RINDGE, N.H. -- The streak is over. After losing their first 16 games as a Division II program dating back to last fall when the program started, Post University Football has put one in the win column. On a rainy afternoon at Sodexo Field in Rindge, New Hampshire, it was a battle in the trenches for the Eagles against Franklin Pierce University on Saturday, a battle in which Post University would emerge victorious in after a 63-yard touchdown pass from graduate quarterback Simon Burkett to sophomore wide receiver Josh Tracey with 4:27 remaining in the fourth quarter gave them the 16-13 lead which the defense would hold in the waning moments of the game.

THE BASICS

Post University 16, Franklin Pierce University 13 

Post University (1-6)

Franklin Pierce University (3-4)

HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a game that saw both sides combine for just 67 total passing yards and a combined four completions on 21 total attempts, but a ground attack that saw the Ravens run it an incredible 83 times to just 26 for the Eagles. A scoreless first quarter would give way to a field goal by freshman kicker Aden Caine at the goal line after the Ravens made a stop just before the end zone on a previous third-and-10, giving Post a 3-0 lead.

The response would be immediate from Franklin Pierce as their 10-play, 77-yard drive which would include nine rushes by the Ravens would conclude with a six-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Alex Benitez to put them back in front, 7-3. An interception on the first play of the drive by Burkett would give the Ravens the ball back and they would march down to the Eagle 16-yard line before junior kicker Noaln Startzell's field goal attempt was no good, keeping the score the same then as well as into the half.

As the rain continued to pour down, so did the rushing plays from both sides and another long nine-play, 70-yard drive from the Ravens culminating in a one-yard touchdown run by Benitez, his second of the day, that extended the Raven lead to 10 points, 13-3. The Eagles would need just 15 seconds to cut that lead back down to four with junior running back Isaiah Emmanuel's 76-yard touchdown run which made it 13-9 before Caine's extra point was blocked.

Two fourth-quarter fumbles would come back to bite Franklin Pierce with the latter coming at the beginning of a drive with 4:53 remaining in regulation. Recovered by freshman linebacker Sabyan Schmitz at the 37-yard line of Post, that would be when Burkett dropped his 63-yard touchdown pass to Tracey, just one of three passes he completed, on the very next play that gave the Eagles the lead back, 16-13, needing just one more defensive stance to get their first win in program history.

Battling the weather, the Ravens were forced to run the ball 13 straight times which got them to the 26-yard line of Post before attempting to throw towards the end zone twice times for the opportunity to take back the victory. On fourth-and-10 from the same spot, freshman quarterback located a wide-open receiver in sophomore Jahmir Dixon around the five-yard line, but Dixon dropped the pass, and the Ravens would turn the ball over on downs, setting off the celebration on the first win in program history for the Eagles, 16-13. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Isaiah Emmanuel finished with a career-high and program-record 154 rushing yards on the day along with a touchdown
• Franklin Pierce outrushed Post University, 420-207, with Alex Benitez registering a team-leading 152 rushing yards and two touchdowns 
• Simon Burkett finished the game 3-for-15 with 65 passing yards, a touchdown, and an interception 
• The 10-second scoring drive, which won the game for Post University, is the fastest scoring drive in program history 
• This was the first win in program history for Post University which started 0-16 as a Division II program

WHO'S NEXT
Post University returns home for their final home game of the 2023 season in which they will take on in-state rival, Southern Connecticut State University at 1:00 PM at Municipal Stadium next Saturday. The two teams met last year during the inaugural season for the Eagles in which the Owls would win, 44-7.