David Otero
Sports Editor
The LIU Post football team won its second consecutive game of the 2012 season on Saturday, September 15, when it beat the Cheyney University Wolves (1-2) by a score of 45-10. With this win, the Pioneers are now 1-0 within the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
Pioneers sophomore quarter¬back Steven Laurino gave an excel¬lent follow-up performance against Cheyney, a week after putting on a show both through the air and on the ground against Clarion University. Against the Wolves, in addition to rushing for one touchdown, Laurino went 27-35 and threw for 239 yards and two touchdowns. Through the first two games of the season, Laurino has rushed for four touchdowns and thrown for five, all while not having a single turnover.
The Pioneers got off to a bit of slow start, as the score at the end of the first quarter was 8-3 in favor of LIU Post. The Laurino brothers connected for the first score of the game as quarterback, Steven, aired it out 17 yards to senior wide receiver, Grayson. Last week, the brothers were unable to get on the same page, and Grayson was held without a catch against Clarion. However, Grayson bounced back and had six catches for 77 yards and one touch¬down against Cheyney.
The Pioneers tacked on two scores in the second quarter to move ahead of the Wolves 22-3 entering halftime. Following a nine play, 53-yard drive, Steven Laurino rushed for a touchdown from two yards out to give the Pioneers a 15-3 lead. After that, the Pioneers added seven more points capped off by a seven-yard scamper by senior running back Thomas Beverly.
In the third quarter, the Pioneers would add on 10 more points, highlighted by a five-yard touchdown run by junior running back Jeff Mack. With just over one minute left in the third quarter, the Wolves got its only taste of the end zone when freshman quarterback Blaze Wasserleben broke away from the Pioneers defense and ran 70 yards for a touch-down. With that score, the Pioneers led 32-10 heading into the fourth quarter.
Laurino would tack on another passing touchdown to start the fourth quarter of play. The beneficiary this time was senior wide receiver Ryan Derham on a five-yard completion. After backup sophomore quarterback Tyler Heuer’s 14-yard rushing touchdown made the score 45-10, neither team would score for the remainder of the game.
The Pioneers, once again, won the turnover battle. The Pioneers defense forced four turnovers, while the offense did not lose the ball once throughout the duration of the game. “You’re going to win foot¬ball games if you create turnovers and win the turnover battle,” said Pioneers head coach Bryan Collins. Also, the Pioneers were efficient on third downs for the afternoon going 8-14.
The Pioneers defense was superb on Saturday making it almost impossible for the Wolves to find any offensive rhythm. Senior defensive back Antonio Powell-Fields had one interception and seven tackles. On the defensive line, sophomore defensive linemen Joe Thompson and David Sumter were constantly around the ball causing havoc. Thompson recorded at least one sack in back-to-back games, while Sumter notched seven tackles. Also, junior linebacker Rob Bright had six tackles for the second game in a row.
“We’re athletic up front. Joe Thompson has a great get-off. He’s got some good moves. He’s long and lean. He’s athletic and I think he’s going to create problems at the tackle position as well as David Sumter,” said Collins. “I think those two are going to be athletic ends that are going to continue to get pressure up front.”
The Pioneers next game is on Saturday, September 22, at 1 p.m. at Hickox Field against the 3-0 Bloomsburg University Huskies. The Huskies are coming off a 44-37 victory over Kutztown University. The Pioneers won the most recent matchup against the Huskies last year on October 29 by a score of 24-21. On the road and in a blizzard, the Pioneers upset the second-ranked Huskies to snap a four-game losing streak against the team.
Tune into 88.1 FM or WCWP.org to hear all the coverage for the game. Pregame starts at 12:30 p.m. and kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
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