The end of his Northeastern University football career came in a meeting room last Nov. 22.

That is where Paul Branco of Brockton gathered with nearly 90 teammates to learn from director of athletics Peter Roby that the school was eliminating the program for financial reasons.

"Honestly, I was just stunned,'' said Branco, a 2006 graduate of Brockton High. "It came out of left field. No one knew about it.

"They had talked about it two years before that, but after that, there was no other talk about it. When this came about, it was a blind side to all of us. None of the coaches knew. None of the players had any word on it.''

Branco, a kicker, didn't want his football playing days to conclude like that, so he was hoping to find a new home for one final season.

Like a number of other former Huskies, Branco transferred out of Northeastern, landing at Div. 2 Bentley University in Waltham this fall for his senior season.

He won the job handling extra points, field goals and kickoffs and has been a regular contributor for the Falcons (4-4), who end the season on Saturday at noon by hosting Stonehill College.

Branco, who kicked off for Northeastern during the 2008 season and was injured last season, has been productive for the Falcons, who were in need of a kicker following the graduation of Tyler McNamara.

He is one of only two kickers in the Northeast-10 Conference to be perfect on extra points (30-for-30), is third among kickers in scoring (45 points) and is 5-for-9 on field goals. On three occasions, Branco has been named the conference's special teams player of the week.

"I love it,'' said Branco of getting one last chance to play. "To go from having the carpet pulled out from under you to be able to play my last season, and not only play but to contribute a good amount towards each game, it's very fulfilling.

"Obviously, I love the sport, the whole aspect of playing. I wanted to play my senior year, and Bentley gave me that opportunity. They have a great coaching staff and the team is awesome. It just worked out and was a great fit for me. I didn't think twice about leaving. I wanted to play my last year.''

Branco, who has also punted five times with three landing inside the 20-yard line, thought he would be kicking at Northeastern this fall since the graduation of the incumbent was going to open up the position.

Then came the news that there would be no more football for the Huskies, and Branco turned to Bentley after meeting with assistant coach Sean Walsh.

"The coaches put the kickers against each other at the beginning of the season,'' said Branco, "and I just told myself I'd go out and do my best. If the coaches think I'm the best fit, they'll put me on the field. I was very motivated because it's my senior year and I wanted to get on the field. The coaches saw that and they put me in the position.''

Branco is planning to transfer back to Northeastern for the spring semester and will be graduating as a member of the class of 2011 with a degree in marketing.

Staff writer Jim Fenton's Colleges appears Wednesday and Friday in The Enterprise. He can be reached at jfenton@enterprisenews.com.