PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y.- The Pace Football team rallied back from a first half deficit but fell short to the LIU Post Pioneers 44-36 in Northeast-10 Conference action. The Setters fall to 0-5 overall and 0-4 in the NE-10, while the Pioneers improve to 3-2 and 3-1 in conference play.
LIU Post got the first points of the game midway through the opening quarter as they kicked a 22-yard field goal. The Setter defense forced a turnover on the next Pioneer possession as
Niklas Heffran came up with the fumble recovery deep in LIU Post territory. On the next play,
Valentino Miles scored from 14 yards out to put the Setters in front 7-3. LIU Post controlled the rest of the half as they built a 37-7 lead at halftime.
The second half was a different story as the Setters rallied back. Pace got excellent field possession as
Delaney Wallace returned the second half kickoff 66 yards down to the Pioneer 29-yardline. Miles capped the drive with his second score of the day from five yards out to cut the score down to 37-14. LIU Post answered later in the quarter with a touchdown to extend their lead.
Pace was not finished as they struck again on their next possession.
Steven Demeo connected with
Kyle Johnson on the first play of the drive for 70 yards to jolt the Setters. On the first play of the next Pioneer possession,
Issac Esson intercepted LIU Post pass, placing the Setter offense close to midfield. Demeo drove the Setters down the field, including converted a key 4th-and-two play at the Pioneer 34 as he scrambled for a first down. Three plays later, Demeo hit Wallace on a screen pass and Wallace punched it in from 12-yards out to close the gap to 44-28 early in the fourth quarter.
The Setter defense stood tall on the next two LIU Post possessions, forcing a three-and-out and
Joseph Roman intercepted a pass on the next possession to give the Pace offense the ball at their own 39-yard-line. Demeo again led the Setter offense down the field, capitalizing on back-to-back pass interference penalties on the Pioneers, moving the ball down to the LIU Post three-yard-line. Mils punched it in from there to make it a one possession game at 44-36. Pace ultimately fell short as the Pioneers were able to run the clock out and escape with the win.
For the Setters, Demeo tossed to 184 yards on 17-for-28 passing and two scores, while leading the team on the ground with 49 yards on 17 carries. Miles finished with 41 yards on the ground and added five catches for 24 yards. Johnson finished with a pair of receptions for 73 yards and a score. On defense,
Dan Pelish totaled nine tackles, including one for a loss, while
Matthew Corrie added eight tackles.
The Setters have a short week as they travel to Assumption College on Friday, October 10 for their lone night game of the season. Kickoff for Friday night's game against the Greyhounds is scheduled for 7 pm.
For all Pace Football updates throughout the year, please log on to www.PaceUAthletics.com and follow @PaceUAthletics and @Pace_Football on Twitter for up to the minute information.
