Box Score (Brookville, N.Y.): Clarion wideout
Jon Reid caught 9 passes for 212 yards (3
rd most in Clarion history) and 1 td, but 8 Clarion turnovers were the difference as LIU-Post defeated the Golden Eagles 46-26 on the gridiron Saturday afternoon at Hickox Field.
The Golden Eagles drop to 1-1 in the 2012 season, while LIU-Post moves to 1-0 in the season opener for the Pioneers.
Clarion had little trouble moving the pigskin on Saturday accumulating 538 yards of total offense, but 8 turnovers (4 fumbles & 3 int's, kickoff recovery) led to 39 of the Pioneers 46 points in the game.
Clarion took the opening kickoff and from its own 5 yard line to the Pioneer 9 in 14 plays.
Bobby Thomas rushed for 55 yards in the drive, but on fourth and one at the Post 9, QB
Ben Fiscus came up inches short of a first down ending a quality scoring opportunity.
Later in the first quarter, following a Fiscus fumble, Post qb Steven Laurino hit Ryan Derham on a 49-yard td pass at the 2:39 mark for a 6-0 lead.
Post's Anton Rukaj intercepted a Fiscus pass on the next possession, and Post made it 12-0 when Sean Binckes caught a 10-yard td pass from Laurino at 14:39 of the second.
The Pioneers went ahead 18-0 on a Steven Laurino 17-yard td run at 11:52. The td came after Post picked off Fiscus at midfield and ended up driving 45-yards to paydirt.
Clarion got on the board driving 63-yards in 7 plays to make it 18-8 at 8:21 of the second quarter. Fiscus hit
Jon Reid for 36 yards to the Post 27. Thomas ran for three yards, and Fiscus two for 13 to take the ball to the 11. On third and 1 at the 2, Thomas scored his first career td on a two-yard run, and when Fiscus hit tight end
Rob Irwin on a two-point conversion, the lead was cut to 18-8.
Post came back and scored on a play that went 83-yards to paydirt to lead 25-8. Laurino rushed 24 yards, was hit by the Eagles
Mike Zak, fumbled the pigskin to Pat Fitzgerald, who ran the ball 59-yards for the score.
The Pioneers also scored on a 13-yard pass from Laurino to Joe Botti, and a Jeff Mack 1 yard run to lead 39-8 at halftime.
Clarion bounced back to score three, second half touchdowns to make the final 46-26.
The first score came at 13:11 of the third quarter when qb
Ben Fiscus ran the ball 88-yards to paydirt. The run was the longest touchdown run in school history, breaking the record of 84-yards set in 2009 by
Alfonso Hoggard against Slippery Rock. The kick failed and Post led 46-14.
Early in the fourth quarter the Eagles drove 78 yards in 6 plays to score. The td came on a 38-yadr pass from Fiscus to Reid at 11:42. The two-point conversion failed and left the score 46-20.
Clarion scored on its final drive of the game going 48 yards in only 3 plays. Fiscus hit Reid for 42-yards to the Post 6. Two plays later Fiscus hit
Mark Nicholas for a 5-yard td pass and the final score of 46-26.
Clarion gained 538 yards of offense and averaged 7.3 yards per play. Qb
Ben Fiscus completed 18 of 31 passes for 280 yards and 2 td's, plus rushed for 81 yards and 1 td.
Running back
Bobby Thomas rushed for 158 yards and 1 td on 25 carries, plus caught 1 pass for 11 yards.
Jon Reid had a career receiving day, catching 9 aerials for 212 yards and 1 td. His 212 receiving yards are the third most in a single game in school history, tying former great Tom Kurts who had 212 vs. Shippensburg in 1967. Pierre Odom had 246 yards in 2006 and former great Terry McFetridge had 251 yards against Kutztown in 1982.
On the defense Clarion was led by
Nate Sipes with 9 tackles, while
Kyle McWreath had 6 hits and
Jason Peterson had 2 tfl's.
Post had 375 yards of offense and were led by qb Steven Laurino who completed 5 of 10 passes for 90 yards and 3 td's, plus rushed for 70 yards and 2 td's. Jeff Mack rushed for 93 yards and 1 td.
Clarion will travel to Mercyhurst next Saturday to open PSAC-West play with kickoff slated for Noon.
