Champs

There is no doubt who the best team on the field last Saturday and the 2016 season was. LIU Post dominated Assumption in their 43-23 victory to become the 2016 NE-10 champions. They finish the regular season 11-0 and will continue their season in the playoffs.

It didn't start out well for the Pioneers. Assumption was the better team in the first 13 minutes of the game. The Greyhounds moved the ball, forced turnovers and looked like it was going to be a good day for them. But it was the Post goal line defense that emerged. They stopped three trips into the red zone and forced field goals.

"We always stress no matter where the ball is to never give up on the drive," LIU Post defensive lineman Kenny Scotland said. "We make them fight for every year and that is what we did."

That was enough momentum for Post to regroup and play their game. They rattled off 37 consecutive points and it was time to celebrate for the Pioneers.

"We had some adversity early on," LIU Post head coach Bryan Collins said.

Jeff Kidd shook off two interceptions in the first quarter to develop a rhythm with his receivers as he finished with three touchdown passes. Post seemed to be able to throw the ball deep with ease.

It is the second championship in three years for the Pioneers.

They also become the first team to win multiple title games in the modern era of the championship game.

MVP

Malik Pierre was the easy choice for MVP of the championship game. He spent most of the day in the end zone for the Pioneers and was the best player on the field.

He took back the opening second half kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown and that helped to open the flood gates for Post.

"All season, we have been talking about specials teams breaking off a kickoff," Pierre said. "They did a great job of blocking and it turned the game around."

"We talked about it all year long," Collins said. "It was a great blocking scheme. We needed that coming out of halftime."

Pierre then found the end zone two more times on the ground and finished the game with 248 all-purpose yards. He has always been a big play type and it was on full display in the championship game.

He is also the first running back to be named MVP in the NE-10 championship game.

Big Games

LIU Post is now 3-0 in NE-10 championship games and the games have not been close.

Back in 2001, then CW Post defeated Bentley 43-6 and in 2014, they defeated American International on the road 58-25 in the championship game.

"They get ready to play," Collins said of the success. "When the leaves start falling, Post starts balling. I think that is something one of my kids said."

So, three trips to the championship game and they have outscored their opponents 144-54. It makes people look foolish to pick against them in championship games. (For the record, I have picked against them in 2014 and 2016.)

Red ZoneNemesis

Assumption has been very good the past several years. They have defeated all but one team in the NE-10. They have not been able to handle LIU Post.

The Greyhounds have now lost four straight to Post with their last victory coming in 2013. Since Chesney has become the head coach, Assumption is 18-3 on the road against Division II opponents. Two of those losses are at Post over the past two seasons and the other in the playoffs last year at Slippery Rock.

"They are very good," Chesney said of Post. "They are good up front and they are good every which way you look at it. They are a good football team."

"They are good enough in the run and pass that if you try to take one away, they go the other way," Chesney said.

Overall, Post holds a 12-2 overall record over Assumption and you can bet that the 2017 schedule has this game already circled for everyone in Worcester.

Playoffs

We have two NE-10 schools in the playoffs. Both LIU Post and Assumption were awarded spots in Super Region One as the league has two participants for the first time since 2008.

Post will enter the playoffs as the number two seed in Super Region One. It is their fifth trip to the playoffs and will be their second home game. They will host Winston Salem State on Saturday at 12 PM.

Assumption will be the number six seed and travel to face Shepherd on Saturday at 12 PM. The Rams made it all the way to the Division II title game last year and are a consistent fixture in the playoffs.

California is the top seed of the region and gets the bye in the opening weekend. Fairmont State and IUP are fourth and fifth and will meet in West Virginia with the winner heading to California for the second round.

"We have a good shot at going far in the playoffs," LIU Post receiver Shane Hubbard said. "We need to keep our minds in the same place and we need to work hard."

From 2004-2008, the NE-10 had at least two members in the playoffs including three in 2006. The past five years just saw one team make the playoffs after a two-year hiatus from 2009 and 2010.

Record Breaker

Shane Hubbard also rewrote the Post record book as he grabbed his 30th touchdown of his career. He broke the record of 29 career touchdowns held by Jim Bryne since 1993.

"I made a good adjustment to the ball," Hubbard said. "It is the championship game and I need to make that play."

Hubbard finished with 100 yards and two touchdowns in the game and was named to the all-championship team. His total of 31 touchdown catches will look to extend this weekend.

Record Breaker, Part II

American International safety Daquan Holmes picked off his fifth pass of the season and more importantly, 20th of his career. He is now the all-time interception leader in NE-10 history.

The record breaker came early in the second quarter as he picked off the pass and went 53 yards to set up the Yellow Jacket offense with great field possession.

He also scored a touchdown midway through the first quarter with an 88-yard kickoff return. It started the comeback for American International as they trailed 21-0 at the time.

Last year, American International head coach Art Wilkins marveled at Holmes being the fastest player in the league. He said that Holmes was part of the track team at AIC and you can see that speed on the kickoffs and pick sixes that he had over his career.

Record Breaker, Part III

St Anselm quarterback Yianni Gavalas became the all-time touchdown pass leader in school history. His career total of 52 tops Michael Pierce's previous record of 50.

He tossed two touchdowns in the opening quarter to break the record. A 28 yarder to Kyle Hill and a two yarder to Connor Schoske helped to etch his name at the top of the record book.

Gavalas missed most of his junior season with a shoulder injury and probably would have passed the mark soon.

Near Record Breaker

Stonehill freshman receiver Andrew Jamiel tied the school record with 91 receptions this year. Nate Robitaille grabbed 91 passes in 2013 and they will be linked right now at the top of the record book.

Jamiel fell two receptions short of tying the all-time Division II record for receptions by a freshman. If he had not missed a game due to injury, he might have topped the school and NCAA record.

He had six double digit reception games and has a bright future for the Skyhawks for a couple of more years.

2016 Season

Going into the season, I thought that Assumption and LIU Post would play for the championship. I thought that the Greyhounds would win and make some noise in the playoffs. Post won the game but both teams made the playoffs.

A couple of teams like Southern Connecticut and Bentley had better seasons that I predicted. Both finished the regular season three slots ahead of where I thought they might be. The Falcons were on pace for the biggest leap but lost their final three games of the season.

Merrimack and Stonehill were the teams that finished below where I thought. The Warriors had several off-season injuries that hampered them while Stonehill lost a bunch of close games in the first couple of weeks. New Haven, American International and Pace all came in exactly where I predicted.

For the 2017 season, it is way too early to predict but I think that Assumption and Post will be right back at the top. They have underclassmen back at key positions and should be in contention again. Teams like Southern Connecticut and New Haven seem to reload each year and will be in the next tier. Someone will make an unlikely run in the league.

Let's enjoy the playoffs and we will focus on 2017 in 2017.