and two pass break-ups. Fellow defensive back Jhaleel Oswald (Rosedale, N.Y.) contributed two pass break-ups as well, alongside six tackles. Scotland paced all players with three pass break-ups.

Head Coach Bryan Collins and the Pioneers are in search of their first NE-10 title since 2006. Please check back at LIUPostPioneers.com for more information.