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Andrew Carmichael
Andrew Carmichael

Bentley Looks to Close Out Season on Winning Note

WALTHAM, Mass. – The Bentley University Falcons will be looking to close out the 2018 season on a winning note Saturday when they travel out the Mass Pike to take on American International College. Kickoff at Ronald J. Abdow Field is set for 12 noon and a live webcast will be available on NE10 NOW (NE10Now.tv).

It's been a difficult season for both teams. The injury-riddled Falcons dipped to 3-6 overall and 3-5 NE10 with Saturday's 52-21 loss to Assumption College. AIC grabbed its first win of the season that same day, 34-19 over visiting Stonehill College.

A win would give coach Bill Kavanaugh's team three wins in its last four games and momentum to carry into the offseason.

Junior defensive back Pete Thorbahn (Norwell/Xaverian Bros. HS), already a two-time All-Northeast-10 honoree (second team), has had an impressive season in the Falcon secondary. He had his fifth interception of the season (and 12th of his career) in last week's game and also has 66 tackles (second on the team), a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.

Thorbahn had ten tackles against Assumption, as did senior linebacker Andrew Carmichael (Wayland/Wayland HS), the team's top tackler for the season with one more than Thorbahn.

Saturday's game featured a pair of impressive offensive performances. Senior wide receiver Jordan Zlogar (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa HS) topped the century mark for the first time in his career with his seven catches for 101 yards including a 45-yard catch and run for his third touchdown of the season.

Quarterback Stephen Sturm (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley HS), one of a number of freshmen and sophomores who saw significant playing time this season, posted season-bests for passing yards (297) and completions (25) in Saturday's game. He's fourth in the NE10 in completion percentage (.528) as well as sixth in passing yards (1,360).

Sophomore Andrew Brazicki (Franklin Park, N.J./Bishop Ahr HS) leads the Falcons in rushing with 474 yards, a total that puts him within 47 of 1,000 for his career. Junior Jordan Artope (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson HS) follows with 361 and four TDs.

Bentley's two senior captains, offensive tackle Jack Hansbury (Tyngsboro/Chelmsford HS) and safety Nick Athy (Holliston/Holliston HS), have been ironmen during their careers, playing in every game. Saturday's encounter at AIC will be the 42nd for both.

AIC is coming off its best performance of the season, a game that saw the Yellow Jackets erupt for 27 points in the second quarter alone. Amazingly, that was more than they had scored in any game all fall.

Despite that effort, AIC is listed near the bottom of most of the conference's offensive categories. They've been outscored by an average of 18 points and are averaging 268.5 yards per game.

Red-shirt freshman Prince Olubankindu handles the quarterbacking chores for veteran coach Art Wilkins. He's thrown for 1,012 yards, including 296 against Stonehill, and eight touchdowns while completing 44 percent of his passes. Sophomore Samad Davila is the fourth-leading rusher in the conference, with 693 yards, and senior Lennox Green, Jr. has been AIC's top receiver (29 for 499, 6 TD).

Bentley has a three-game winning streak against the Jackets, including 28-10 last year in a game the Falcons erupted for 21 unanswered points in the final ten minutes. There was a TD run by Brazicki, a pick-six from Thorbahn and a TD pass from Sturm.