Football Falls at Bentley in Final Seconds, 30-28
Box Score WALTHAM, Mass. (Nov. 7, 2015) - A 31-yard field goal with four ticks remaining in regulation sent the LIU Post football team to a 30-28 loss to Bentley University on Saturday in a Northeast-10 Conference match-up at Bentley Field.
Starting at its own 43-yard line, Bentley (5-5, 5-4 NE-10) drove into field-goal range in a 20-second span. A 31-yard pass down the sideline from C.J. Scarpa (Andover, Mass.) to Chris Calvanese (Norfolk, Mass.) set the Falcons (5-5, 5-4 NE-10) up at the Pioneers' (6-4, 5-4 NE-10) 14-yard line for the game-winning field-goal try.
LIU Post trailed by two possessions (27-14) at the start of the fourth quarter. On the green and gold's first series of the period, junior quarterback
Jeff Kidd (Salem, Ore.) orchestrated a 17-play, 84-yard drive that resulted in a 13-yard touchdown pass to red-shirt sophomore wideout
James Higgins (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.), cutting the deficit to 27-20.
Kidd, following a six-touchdown performance last Saturday against Southern Connecticut State University, completed 34-of-58 passes for 417 yards and four touchdowns. On the previous drive alone, he was 8-of-15 for 101 yards and a TD.
The Pioneers reached the end zone again on their next drive to take their first lead of the contest, capitalizing on a missed 35-yard field-goal attempt by the Falcons' Michael Baron (Medfield, Mass.).
Kidd was brilliant for a second-straight drive, hooking up with six different receivers for 91 yards, the last of which was an eight-yard touchdown pass to red-shirt junior running back
Mike Williams (Westbury, N.Y.).
That series had a 10-yard holding penalty and a sack of 12 yards back LIU Post up to their own 26-yard line for a subsequent 3rd-and-32. However, on the next two snaps, Kidd found red-shirt junior wide receiver
Shane Hubbard (St. Albans, N.Y.) and red-shirt sophomore wide receiver
Kyle Ward (Elizabeth, N.J.) for a 13- and 42-yard pass, respectively, to give the Pioneers a first down at Bentley's 19.
Foregoing the extra point for an opportunity to win in regulation, Kidd connected with Higgins on the two-point conversion to put the green and gold in front 28-27 with 30 seconds left.
Hubbard paced LIU Post's receiving corps on the afternoon, catching nine passes for a season-best 137 yards and a touchdown. It was the first time this season that Hubbard eclipsed the 100-yard receiving plateau.
Higgins hauled in seven balls for 73 yards and a touchdown. Ward made six catches for 97 yards. Senior h-back
Sean Binckes (Brooklyn, N.Y.) pulled down six passes for 64 yards and a TD.
Defensively, junior linebacker
Nate Feliz (Bronx, N.Y.) posted his second-consecutive double-digit game for tackles (12). Freshman linebacker
Connor Farrell (Holtsville, N.Y.) collected nine tackles (five solo, four assist) and added a pass break-up. Red-shirt junior linebacker
Wayne Harris (Jamaica, N.Y.) and red-shirt sophomore defensive lineman
Anthony DeNunzio (Seaford, N.Y.) registered eight tackles apiece. Sophomore defensive lineman
Kevin Petit-Frere (Amityville, N.Y.) pitched in six tackles (four solo, two assist) and blocked a kick.
Head Coach
Bryan Collins and the Pioneers now await word on their opponent on Northeast-10 Conference Championship Weekend (Nov. 14). Stay tuned to
LIUPostPioneers.com for more information.