WALTHAM, Mass. – Senior Adam Neugebauer (Pittsburg, Pa.) threw four touchdown passes, boosting his season total to ten, as West Virginia Wesleyan College held off host Bentley University, 28-23, in non-conference college football Saturday afternoon.

Neugebauer finished the afternoon 36 of 50 for 340 yards and one interception, with his scoring passes covering 13, 19, 7 and 15 yards. The three longest ones all went to classmate T.J. Benners (Princeton, W.V.), who caught a total of nine balls for 81 yards.

Bentley QB Bryant Johnson (Hopedale/Milford HS) nearly matched Neugebauer in terms of touchdown passes as he threw three, including a 15-yarder to junior Mike Sumrell (Dorchester/ Belmont HS) with 1:31 to draw the Falcons within five.  That capped a seven-play, 92-yard drive that featured a 59-yard completion from Johnson to Sumrell.

After the attempted two-point conversion failed, Bentley seemed to twice recover an onside kick.  However, both were negated by penalties (the first for offside, the second for an illegal touch) and W.V. Wesleyan was able to run out the clock.

It was Bentley that got on the board first, following a game-opening 41-yard kickoff return to the Bobcat 47 by junior Steve Stewart (Wilmington/Wilmington HS). Four plays later, Johnson teamed up with senior Dan Alberico (Watertown/Watertown HS) on a four-yard TD pass.

W.V. Wesleyan evened things on their second possession, with Neugebauer teaming up with Benners on a 13-yard scoring pass.

It stayed 7-7 until a 44-yard field goal by Bentley senior Will Lockwood (Menlo Park, Calif./ Sacred Heart Prep) with 8:57 left in the second gave the Falcons a three-point advantage. The second Neugebauer-to-Benners TD pass of the afternoon, this one a 19-yarder with 1:47 left in the opening half, gave the visitors a lead they would never relinquish.

Neugebauer connected with sophomore Brandon Hoffman (Peters Township, Pa.) on a seven-yard TD pass with 8:53 left in the third, extending the W.V. Wesleyan lead to 21-10. It stayed at 11 for little over a minute, Johnson answering with a 17-yard TD pass to senior tight end Bart Stires (Glendale, Ariz./Brophy Prep).

Neugebauer restored the lead to 11 on the ensuing possession, finding a wide open Benners in the end zone to cap an eight-play, 53-yard drive.

The Bentley defense didn't yield a first down to the Bobcats on three fourth-quarter possessions, but the offense couldn't take advantage until the late score.

The Falcons twice came up with takeaways, on an interception by senior defensive end Matt Welch (Woburn/Woburn HS) in the second and a fumble recovery by Alberico on a muffed kickoff to open the second half. However, Bentley was unable to capitalize on either. Welch's interception was followed by a Falcon fumble on the very next play, and the Falcons had a 31-yard field goal blocked after Alberico's recovery.  Both times, after the Falcons failed to capitalize, the Bobcats came up with a TD.

Johnson finished 23 of 43 for 250 yards, with grad student Wade Critides (Wayland/Wayland HS) leading the Falcons in receiving (8 for 77). Sophomore linebacker Anthony Carter (Marlboro/ Marlboro HS), a transfer from San Diego, led Bentley in tackles with 12, one more than Stewart was credited with.

West Virginia Wesleyan, which is off to a 2-0 start, finished with a 25-16 edge in first downs (although it was 7-0 Bentley in the final quarter) and outgained the home team by 100 yards, 396-296.

Bentley, 1-1, will open Northeast-10 Conference play Friday night with a 7:00 game at Stonehill College.