WALTHAM, Mass. – Twenty-five days after returning to campus for preseason, the Bentley University Falcons will kick off the 2017 football season Thursday night at West Chester University. Kickoff at John A. Farrell Stadium is set for 6 pm with a link to the webcast available at www.bentleyfalcons.com/sports/fball.

It won't be an easy test for the Falcons, who finished each of Coach Bill Kavanaugh's first three seasons at the helm with identical 5-6 records. West Chester, 8-3 in 2016, closed last year with a six-game winning streak overall and four straight home wins.

This will be the second straight year that the two clubs will meet in the season lid-lifter. Last year, West Chester came into Waltham and used 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to claim a 31-24 victory. The Golden Rams used a 35-yard pick-six with 3:29 left to break a 24-all tie and denied the Falcons on five fourth-quarter possessions, including two after they claimed the lead.

Six-foot-four senior Mack Lowrie (Foxborough/Roxbury Latin School) will be behind center for the Falcons, making his sixth Bentley start to match the number he had for Rhode Island in 2014. He started the final five in 2016 with that stretch including a pair of three-TD games (both coming against Stonehill).

His arsenal will include fifth-year senior running back Martin Bannerman, Jr. (Pawtucket, R.I./ La Salle Academy) and junior slotback Drew Mahoney (West Suffield, Conn./Suffield Academy). Bannerman, limited by injury to only three games last season, has rushed for 1,431 yards during his career and will enter the opener with 16 touchdowns and 1,791 all-purpose yards in 34 Bentley games.

Mahoney led the 2016 Falcons in receiving (63 for 596 yards) and was second in all-purpose yards (766). He scored three touchdowns, including a school record 92-yard run that he broke in the West Chester game.

The other expected starters at the skill positions are senior flanker Brendan Burke (Norristown, Pa./Haverford School), sophomore tight end Connor Skinner (Leominster/Leominster HS) and one of two freshmen to crack the starting lineup, wide receiver Austin Ryan (Foxborough/Foxborough HS).

Sean Mitchell (Park Ridge, N.J./Saint Joseph Reg. HS), a 285-pounder, is the other as he'll get the nod at center with former starter Connor Peck (Sherborn/Catholic Memorial HS) shifting to left guard. Junior Jack Hansbury (Tyngsboro/ Chelmsford HS) returns at left tackle while the right side of the line will pair junior Ryan Finn (Centerport, N.Y./St. Anthony's HS) and senior Matt Choinski (Huntington, N.Y./John H. Glenn HS).

Leading tackler Bryan Hardy graduated after his second 100-tackle season, but the defense includes four players who were fixtures in the starting lineup last year. That includes sophomore corner Peter Thorbahn (Norwell/Xaverian Bros. HS), the team's only returning All-Northeast-10 honoree. His rookie year included 61 tackles, 15 pass break-ups and four interceptions.

The only returning Falcon who had more stops last season was senior linebacker Brandon Brown (Oxon Hill, Md./Suitland HS) with 68, including a dozen behind the line of scrimmage. He also started all 11, as did senior defensive end Dan Catalano (North Reading/Austin Prep HS) and senior linebacker Joey Piatnik (Bethel, Conn./Bethel HS). With five sacks, Piatnik was second on the squad last year.

Catalano will be joined on the line by junior Brad Greenway (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial HS) and sophomore Matthew Yanes (Stewartsville, N.J./Phillipsburg HS) while the rest of the front seven includes senior Aaron Chretien (Commerce Township, Mich./Walled Lake Northern HS) and Andrew Carmichael (Wayland/Wayland HS). Senior corner Michael Fawehinmi (Lynn/St. John's Prep), junior strong safety Nick Athy (Holliston/Holliston HS) and sophomore free safety Quintin McDermott (Franklin/Milton Academy) are also listed as probable starters.

Sophomore Paul Dooley, who completed his only attempt of last season for 11 yards, is expected to be the starter at QB for coach Bill Zwaan's Golden Rams. Frequently used in the wildcat formation, he ran the ball 20 times in 2016, gaining 129 yards. Zwaan can also call upon A.J. Long, who last played at Syracuse in 2014, and senior Pat Moriarty, who threw for 28 TDs in 2015 but completed only 48 percent of his attempts last fall.

West Chester returns its top two running backs, both of whom averaged at least five yards a carry. Although only 5-foot-7, 165 pounds, senior Jarel Elder was a workhorse last year, lugging the ball over 200 times for 1,013 yards and 11 TDs. Mike Class, now a junior, followed with 351 yards and a 5.9 per-carry average.

Tyler Karpinski, who joined Elder on the 2016 All-PSAC first team, returns after leading West Chester in receiving (45 for 798 yards, 8 TDs).

On defense, the Golden Rams return their top three tacklers from a year ago, a list headed by linebacker Ch'aim Smith with 57. He also had 11 for losses, including six sacks.

It will be the only non-conference game of the season for Bentley, which will be looking to win its opener for the first time since 2014. The Falcons will turn their attention to NE10 opponents the rest of the way, beginning with the home opener against Saint Anselm Sept. 8.