LIU Post steamrolls way to 10-0

After dominating Pace University in their regular-season home finale and climbing to their highest national ranking in program history, the No. 10 ranked LIU Post football team solidified its place as one of the best teams in Division II with a 64-7 victory over Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass. on Saturday, Nov. 5. 
The win gave the Pioneers a perfect 10-0 season for the first time since 2002. 
Coming back from a knee injury, senior quarterback Jeff Kidd led the Pioneers, completing 21-of-30 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns. 
He was eventually relieved by red-shirt sophomore quarterback Michael Campbell, who threw for 74 yards on only six attempts and two scores. 
The LIU Post offense got going early and often. 
In the first quarter, separate Pioneer drives were capped off by senior halfback David White, who ran in from 15 yards out and red-shirt junior receiver Kyle Ward, who scored on a 12-yard pass from Kidd. 
In the second quarter, red-shirt sophomore running back, the second of the two-headed backfield monster, found the end zone from three yards out to make it 21-0 in favor of LIU Post. 
A few possessions later, the Pioneers went up four touchdowns on connection from Kidd to red-shirt senior pass catcher Shane Hubbard. At halftime, the Pioneers led 31-0. 
The Pioneers, though, were not satisfied with a 31-point advantage. 
In the second half, they changed that in just two plays. 
Red-shirt sophomore defensive back Kasim Thomas read the eyes of the opposing quarterback, picked off the pass and took it back 18 yards for a pick-six. 
Campbell subbed in under center for a majority of the second half and threw touchdown passes to red-shirt junior receiver Tyler Collins and red-shirt sophomore receiver Michael Hartgrove. 
The final Pioneer points came from freshman tailback Tim Marinan, who scampered 18 yards for six, making it 64-0 at that point in the fourth quarter. 
A Merrimack touchdown with a minute left spoiled the Pioneer shutout, but nonetheless, the Pioneers dominated every facet of the game. 
The Pioneers rushing attack totaled 194 yards from nine contributors. 
In the receiving department, Hubbard went for six catches, 84 yards and a touchdown while Higgins also had six catches for 56 yards. 
Defensively, the Pioneers had four interceptions, two by freshman defensive back Joshua Flowers. 
Red-shirt freshman linebacker Conor Haverty had four tackles and a forced fumble in the victory as well. 
“The boys up front did a great job in shutting down the run game and making them one-dimensional,” head LIU Post football coach Bryan Collins said. 
By making them rely solely on the pass, the Pioneers forced turnover after turnover. The defense allowed a total of 167 yards compared to 534 for LIU Post. 
The Pioneers, led by Collins, will host No. 15 ranked Assumption College in the NE-10 Conference Championship on Saturday, Nov. 12. 
In their matchup earlier this season, the Pioneers came out victorious 19-18, in large part due to a running game that went for 185 yards and a defense that forced three turnovers. 
Kickoff at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium is at noon. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3. 
This article was originally published in the Pioneer, LIU Post’s award-winning student newspaper that is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2016, www.liupostpioneer.com. The article is republished by Blank Slate Media with the permission of the Pioneer.