SPRINGFIELD, Mass. In a rematch of last season's Northeast-10 Championship Game it was the American International College defense that set the tone causing five turnovers and scoring a pair of touchdowns as the Yellow Jackets defeated LIU Post ** in Northeast-10 Conference football action this afternoon from Abdow Field.
AIC improves to 2-3 on the year and 2-2 in league play while the Pioneers fall to 3-2 overall and 2-2 in the NE-10.
The game started slow with a 3-and-out by LIU Post and a missed field-goal by the Yellow Jackets before the defense turned the momentum around and jumpstarted the offense.
On LIU Post's ensuing possession junior Daquan Holmes (Troy, N.Y.) picked off junior Jeff Kidd's (Salem, Ore.) first-down offering. Then on AIC's first play from scrimmage sophomore Kwame Jarvis (Schenectady, N.Y.) found a wide open senior Maurice Easterling (Yonkers, N.Y.) streaking down the seam for the 42-yard touchdown strike. The point after was blocked, however, and AIC enjoyed a 6-0 lead at the end of the first stanza.
After the teams traded a pair of three-and-outs to start the second period Kidd connected with junior Shane Hubbard (St. Albans, N.Y.) for a 40-yard touchdown down the left sideline to cap off a 5-play 61-yard drive and with the converted point after the Pioneers led 7-6 early in the second.
On American International's next possession it was Easterling answering the call to regain the lead as he broke free around the right side and burst down the sideline for the 74-yard scamper into the land of six and after junior Christopher Boteler's (Manassas, Va.) extra point the Jackets led 13-6.
Then just 55 ticks later senior Andrew Justice (Brooklyn, N.Y.) intercepted Kidd and raced 47 yards for the pick six and a 20-7 edge for the hosts.
AIC then took advantage of a fumbled kickoff recovered by junior Devonte Dillion (Windsor, Conn.) and turned it into a 28-yard field goal by Boteler. Then on the Pioneers ensuing possession senior Malik Copper (Bloomfield, N.J.) registered the fourth turnover of the day for the Jacket defense as he returned an interception 30 yards for a score and a 30-7 lead midway through the second frame.
The defense held strong again as with under a minute left in the half and LIU driving to score senior Mike Ford (Sammamish, Wash.) picked-off another Kidd pass at the goal line and rumbled all the way to the visitor 27 yard-line, but Post held strong keeping them out of the end zone as the teams went into the intermission.
The Pioneers scored first in the second half benefiting from a senior Brandon Cheney (Hewlett, N.Y.) interception and driving 15 plays and 58 yards before stalling at the one yard line and having to settle for a 36-yard field goal by freshman Zach Kolodny (Farmingdale, N.Y.) for the 30-10 deficit.
Post used that momentum to force a 3-and-out for AIC including back-to-back sacks on second and third down to get the ball back. After a sub-par punt LIU only had 32 yards to march and it only took one play as Kidd found sophomore James Higgins (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) over the middle on the post route for the score and the 30-17 score.
Easterling stole the momentum right back on a draw play as he burst through the middle and raced 62 yards as the third quarter expired for the 37-17 margin heading into the fourth quarter.
The teams traded possessions early in the fourth before junior Marcel DePina (New Bedford, Mass.) races over left tackle 79-yards to pay dirt and the Jackets led 44-17 with less than five minutes to play in the game.
American International controlled the ground game outrushing the visitors 304-77 as Easterling finished the day with 193 yards on the ground to go with 49 through the air and three touchdowns. DePina added 86 yards on the ground and one score for the Jackets. Jarvis completed 12-of-19 passes for 134 and a score.
Senior Tyrone Mans (Newark, N.J.) paced the defense with 10 total tackles (five solo) while junior Jerrod Shelby (Brockton, Mass.) continued his stout play recording eight tackles (five solo) for the Jackets who recorded six turnovers (4-INT, 2-FUM) and a pair of defensive scores.
Senior Brandon Cheney (Hewlett, N.Y.) had a stellar day on the defensive side for the Pioneers as he had a game-high 14 tackles (seven solo) including 1.5 tackles for loss.
AIC returns to action next week as they travel to Stonehill for a 1 p.m. affair.
