PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. –  A year ago, the fourth quarter seemed to be Post University Football's kryptonite, dropping four one-score games during a 1-9 season. Fast forward to 2025, and the last two weeks, it has been the Eagles closing things out in the fourth quarter to help them get off to their best start in program history at 3-0 following a fourth-quarter come-from-behind win against Pace University on Saturday afternoon in Pleasantville, New York, 27-19. The win marked the first time in which Post has defeated the Setters and their first 1-0 start in Northeast-10 Conference play, which began this weekend.

THE BASICS

Post University 27, Pace University 19

Post University (3-0, 1-0 NE10)

Pace University (0-4, 0-1 NE10)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Graduate wide receiver Elizjah Lewis had a huge game for Pace, finding the end zone three times for all three of junior quarterback Ethan Coady's touchdown passes, as part of his seven-reception, 151 receiving yard performance. Under center, Coady slung the rock for 324 passing yards, going 25-for-35 in the air with three touchdowns, three sacks, and what would end up being a costly fourth-quarter interception for the Setter offense. Junior quarterback Tyler Phommachanh was responsible for two of the three Post touchdowns via the ground game, rushing for 86 yards and two scores, while sophomore running back Adonis White had the only touchdown reception of the game for the Eagles via senior quarterback Malakai Taylor. 

The Coady-Lewis connection got going early after both teams failed to score on their opening drive as an 11-play, 80-yard drive by the Setters ended with Coady hooking up with Lewis for the 11-yard score with 5:41 remaining in the opening quarter to give Pace an early 7-0. 14 unanswered points in the second quarter for the Eagles gave them the halftime lead as Phommachanh ran in a pair of scores for 25 yards and 12 yards as part of two Post drives that both lasted less than 2 1/2 minutes, with the latter coming with 10 seconds remaining in the first half.

Responding with 13 unanswered points of their own after trailing 14-7, Coady hit Lewis with touchdown passes of 55 yards and 44 yards between the third and fourth quarters to help Pace regain the lead by five, 19-14, with 8:54 remaining in regulation. Both drives lasted under two minutes due to the big scoring plays by Lewis in both cases, but junior kicker Marc Malandruccolo missed the extra-point attempt on both scoring drives, leaving two critical points on the board for Pace.

On the ensuing drive for Post, it would take Taylor just under four minutes to work down the length of the field, hitting freshman wide receiver Israel Hiraldo with a big 19-yard gain to move into opponent's territory, before finishing the drive with a 21-yard strike to White with 4:56 left, giving the Eagles the lead back by one, 20-19, after the two-point conversion failed. Taylor finished the game for the Eagles, going 10-for-19 with 120 passing yards, a touchdown, an interception, and a sack in the victory for Post. 

After two Pace penalties set them back to first-and-20 at their own 22-yard line, sophomore safety Myles Snead picked off Coady's pass to the left side, running it back 24 yards for the pick-six that extended the Eagle lead to eight points, 27-19, following the successful extra point by freshman kicker Nathan Hawkins. Coady and the Setter offense would have two cracks at scoring the game-tying touchdown, and with less than two minutes remaining, three incomplete passes from the Post 20-yard line, two of which were to or near the end zone, would stall the first chance Pace had at tying the affair. 

With still 1:07 remaining, the Setter defense forced a quick three-and-out by the Eagles, and a short punt from freshman punter Hayden Hall placed Pace at the Post 36-yard line with 35 seconds on the clock. Following a first down completion by Coady that got the Setters just outside of the red zone at the 23-yard line, the second sack of the day by graduate outside linebacker Imeer Johnson allowed the clock to continue running. He forced Coady out of the game due to the hit he took, in which he lost the ball, but senior wide receiver Anthony Robinson picked it up to keep the drive alive.

In his place came sophomore quarterback Luke Porcaro with under 20 seconds remaining, and he would hit Lewis for a 21-yard gain that got Pace down to the 15-yard line for third-and-two with the clock running. The entire Setter offense would rush to the line and look to spike the ball with three seconds remaining for one last shot at the end zone, but a flag would be called for a false start, causing a 10-second runoff to occur and the game to end in a 27-19 victory for Post, who moved to 3-0 with the win. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Imeer Johnson recorded two sacks against Pace University, setting the single-game record for most sacks in program history for Post University, surpassing Zachary Jones' (10/28/23 vs. Southern Connecticut) and Omar Tillman's (9/13/25 vs. Southern Connecticut) 1.5 sack games that came over the last three seasons
• Post University finished with 37 rushing attempts in the game, which ties them for the sixth-most single-game rushes in program history, while their 155 yards on the ground was the sixth-best rushing performance in program history
• Recording two more rushing touchdowns today, that is the fifth time in which Post University has had two rushing touchdowns in a game, making it the fourth-most for a single game in program history
• After breaking the single-game rushing touchdown record last week, Tyler Phommachanh had two touchdowns on the ground this week, tying him with himself and four other Post players for the second-most in a game in program history
• Hayden Hall's 45-yard punt against Pace University placed him eighth all-time for the longest punt in program history

WHO'S NEXT
After their final Bye Week of the 2025 campaign, Post University returns home on October 4th to take on Saint Anselm College in their first of two meetings this season at 1:00 PM at Municipal Stadium. This will be the matchup that counts towards the conference standings as the one on November 8th filled the open slot with the departure of the University of New Haven to Division I. The Eagles are 0-3 in the all-time series against the Hawks, allowing 40-plus points in each of the last two meetings.