What a Win

Bentley was the better team last Saturday and easily defeated LIU Post 40-21. The Falcons played very well on both sides of the ball as the offense scored with ease and the defense was up to the task of stopping the top quarterback in the league.

The defense forced six turnovers in the game with four forced fumbles and two interceptions. It is the second straight week that the Falcons forced at least five turnovers in the victory.

Bentley is now 3-1, 3-0 in the NE-10. It is the first time since 2012 that they opened their league part of the schedule with three straight wins. They won their first four games that year in the NE-10 and five overall on their way to an 8-2 campaign.

"Our kids play hard," Bentley head coach Bill Kavanaugh said. "They know their roles and they work their butts off. They have a lot of fun doing it and it is a lot of fun to coach them."

Bentley quarterback Mack Lowrie was the better quarterback in the game as he threw five scores while going 18 for 28 with 255 yards. The receiver duo of Austin Ryan and Drew Mahoney were open most of the afternoon as the Post defense were not able to contain them.

They hauled in 11 passes in the game and all five touchdown passes. Ryan had the dagger in the fourth as he caught the Lowrie pass in stride and took it 56 yards for the score.

"In recruiting, we know what our type of guy is," Kavanaugh said of the receiving duo. "We are in a different place than everyone else in this conference. We know it and we look for something different."

Kavanaugh continued about Ryan and Mahoney: "Those kids showed up to play and they show up every single day to work hard. This is just one opportunity that had to show it off and they did a good job of it."

We talked about the Bentley offensive line several weeks ago and they just dominated the talented Post defensive line. They gave Lowrie plenty time to throw the ball as well as opening holes for the running backs. They have always been an unsung part of the team but winning the battle of the trenches was a huge part of the victory.

Bentley will close out the first half of the season with a road trip to Pace next Saturday.

Defensive

We spoke about the Assumption defense last week and again they brought their 'A' game. They forced turnovers and held Merrimack in check during the Greyhounds' 56-7 victory last Saturday.

Midway through the first quarter, Andrew Benson picked off a pass to set up the first score of the day for Assumption. Seconds later, Shawn Springs, Jr took the pick six to the house and Assumption never looked back.

All told, the Greyhounds forced six turnovers with two fumbles and four interceptions. Benson was the star of the defensive stat sheet with eight tackles, a fumble recovery and two picks on the afternoon.

The special team also got in the act as they blocked another punt as Chris Carabello had the honors this week. The Greyhounds have built one of the best special team units in the country. Whether it is a punt or kick block, or maybe a punt or kickoff return, they are always liable to pull off at least one big play a game.

Assumption is now 4-0 and 3-0 in the NE-10. They circled September 30th on the calendar in the off-season and now they can talk about the game. They have crushed their competition in the first four weeks and now look to grab the supremacy of the NE-10.

Close Ones

Both New Haven and Pace came into the game off close victories the previous weekend. And this game featured another nail biter.

New Haven rallied from a 14-0 deficit to defeat Pace 21-20. The difference in the game was a blocked extra point with five minutes to play for the Chargers to win their second straight game.

Pace had a chance to win the game in the final seconds but they missed a 46-yard field goal. It is the second straight game on the blue turf that the game has come down to a field goal. In Week 2, New Haven missed a field goal that would have upset then undefeated LIU Post.

Despite the loss for Pace, it was a major change from years past. In their last three games at New Haven, they had been outscored 162-9. The Setters have doormats for the past several years and are starting to turn heads with their improved play.

Pace hosts Bentley this weekend while New Haven tries to retain the Elm City Trophy with a short trip across town to Southern Connecticut.

Ugly Win

The game will not be used to promote the game of college football but American International doesn't care. They defeated Southern Connecticut 14-6 to grab their first victory of the season.

The Yellow Jackets did not have the same offensive output the past couple of weeks but their defense was stellar. They frustrated Southern Connecticut quarterback Ray Catapano the entire night as they were in the backfield and not allowing him any time to make plays.

The special teams also stepped up as they blocked an extra point and had a strange punt return for a touchdown.

Southern Connecticut punter Mike McNally shanked his punt in the third quarter and his coverage team outran the kick. The punt was credited for four yards and American International special teamer Cornellious Waite picked up the ball at the 34-yard line and sprinted past two defenders for the score.

The Owls fumbled the ball just short of the goal line on the next drive and never really threatened at any point after that. It has been a frustrating start of the season for Southern Connecticut as they have not been able to play up to the expectations everyone set for them.

For American International, it is a huge turnaround from a tough loss to Pace two Friday nights ago. They have another home game against St. Anselm this weekend as they look to enter the bye week with plenty of momentum.

Jamiel Gems

Andrew Jamiel had a breakout freshman campaign and usually players struggle in their sophomore season. But not the Stonehill receiver as he accounted for three scores in the Skyhawks' 28-14 victory over St. Anselm.

Jamiel finished the night with eight catches and 164 yards. On the season, Jamiel is ranked first in receptions and second in yards per game. He just makes catches wherever the ball is thrown in his direction. Matt Foltz has a lot of confidence that he can get the ball near Jamiel and he will come down with it.

Stonehill is now 2-2, 1-2 in the NE-10 as they will finish out the first half of the season at Merrimack next Saturday night.

NE-10 Championship Game

This weekend's Assumption and LIU Post game was supposed to be the defacto NE-10 title tilt. With the elimination of the championship weekend this year, the team with the best regular season record will win the hardware.

Based on the last year, this was the game that was circled on the calendar as the game that might decide the championship. But Bentley threw a huge monkey wrench into the conversation with their decisive victory over Post.

Assumption and Post might be the most talented teams on paper in the league and contenders to play in the postseason. But that is why games are played on the field. Circumstances change week to week and Post didn't bring their best effort this past weekend.

Either way, it is still a huge game for both teams and the league. The winner might have the inside track at the NE-10 championship and bragging rights for another season.