Junior tailback Ian Smart's career-high 267 rushing yards served as the centerpiece of a strong effort as the C.W. Post Pioneers easily handled the St. Anselm Hawks in Northeast-10 football action on Saturday, September 22 by a 63-14 score.

Smart reached the end zone four times on runs of 48 , 57, 80 and 49 yards, the third consecutive week he has scored a quartet of touchdowns. The scores also tied Smart with Joe Brusca, who played for the Pioneers between 1991-94, for the C.W. Post career lead in rushing touchdowns with
44. Smart's total has come in just 25 games.

As a team, the Pioneers rolled up 540 yards of total offense and posted the third-highest scoring game in their history, trailing only a 75-0 win over St. Peter's in 1973 and a 72-18 victory over Central
Connecticut twenty years later. For St. Anselm, the Hawks finished with 183 total yards, including -12 yards on the ground.

Smart got things going midway through the first quarter with his 48-yard dash, and after Post recoved a fumble on the subsequent kickoff, the duo of quarterback Frank Ingoglia and Jeremiah Pope hooked up on a 33-yard pass to quickly make it 14-0.

The Pioneer defense then tacked on the next seven points when John Levantino picked off a pass at the St. Anselm 42 and raced into the end zone for a 21-0 lead. After quickly holding the Hawks again, the Pioneers took just two plays to boost their advantage to 28-0 on Smart's 57-yard run
easrly in the second quarter.

After holding Anselm again, the Post special teams notched their first score of the afternoon on Leroy Brathwaite's school-record 85-yard punt return, his second of the year and third overall. Another stoppage by the defense, gave the Pioneers the ball back and Smart wasted little time,
breaking off an 80-yard score on the first play of the series.

The Hawks finally tallied their first points as Travis Pelletiersnagged Keith Comeau's 16-yard pass with 4:43 left before intermission to make it 42-7, but Post again struck quickly with a two play drive, capped by Brathwaite's second score of the day, a 74-yard pass from Ingoglia to give Post a commanding 49-7 lead at halftime.

The onslaught continued on the opening kick of the second half as Pope grabbed Erol Senel's kickoff at the Post seven and scored on a 93-yard return, the third time he has accomplished that achievement in his two-year career.

Once again, the Pioneer defense clamped down on the Hawks, stopping them on three plays before Post got the ball back and scored on Smart's 49-yard scamper. St. Anselm added the final score of the contest on an option pass from Kevin Ridgley to Jeff Farragher less than two minutes
later.

The Pioneer defensive line collected five sacks, two of them from senior end Charlie Cook, who also tipped away a pair of passes, nearly returning one for a touchdown. For the Hawks, Ryan Sullivan topped the defenders with 10 tackles, and teammates Matt Horgan and Geoff Raby each
added eight on the day.

Post now hits the road for a pair of games, starting with a contest next week at Stonehill before traveling to face Division I-AA. Monmouth. Saint Anselm returns to action next Saturday when the Hawks host Assumption College at 1:00 PM.