WALTHAM, Mass. – At least a share of first place in the Northeast-10 Conference will be on the line Saturday when the Bentley University Falcons and the LIU Post Pioneers square off Saturday afternoon at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium in Bethpage, N.Y. Kickoff is slated for 1 pm.

Bentley, 2-1 overall, and LIU Post, off to a 3-0 start, are two of the three NE-10 football teams who have opened conference play with consecutive wins, a distinction they share with Assumption College.  The Falcons have beaten Saint Anselm, 35-21, and Merrimack, 41-22, to begin their NE-10 slate while the Pioneers own wins over New Haven (43-20) and Stonehill (51-20).

Coach Bill Kavanaugh's Falcons have scored a total of ten touchdowns in winning the two games, and amazingly, it's been a different player each time to cross the goal line. There have been rushing TDs by four players, TD catches from another four and in the Merrimack game, interception returns for TDs by both senior strong safety Junior Chery (Waltham/Waltham HS) and junior linebacker Brandon Brown (Oxon Hill, Md./Suitland HS).

Four of the touchdowns against Merrimack, including Brown's and Chery's, came during the final 3:17 of the first half and the first 2:53 of the second. That barrage also included a blocked punt by junior Michael Fawehinmi (Lynn/St. John's Prep HS) that resulted in a three-yard scoring run by senior Matt Montalto (West Yarmouth/Dennis-Yarmouth Reg. HS).

As a team, Bentley has eight interceptions already this season, a total that matches the team's total in 2015 and that is currently tied for third best in Division II. The Falcons lead Division II in interception return yards (200) and have scored as a result of five of the eight.

The defense will face a significant test Saturday against LIU Post senior QB Jeff Kidd, the NE-10 Offensive Player of the Week each of the last two weeks. In the two conference wins, he has thrown for 645 yards and seven scores while completing a remarkable 52 of 63 passes (82.5 percent) with no interceptions. Including a non-conference win over Virginia Union, he's only been picked off on one of 96 aerials to date this season.

Bentley's QB, senior CJ Scarpa (Andover/Andover HS), has also been efficient, albeit not to the level of Kidd thus far. Scarpa has amassed 490 passing yards and five TD passes while posting a completion percentage of .598. He's been intercepted twice and has received excellent protection (only one sack in three contests).

The Falcons have had at least six players catch passes in each of the first three games, and have a total of 11 players with at least one reception to their credit this month. Sophomore Drew Mahoney (West Suffield, Conn./Suffield Academy) leads the squad with 14 catches, one more than senior Sean Myers (Foxborough/Roxbury Latin HS), and graduate student Chris Calvanese (Norfolk/Xaverian Brothers HS) has reached the end zone on two of his eight catches.

Bentley has gotten quality rushing performances each of the last two weeks. Senior Martin Bannerman (Pawtucket, R.I./La Salle Academy) ran for 71 yards on 16 carries at Saint Anselm, and junior Davidson transfer Jeff Keil (Tampa, Fla./Wharton HS) bettered that with 78 yards on 12 carries in his Falcon debut Saturday.

Falcon senior linebacker Bryan Hardy (Barnstable/Barnstable HS) is coming off a 15-tackle effort against Merrimack, one that doubled his season total for tackles. Chery and senior free safety Sam McDonald (Norfolk/King Phillip Reg. HS), the two Falcons with multiple interceptions, follow with 18 and 15 tackles respectively.

Special teams have been a positive thus far for the Falcons. Record-breaking senior punter Tyler Ford (Amherst, N.H./Souhegan HS) has punted seven times for a 41.4 average, and freshman kicker Grant Buchanan (Holliston/Holliston HS) is the reigning NE-10 Rookie of the Week after scoring 11 points against Merrimack. Montalto has averaged 26.3 yards on kickoff returns and McDonald leads the NE-10 in punt return average (16.0).

Kidd, who has averaged 11.5 yards per completion for the Pioneers, is also second on the team in rushing with 154, trailing only David White's 90. Each has rushed for two scores, as has redshirt sophomore Malik Pierre. They are running behind a huge line, one that averages 305 pounds.

His top target is fifth-year senior Shane Hubbard, with 21 receptions for 213 yards and two scores.

Defensively, Jared Chester has accounted for half of the team's four interceptions, and defensive tackle Anthony DeNunzio has been a major force with two forced fumbles and 2.5 sacks.

Bentley and LIU Post will need no introduction as the two clubs will be meeting for the third time since week 10 last November. The Falcons upended the Pioneers 30-28 in the scheduled contest a year ago, and LIU Post came back a week later, scoring in every quarter for a 34-20 win during NE-10 championship weekend.

In those two games, Scarpa made his first two starts and completed 64 percent of his passes for 442 yards and four TDs, with three of those going to Calvanese.  Kidd averaged 353 passing yards and three TDs against the Falcons with an accuracy mark of .583. Like Calvanese, Hubbard was on the receiving end of three scoring passes.

The trip to Long Island will be followed by a pair of home games, a Homecoming encounter with Pace Oct. 1 and Assumption six days later under the Friday night lights.

BENTLEY BRIEFS: Bentley is 7-13 all-time against LIU Post, including 2-2 since the series was resumed after a five-year hiatus in 2013. Down on Long Island, the Falcons are 1-8, the only victory coming by the count of 36-33 in 2004 … Friday's game marked the tenth straight game Bentley has forced at least two turnovers and the ninth time in the last ten the Falcons have won the turnover battle … Bentley has six players from Long Island on the roster, including grad student Matt Biscardi (Holbrook, N.Y./St. Anthony's HS), a four-year starter at guard … Bentley's 100 points scored so far this season matches last year's team total through six games … The Falcons have scored on 12 of 13 red-zone trips this season after doing so only 62 percent of the time in 2015 … The touchdown percentage in the red zone has climbed from 36 percent last year to 69 percent … Bentley has not allowed a first-quarter point this season but has been outscored 32-3 in the fourth.