No. 10 Football Falls to No. 3 Shepherd in NCAA Second Round, 40-21
Box Score
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Nov. 26, 2016) - The No. 10 and second-seeded LIU Post football team saw its magical 2016 season come to an end Saturday in a 40-21 loss to No. 3 and third-seeded Shepherd University in the second round of the NCAA Division II Championship at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium.
The loss concludes the year for the Pioneers at 12-1 overall. Meanwhile, the Rams improved to 12-0 on the year and advance to next week's national quarterfinal at top-seeded California University of Pennsylvania.
Tied 7-7 after one quarter of play, Shepherd rattled off 19 unanswered points to bring a 26-7 advantage into the break. Senior quarterback Jeff Ziemba (Newark, Del.) threw for 114 yards and three touchdowns in the period, including a pair to senior wide receiver Billy Brown (Gaithersburg, Md.).
In the third quarter, the Pioneers cut into the Rams' lead. Senior running back
David White (Bronx, N.Y.) scored from five yards out to close the gap to 26-14 at the 6:14 mark. That touchdown was set up by a 35-yard hook-up between senior quarterback
Jeff Kidd (Salem, Ore.) and red-shirt senior wide receiver
Shane Hubbard (St. Albans, N.Y.) on the snap prior.
The green and gold then gained some momentum, as LIU Post recovered a Brandon Hlavach (Baltimore, Md.) fumble at its own one-yard line on the ensuing Shepherd series.
However, the Pioneers were unable to move the ball past their own 25-yard line following the turnover, stalling a potential comeback attempt.
Hubbard finished with 10 catches for a team-high 155 yards in the effort. White, who also ran for 27 yards, hauled in five passes for 64 yards. Red-shirt junior wide receiver
James Higgins (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) made four receptions for 36 yards and a touchdown.
Senior linebacker
Nate Feliz (Bronx, N.Y.) led all players on defense with 10 tackles (six solo, four assist) and a sack. Red-shirt junior defensive lineman
Anthony DeNunzio (Seaford, N.Y.) and freshman defensive back
Joshua Flowers (Mount Laurel, N.J.) had nine tackles apiece. Flowers broke up two passes and blocked a kick, as well. Senior outside linebacker
Ryan Renfroe (Oakdale, N.Y.) and junior defensive back
Richard Wright (Brooklyn, N.Y.) both recorded eight tackles (four solo, four assist).
"We were definitely pleased that we won the league and were undefeated until this point," Kidd said. "We obviously wanted to go further than this. It's hard to be completely satisfied when you don't end the season on a win. We battled, we love each other, we played for each other, and at the end of the day, that counts."
"We set a goal before we came into the season and we accomplished much of it. We didn't finish the way we wanted to," White stated. "The way we grew as a team, we can't really knock ourselves for that. We fell short. We played our hearts out. We left everything out there, as we do any other game."
"Various programs talk about one specific year. This was the first group to win 12 games and host two playoff games," Head Coach
Bryan Collins commented. "I think they have accomplished a lot and they should be proud of what they accomplished together and how they did it. They set the bar high for our program to continue on. They brought us this far and established a legacy for themselves."
For more information on the LIU Post football program, please continue to visit
LIUPostPioneers.com.