WALTHAM, Mass. – Senior running back George Craan (Hyde Park/Concord-Carlisle HS) finished a 6-play, 91-yard drive with a touchdown run from the two with 44 seconds left to give Bentley Universtity a 19-14 come-from-behind victory over visiting Saint Anselm College in Northeast-10 Conference football Saturday afternoon.

The game-winning drive, which lifted the Falcons (3-3, 3-2 NE-10) into a five-way tie for second place in the conference, featured Bentley's longest play of the season, a 65-yard bomb from senior QB Matt Montalto (West Yarmouth/Dennis-Yarmouth Reg. HS) to classmate Chris Calvanese (Norfolk/Xaverian Bros. HS) down the left side to the Saint Anselm six.

After a three-yard run by Craan and a pass interference penalty on the visitors, Craan took it in for his first touchdown of the season, turning a one-point deficit into a five-point lead. Bentley went for two on the conversion but the pass fell incomplete.

Any hopes Saint Anselm had of answering that score were dashed when junior safety Sam McDonald (Norfolk/King Philip Reg. HS) picked off his second pass of the day, this one with just 17 seconds remaining.

Craan's touchdown accounted for Bentley's only second-half points after the Falcons went into the break on top 13-7.

Bentley faced a 7-0 deficit before its offense took the field for the first time. The Hawks opened the game with a 75-yard march that featured senior running back Elad Covaliu (Rockville, Md.). He broke a 48-yard run to the Falcon 17 on the third play of the game and finished the drive with a three-yard run up the middle.

Later in the opening quarter, the first of two field goals by senior Michael Baron (Medfield/ Roxbury Latin School), this one a 34-yarder, completed a 14-yard, 78-yard Bentley drive, making it a 7-3 contest.

Bentley took its first lead of the afternoon, 10-7, with 11:25 left in the second when Montalto teamed up with grad student Alex Farkes (Boston/BB&N) on an 11-yard scoring pass. That came just two plays after McDonald's first interception, this one coming at the Hawk 20.

Baron made it 13-7 seven seconds before intermission when he put a 29-yard field goal attempt through the uprights after a 13-play, 44-yard Falcon drive.

Saint Anselm (2-4, 2-3 NE-10) was on top 14-13 after the third period, largely due to a pair of Falcon mistakes on special teams. With 10:34 to play, sophomore Eric Mercer (Melrose) blocked a Falcon punt and freshman Issa Conteh, Jr., came down with the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.

On Bentley's next possession, a potential go-ahead field goal was thwarted when the snap went through the holder's hands into Baron's, whose first career pass attempt was unsuccessful.

Montalto powered the Bentley offense to 455 yards, evenly split on the ground (248, the Falcons' third straight 200-yard rushing effort) and the air (247). He completed 18 of his 28 throws for 227 yards and no interceptions while picking up 91 on the ground with an average of 6.5 per carry.

Craan finished with 69 yards on 19 carries and senior Chris Walsh (Attleboro/Attleboro HS) led the receiving corps with seven for 86.

Most of Saint Anselm's 271 yards came on the ground with Covaliu rushing for 115 on 21 carries and freshman QB Eric Fairweather (Londonderry, N.H.) 81 on 13 attempts. He completed 10 of his 18 passes but threw for only 45 yards.

The leading tacklers for the Falcons were senior linebacker Matt McDermott (Merrimac/ Central Catholic HS) and senior defensive end Paul Norris (North Attleboro/North Attleboro HS), each with eight.

In addition to total offense, first downs (22-10), time of possession (37:56) and total plays (82-57) weighed heavily in Bentley's favor. The Falcons struggled in conversions, being successful on just 3 of 15 third downs and 1 of 4 fourth downs.

Bentley will also be at home next Saturday, hosting American International, another of the teams in the second-place logjam, at 1 pm.