BROOKVILLE, N.Y. – Red-shirt senior QB Steven Laurino (Boise, Idaho) led LIU Post to 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, scoring the winning TD on a three-yard run with 2:41 left, as the Pioneers overcame a ten-point deficit to top visiting Bentley University, 35-31, in Northeast-10 Conference football Saturday afternoon at Bethpage Stadium.

Laurino, who has accounted for an incredible 40 TDs this season (23 passing, 17 rushing) threw for three scores and ran for two while amassing 437 total yards in a battle of quarterbacks. His counterpart for the Falcons, grad student Danny Guadagnoli (Framingham, Mass./Framingham HS), threw for four touchdowns and 370 yards while completing 30 of 51 passes.

Bentley, which seemed headed for a fourth straight win after heading into the fourth with a 31-21 lead (after trailing 14-0 early), fell to 4-6 overall (3-6 NE-10) with all six losses going right down to the final 90 seconds before being decided.

After the Pioneers (7-3, 7-2 NE-10) reclaimed the lead, Guadagnoli drove his team down the field into the red zone before a fourth-down pass fell incomplete with 14 seconds left. A 15-yard pass to sophomore Sean Myers (Foxboro, Mass./Roxbury Latin School) gave the Falcons a 1st-and-10 at the LIU Post 25. A seven-yard completion to senior Jet Kollie (Lowell, Mass./Lowell HS) on the third down brought the ball to the 18, but following a timeout, Bentley was unable to convert on fourth down.

LIU Post controlled the ball for all but 4:15 of the first 16:13 while building a 14-0 lead. Laurino scored on a two-yard run to make it 7-0 midway through the opening quarter and teamed up with sophomore David White (Bronx, N.Y.) on a two-yard TD pass 1:13 into the second.

Bentley got things going after junior defensive lineman Jeff Amell (Buxton, Maine/Bonny Eagle HS) recovered a fumble with a little more than 10 minutes left in the half. He returned it nine yards to the Post 16 and a Pioneer personal foul penalty moved it to the eight. Three plays later, Guadagnoli threw a four-yard pass to sophomore running back Martin Bannerman (Pawtucket, R.I./La Salle Academy) for the Falcons' first score.

After Laurino restored the differential to 14 (21-7) with a nine-yard TD pass with 2:55 left in the second, Guadagnoli and Bentley answered with a six-play, 80-yard drive. He threw for four first downs on the quick drive with grad student Alex Farkes (Boston, Mass./BB&N) pulling in a 26-yarder for the score.

The momentum carried into the third with the visitors putting up 17 unanswered points to open a 31-21 lead. Guadagnoli threw a six-yard completion to senior Jeff Hill (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield HS), junior Michael Baron (Medfield, Mass./Roxbury Latin School) hit a 32-yard field goal for the lead, and Guadagnoli and Myers teamed up on a 14-yard scoring strike.

After being denied on their previous five possessions, the LIU Post offense came to life early in the second. Completions of 13 and 22 yards brought the ball out to the Pioneer 45, a Bentley face mask penalty on a sack moved it to the Falcon 40, and three plays later, Laurino completed a 19-yard TD pass to junior tight end Sean Binckes (Brooklyn, N.Y.) to bring his team within three.

Bentley's next two possessions ended with punts, the second giving LIU the ball back at their own 47 with 4:09 left. It took just five plays for Laurino to get reach the end zone with the game-winning drive including completions of five, 13, 12 and 16 yards, along with a roughing the passer penalty on the Falcons.

Laurino completed 34 of 48 passes for 363 yards while also carrying the ball 23 times for a game-high 74 yards. His favorite receivers, each with eight catches, were sophomore Shane Hubbard (St. Albans, N.Y.) and senior Kamrom Palmer (Brooklyn, N.Y.). Hubbard finished with 102 yards and Palmer had 90.

Nine different players were on the receiving end of Guadagnoli's 30 completions, with Hill catching eight for 89, Kollie seven for 60, Myers five for 85 and Farkes four for 78.

Sophomore linebacker Bryan Hardy (Barnstable, Mass./Barnstable HS) led Bentley with 14 tackles and junior Josh Charles (Hyde Park, Mass./Catholic Memorial HS) followed with ten, including seven solo stops.

Both teams exceeded 400 yards total offense with Bentley finishing with 407 and LIU Post 472. First downs were also in favor of the home team, 30-27, and Bentley had two turnovers, one more than the Pioneers.

Bentley will finish the season next Saturday with a 12 noon game at Merrimack, the second meeting of the year between the two. Back on Oct. 11, the Warriors edged the Falcons, 28-25, in Waltham.