Worcester, Mass. (September 27) -- In a back-and-forth Northeast-10 Conference matchup, the Assumption College football team dropped a 28-27 final to visiting LIU Post on Homecoming Weekend at the Multi-Sport Stadium. Both teams held double-digit leads in the game before a late Pioneer rally lifted the visitors from 13 points down to the road win in front of 2,582 fans.

The Pioneers jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead as senior quarterback Steven Laurino scored on a pair of five-yard quarterback keepers. Each drive took exactly two minutes, with the first score coming with 5:27 left in the period to cap a five-play, 37-yard drive. The next touchdown was at the end of a six-play, 52-yard drive with just 1:41 left in the first quarter, en route to 35 rushing yards in the game for the Pioneer QB. The LIU Post defense was excellent in the opening quarter, forcing three straight Assumption punts and allowing the Hounds possession for just 4:19 of the 15-minute period.

Assumption got things going in the second quarter as the Hounds took possession after a missed field goal attempt by the Pioneers and converted that into a touchdown with 7:14 left in the opening half. After a catch across the middle by junior Dave Call (Springville, N.Y./Saint Francis) got the Hounds into the red zone at the 13-yard line, freshman Ashton Grant (Manchester, Conn./Manchester) pulled down an eight-yard touchdown catch to make it a 14-7 game.

In the third, Grant pulled down a 34-yard pass from junior Trevor Vasey (Cumberland, R.I./St. Raphael Academy) to get the Hounds back into the red zone at the Pioneer 15 yard line. On third and nine, Vasey took off to his left, went up the near sideline and squeezed inside the pylon with 12:41 on the clock to tie the game at 14-14.

With 6:33 left in the third, the Pioneers attempted a 44-yard field goal attempt that came up short. On the ensuing Assumption possession, the Hounds used a 46-yard reception by senior Eddy Frazier (Worcester, Mass./Burncoat) to get deep into LIU territory at the 27. After a trio of solid runs by senior Matt Heriveaux (Everett, Mass./Malden Catholic), Vasey found Grant across the middle from seven yards out for his second touchdown of the game and third of the season.

With 1:51 left in the third, the Hounds started a drive at their own 39 yard line and used a 44-yard strike to Grant up the far sideline to get back into the red zone yet again. After time expired on the third quarter with the game tied, Vasey found senior Kyle Jamerson (Georgetown, Mass./Pingree School) on a 10-yard reception that was ruled down at the half yard line after Jamerson's helmet was knocked off during the play. Heriveaux capped off the six-play, 61-yard drive on the next play though from one yard out to put the Hounds seemingly in control at 27-14. The extra-point attempt was blocked though, leaving the game with the 13-point margin.

Early in the fourth, the Pioneers began to make things happen as freshman Richard Wright picked off Vasey on a 2nd-and-7 play with 12:53 remaining. The LIU Post drive that followed was a seven-play, 87-yard effort that ended with a Laurino touchdown pass to Kyle Palmer to make it a 27-21 margin.

On the next Assumption possession, three straight pass attempts were incomplete before the Hounds punted back to the Pioneers with 9:17 on the clock. Over the next 2:30, Laurino engineered a seven-play scoring drive that featured 6-of-7 completions and was capped by a 19-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Shane Hubbard for the 28-27 final margin.

The Hounds drove into Pioneers territory to the 39-yard line on the next drive after an 18-yard rush by Heriveaux, but the hosts were forced to punt back to the Pioneers with 3:17 left in the game. Laurino and LIU Post picked up three first downs on the final drive though as the visitors were able to run out the clock and pick up their second win of the season.

For the game, LIU Post held a 464-405 edge in total offense and controlled time of possession by over 13 minutes. Both teams were efficient in the red zone however, converting 7-of-8 times that included a perfect 4-for-4 effort by Assumption.

Heriveaux led the rushing game for the Hounds with 64 yards and a touchdown on 14 rushes, while Vasey picked up his second straight 300-yard game with a 302-yard, two-touchdown effort. Grant was the leading receiver with four catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns, while Frazier had a team-best five catches for 93 yards.

Laurino finished up the game with 329 yards on 27 completions and two touchdowns while being sacked five times by the Assumption defense. Palmer led the team with 117 receiving yards on seven catches, while Hubbard ended with a game-high eight catches for 96 yards.

On defense, Joe Gizzi (South Easton, Mass./Oliver Ames) had a team-best eight tackles for the Hounds, while seniors Derrick Mann (Sharon, Mass./Sharon) and Zach Triner (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) each had a pair of sacks in the game.

Manny Dopazo posted the top defensive effort for LIU Post as he registered 10 total tackles that included 1.5 tackles for a loss of five yards.

With the loss, Assumption drops to 1-3 overall and 1-2 in Northeast-10 play, while LIU Post improves to 2-2 overall and 2-1 in the league.

Assumption is back in action on Saturday, October 4th as the Hounds travel to Southern Connecticut for a Noon start at Jess Dow Field.

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