Have you ever wondered what happens the day of a game before the team takes the field? Have you ever wondered what is being said on the sidelines by the coaching staff after a big play? Now, you have the chance to be a fly on the wall in the huddle of a college football team.

I had approached Bentley head coach Thom Boerman after their victory over Pace at the end of August to see if I would be able to follow the team during a game day. My goal was to try to give a perspective of how a Division II football team prepares for a game and then what happens during the game and how they make adjustments as the game progresses.

So I was given unprecedented access to everything Bentley did on Saturday as they traveled to play St. Anselm. I was allowed to be in the locker room as the team prepared before the game. I also had complete access on the sidelines as the team came off the field and made in-game adjustments. I told coach Boerman that I would not divulge any schemes or plays that they run and wanted to focus on game management and the interaction between the players and coaches.

Here is the journal of the day:

2:30 PM: It is four and a half hours before the game starts. Players and coaches are filtering in and getting ready to make the 75 minute drive north to St. Anselm. Coach Boerman is watching tape of St. Anselm and making final adjustments for the game. Coaches are interacting with each other and ensuring that they have all of the final details worked out.

3:15 PM: The bus departs from the campus for the 75 minute drive north to Manchester, NH. It is a filtered sky with a temperature of 77 when the team leaves Waltham. The sky darkens and the mercury falls 13 degrees on the ride north. It also starts to rain.

4:33 PM: The bus pulls into the parking lot under rainy skies. Bentley has seen their fair share of rain this season as they played in rain storms when they traveled to West Virginia Wesleyan and two weeks ago against Stonehill. The team and staff file off the bus and head into the locker room located under the stands at Grappone Stadium. The locker room does not hold the entire team and some of the players are forced to sit outside in the hallway.

Pregame

4:39 PM: The training staff of Bentley is busy getting ready for the game. Players are starting to line up to get pregame treatment and taped. The training tables are set up like a manufacturing line as the staff is getting ready for the onslaught of players.

4:50 PM: The overflow players are hanging out in the hallway talking about everything from the weather to movies that they have seen recently. The line for the training staff is getting longer as more players are filtering out to get pregame treatment.

5:10 PM: Bobby Tarr and Chris Cadigan are getting dressed in the hallway. Both sneak into the bathroom to put on their undergarments but put on the rest of the uniform and gear right in the hallway. Some St. Anselm fans are at the other end of the hallway, staying dry as the rain is still falling outside.

5:15 PM: Defensive coordinator Scott Boyle is talking over defense concepts with captains Steve and Don Hopkins. After reviewing tape all week long, Boyle has spotted certain plays that St. Anselm will run in certain situations and both Hopkins twins are intently listening to him.

5:20 PM: The first pregame meeting will be with the special teams unit. Coach Rusty McKinney is in charge of special teams for Bentley and making sure that all of the players know their assignments. He is doing a roll call of the players and all of them are acknowledging their presence.

When one of them is not quick and loud enough in acknowledging, he barks at the squad to get focused. McKinney tells the unit that he wants a kickoff return for a touchdown, a blocked punt or a fumble by St. Anselm in their return game. He also reminds the unit that the rain will make it a little wet on the field and to hold on to the ball in those conditions. He then closes the meeting with a reminder to the unit to play hard during the whistles.

5:30 PM: The offense and defense meet for their final preparations before the game. The defense meets in the locker room to take advantage of the white board and the offense meets outside in the hallway. Boyle leads the defensive meeting going over what the Bentley defense needs to do and then reminding them of St. Anselm's tendencies.

He is quickly drawing formations on the white board and getting the team to tell him what their assignment is going to be. He is upset at one point when the team does not recognize one of the things that they spotted during film breakdown earlier in the week. Boyle ends the meeting with a final reminder of what the defense needs to do in this game to be successful.

5:50 PM: The first group of players take the field. They will start their pregame warm-ups as some of the players are still getting dressed for the game. Some of the players are very vocal as they take the field and others are quiet.

6:00 PM: The second group of players take the field for their warm-ups. The first group was made up of mostly offensive players and they are going through their preparation. Coaches are talking with the players to make sure that they are ready to play the game.

6:05 PM: On the field, offensive coordinator Darin Colucci asks wide receiver Jeff Hill if it is a good night for football and Hill said that it was perfect.

6:10 PM: The offense is all on the field and they are running pass patterns from both ends of the field. Quarterbacks coach Bryant Johnson is working with starting quarterback Danny Guadagnoli as he is throwing to the wide receivers. The defense is mulling around the sidelines as they are awaiting their turn.

6:12 PM: St. Anselm head coach Pat Murphy is talking with Bentley wide receiver Chris Malonis. Murphy was the former head coach of Dracut High School and Malonis graduated from there a couple of years.

6:15 PM: All of the team gathers to start their stretching. They start on both sidelines and converge in the middle. Blaine Hopwood is getting the team ready to go as he is yelling that it is "about that time, folks."

6:20 PM: Wide receivers coach Mike Harrington is on the sideline and asks one of the injured players to play a game of one handed catch with a football. The player is skeptical at first and accuses Harrington of cheating the last time they played. Both are required to catch the ball with one hand and then throw it back to the other. They are throwing the ball with spin and as much knuckle movement as possible. Neither drops the ball and Harrington needs to end the game early to attend to matters on the field.

6:22 PM: Boerman is walking around to the captains and other players with final pregame encouragements. The players are in the middle of stretching and getting ready for the game.

6:25 PM: Stretching is done and the team breaks down into smaller groups to prepare. Boyle is on the sideline with the defensive backs and ensuring that their footwork and fundamentals are good. He is telling his group to "make plays" tonight.

6:28 PM: Defensive line coach Garrett Gillick is working with the linemen to get their technique correct on the pass rush. He ends the breakdown by telling them to "do your job" tonight.

6:30 PM: The groups are done with their work and the team moves into 11-on-11. The offense is working on their plays while the defense is working on recognizing formations.

6:35 PM: It is starting to rain again on the field. It is good timing as the team is done with their pregame warm-ups and head back to the locker room.

6:40 PM: Steve Hopkins tracks down Boerman to go over options on the coin toss. If they win or lose the toss, they want to be on the same page for taking the ball or deferring and also the direction of the field that they want to move the ball first.

6:45 PM: Hopwood has his headphones back on and is quietly getting ready for the game. He is going over all of the assignments in his head. One of the other players is further down the hallway and gets a pregame kiss from his mother.

6:46 PM: The team is in the locker room and Boerman addresses the team. He reminds the team that they need to come out ready to go tonight. He does not want the team to play from behind so it is really important to take an early lead. He also reminds the team of all of the preparation during the week that the coaching staff did with the players but it is time for the players to execute it on the field.

6:53 PM: The team lines up outside of the locker room and are ready to take the field. They file out of the locker room and onto the field. They gather right in the end zone next to the entrance and start their pregame chant.

6:56 PM: Guadagnoli and backup quarterback Luke Zahradka are throwing the ball on the sideline getting loose.

6:58 PM: The national anthem is sung.

7:00 PM: It is game time. St. Anselm won the toss but deferred to the second half for possession. The Bentley offense will take the field first.

First Quarter:

9:47 left in the 1st qtr: It is the first big decision for Bentley. They have driven into St. Anselm territory and face a fourth down situation. McKinney is also asking kicker Will Lockwood his distance kicking that direction on the field. Bentley decides to go for it but is unable to convert.

7:24 left in the 1st qtr: The defense is already off the field after forcing St. Anselm to punt. While they are meeting, wide receiver Bill Kiley makes an acrobatic catch on the Bentley sideline that brings the group out of the huddle to cheer.

5:27 left in the 1st qtr: The Bentley drive stalls again but Lockwood is called upon to attempt the field goal. His kick bounces off the upright and falls back onto the field. He comes back the sideline and is upset over the miss. He quickly puts it behind him and starts to prepare for his next opportunity.

2:47 left in the 1st qtr: After another punt by St. Anselm, Boerman follows Steve Hopkins and Stephen Stewart off the field to get their thoughts on what is going to this point in the game.

0:55 left in the 1st qtr: The Bentley defense is in the middle of breaking down the previous drive when Guadagnoli throws an interception. They quickly grab their helmets and run back onto the field. The first quarter ends scoreless as neither team seriously challenged to score.

Second Quarter:

14:53 left in the 2nd qtr: On the first play of the second quarter, Steve Hopkins intercepts a pass and the Bentley sideline is energized.

11:21 left in the 2nd qtr:8:07 left in the 2nd qtr: The Bentley defense forces a punt after yielding a couple of first downs. As they come to the sidelines to meet, Boyle is very happy with their execution. The players are asking him about certain plays and how they should defend it. There is good interaction between the coach and players to ensure that everyone is on the same page.

6:27 left in the 2nd qtr:4:34 left in the 2nd qtr: St. Anselm is moving the ball for the first time in the game and Bentley seems to be on their heels. The defensive coaches are yelling out assignments and trying to get the defense to recognize the formation that they are seeing.

After getting the ball inside the 20-yard line, the Bentley coaches call timeout to regroup. Boyle is telling the team what they are doing and trying to calm the team down after they were going in the wrong direction.

4:26 left in the 2nd qtr: The timeout was perfectly timed as Bentley forced a fumble on the next play and recover the loose ball to give it back to their offense. Boyle is very pleased with the result and grabs the whiteboard on the sideline for the first time with the defense. He is drawing up the formations and telling the defense what they need to recognize what St. Anselm is running.

0:40 left in the 2nd qtr: Bentley is moving the ball deep into St. Anselm territory and they face a fourth down decision at the 35 yard line. The coaching staff huddles and decides which play to run. It is the right one as they convert the pass to keep the drive alive. The drive ends as time runs out on the half with a Lockwood field goal. Bentley goes into the locker room with a 17-0 lead.

Halftime:

The players come off the field back into the hallway and the locker room. Players are spread out either drinking fluids or eating bagels to replenish their energy for the second half. At the same time, the coaches are huddled talking about what happened in the first half and adjustments that they are going to make.

The offensive unit gathered together in the hallway. Colucci tells the group that he is very happy with the offensive line and their effort in the half. He says that the offense needs to make better decisions when they have the ball. He ends the talk telling the offense that they need to play with "passion and persistence."

The defensive unit gathers in the locker room to use the whiteboard. Boyle is talking with McKinney and Gillick to finalize what they saw in the first half. They are writing items on the board. The players are talking among themselves about what they saw in the first half. Boyle gets all of the players to pay attention to him now. He emphasizes the need to get pressure on the quarterback. He also goes over what St. Anselm showed when they lined up and the adjustments that the players need to make.

After a couple of minutes, the entire team jams themselves back into the locker room and Boerman addresses the team. He is happy to be leading at the half but he tells the team that they need to clean up the sloppiness of the penalties and missed opportunities. He also wants his team to do their talking with the pads, not out of their mouths due to the personal fouls penalties in the half. He ends his talk by telling the team to take care of business in the second half.

Third Quarter:

15:00 left in the 3rd qtr: St. Anselm fumbles the opening kickoff of the half but the ball rolls out of bounds. The sidelines grumble as they knew it was their opportunity to make one of their pregame goals comes true.

On the first play of the half, the Bentley defense nearly picked off a pass. The second play of the half was a sack of St. Anselm quarterback Andrew Murphy and the sideline is very pleased.

10:00 left in the 3rd qtr: Steve Hopkins gets a good read on the pass and intercepts the pass. He follows his blockers for a 40-yard interception return for a touchdown. Lockwood kicks the extra point and Bentley leads 24-0. Everyone is congratulating Hopkins on the sideline.

9:53 left in the 3rd qtr: The excitement is short lived as Charles takes the kickoff back towards midfield. The defense runs onto the field ready for another big play.

6:43 left in the 3rd qtr: St. Anselm moves the ball down the field and scores on a three-yard touchdown run. Bentley is flagged for another 15 yard personal foul call and the coaches are beside themselves.

In the defensive huddle on the kickoff, the coaches are trying to get the defense to recognize the adjustments that St. Anselm made at the half. Boyle and Boerman also tell the defense not to give the referees a reason to throw a flag.

6:26 left in the 3rd qtr: As the defense is going over things, Bobby Tarr takes the hand-off on the first play of the drive, finds a seam and takes the ball 75 yards to the end zone to extend the lead to 31-7. But the coaches are upset again as Tarr is flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct in the end zone. St. Anselm is then flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty before the extra point attempt.

4:45 left in the 3rd qtr: RJ Barden gets to the quarterback and sacks Andrew Murphy. After he was called earlier for a personal foul penalty, he just gets up and walks back to the line without a celebration, fearing another flag.

4:05 left in the 3rd qtr: St. Anselm drives again for a score and cuts the lead to 31-15. The offensive unit on the sidelines says that they need to do a better job and keep their defense on the field by making first downs.

Fourth Quarter:

13:44 left in the 4th quarter: After a couple of three and outs by the Bentley offense, St. Anselm finally is able to take advantage. They drive to the Bentley 18 before they face a crucial fourth down attempt. The Bentley defense huddles during the timeout to discuss their strategy. It pays off as they stop the Hawks and take over on downs.

7:07 left in the 4th qtr: A scare moment as St. Anselm defensive linemen Titus Buchanan is laying on the field motionless. All of the players take a knee as the St. Anselm training staff attends to him. After a very quiet period of time, Buchanan is able to leave the field under his own power.

3:36 left in the 4th qtr: Bentley is trying to run out the clock with a 38-22 advantage. But a tough throw from Zahradka is picked off by St. Anselm. The defense runs onto the field and the sideline is encouraging them to close out the game for the Falcons.

1:08 left in the 4th qtr: St. Anselm is facing a fourth and goal at their three yard line. The defense huddles to work on their assignments for the play after a St. Anselm timeout. Bentley can't stop the rush and St. Anselm cuts the lead to 10, 38-28. Bentley comes up big as they stopped the two point conversion.

1:03 left in the 4th qtr: The defense is very unhappy as they come off the field. They are not pleased with their second half performance and are figuring out where they went wrong. At the same time, the coaches are preparing for an onsides kick as the game is not over yet.

0:54 left in the 4th qtr: Bentley is able to secure the onsides kick and run out the clock to finalize their 38-28 victory. The win improves them to 5-0 on the season. But after the game, the coaching staff is not happy with the effort on the team.

Postgame:

Boerman addresses the team right after they finish the customary handshakes. He tells the team that he has mixed emotions right now. First, he is happy to be 5-0 on the season because wins are always tough to come by. But he is not happy with the effort of the team especially in the second half. He awards a game ball to Steve Hopkins for his two picks.

He reminds the team that the best team in the conference is their next opponent and they have a lot of work to get done before the game next Saturday. He says that he is confident that the team and the coaching staff will do their best this week to prepare for New Haven. They are going to be tested this week and they need to get to work.

After Boerman is done talking, the team breaks down into individual units on the field. Boyle is talking with the defense and tells them that the game is behind them but use it as a way to get better next week. He emphasizes that the little things can hurt the team and they need to work better.

Colucci is talking to offense and tells them that they need to turn their attention to a nationally ranked team. The challenge will be there and they will be prepared for it.

The players file off the field catching up with family and friends on the way back to the locker room. Most are happy to win but know that they can play much better than they just did.

The coaching staff is talking to each other and already turning their attention to the next opponent and what they need to accomplish in the coming days. Players are getting dressed and making their way over the parents' tailgating area to get some food before they make the trip back to campus.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Bentley head coach Thom Boerman and his entire staff and players for allowing me to shadow them for the game. I told Boerman that I wanted to be a fly on the wall and not be in the way of their preparation for the game. He told me after the game that he forgot that I was there except to notice me occasionally standing at the back of the locker room.

It was very interesting to see how the coaches and players interact during the game and the organization that occurs at all times on the sidelines. Coaches are always preparing for the next play as the current one is going on. They are consistently getting personnel groups ready for the next play and getting players prepared for their assignments. I hope that I was able to bring you a perspective of a game that few have seen before.