Undefeated

For the sixth time in league history, a team has finished the regular season undefeated. LIU Post finished off their perfect league record with a convincing 64-7 victory at Merrimack. For the Pioneers, it is just the first step for a team determined to make some noise over the coming weeks.

"It is a great accomplishment to finish in this league undefeated," LIU Post head coach Bryan Collins said. "But we are not satisfied with that. We want to win this championship next week and go to the playoffs to represent the NE-10."

The good news for Post fans is that Jeff Kidd is back. After suffering a knee injury against Southern Connecticut, the senior quarterback is back after missing two games. It took a couple of series to shake off the rust but when he did, it is business as usual for Kidd. He finished the game with 266 yards passing and two touchdown passes.

"We are staying focused," Kidd said. "We are taking it one week at a time. We are excited to play in the championship game."

"It was a great season," LIU Post defensive lineman Kenny Scotland said. "But we are looking at it like it is the halfway point."

The Pioneers now officially turn their sights on the championship game and a highly anticipated rematch with Assumption. Post won the first match-up on the road 19-18 in Worcester and are looking to continue their upper hand on the Greyhounds.

"It is hard to beat someone twice," Collins said. "We have to learn from our lesson of two years ago when we lost to AIC and then beat them in the championship. We have to be on point for a very good Assumption football team."

Kickoff for the championship is slated for 12 PM Saturday.

Business as usual

Assumption also took care of business at home with a solid 31-3 victory over American International. For the Greyhounds, it is second straight 8-1 regular season but this time around, they will travel on the road to play the championship game.

Dylan Oxsen found the end zone two more times as Marc Monks and Ashton Grant hooked up for the 13th time in the win. The defense was stellar again as they limited American International to a mere 145 yards of total offense.

Assumption also officially turns their sights on the championship game and a rematch with Post.

Battle of Elm City, Part II

New Haven and Southern Connecticut are natural rivals as their campuses are separated by just four miles. They both finished the regular season with identical 6-4, 6-3 NE-10 records and will now break the tie during championship weekend.

For the Owls, they held on for a 28-25 victory over St. Anselm. Ray Catapano was perfect in the first half, helping Southern Connecticut jump out early. But a feverish comeback by St. Anselm nearly ruined the day. Corey Chaffee saved the day with the Owls' third pick of the day as they won their sixth game of the season and clinched a winning record for the first time in five years.

Across town, New Haven used a strong second half to defeat Bentley 17-7. After the game was tied at seven at the half, Andre Anderson scored on the Chargers' first play of the second half following a Bentley fumble and they never looked back. The defense was solid in the final 30 minutes as New Haven won their sixth game of the season.

So, bragging rights are on the line this weekend when cross town rivals face off against each other.

Almost

Pace nearly pulled off their first regular season league victory since 2009 but eventually fell to Stonehill 17-10 in overtime. Alex Toplyn hauled in an 82-yard touchdown pass in the final minute to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Unfortunately for Pace, Stonehill scored on their first possession when Matt Foltz and Kaleb Lutton hooked up for a touchdown. And then the Stonehill defense forced three straight incompletions to end the game.

Pace has been close to winning several league games this year and seems to be making strides. They are starting to recruit players capable of winning in the NE-10. 2017 might be the year that they finally get in the win column in the NE-10.

Championship Weekend

For the fifth year, the NE-10 is holding a championship weekend with a championship game to determine the best team in the league. We are also going to have our first two-time championship as LIU Post and Assumption won the title in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Surprisingly, all the NE-10 teams have experienced a victory as part of the championship weekend. Post has the best record as they are 3-0 during the weekend including the 2014 championship. Bentley is a close second at 3-1 but has yet to make it to the championship game.

St. Anselm was the last team to pick up a victory during the weekend when they defeated Pace last year 39-30. Speaking of Pace, they grabbed a 10-7 victory over Southern Connecticut back in 2014. They did not qualify for the inaugural weekend as the league had just nine teams at the time before Post rejoined the league in 2013.

If you have a home game for championship weekend, it is not easy sledding for you. Home teams are a mere 4-6 in the past two years so the road team is hungry to prove that they deserved a chance at hosting.

Overall, it has been a nice addition to the schedule for all the teams in the league. It helped to crown a champion and get one final time for seniors to buckle up their chin strap and play a game of football.