SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Disappointment hit the Bentley University Falcons hard Saturday afternoon as the combination of two American International College touchdowns in the final 16 minutes and three fourth-quarter turnovers resulted in a 27-23 loss to the Yellow Jackets in Northeast-10 Conference football at Ronald J. Abdow Field.

The loss, Bentley's second in a row by four points, ended the Falcons' chances of making the inaugural Northeast-10 championship game as that will pit AIC against third-ranked New Haven, with the site likely dependent on their regular season contest in two weeks, on Nov. 10

Bentley, on top 16-14 at the half, made it a nine-point lead less than three minutes into the third quarter. Four plays after sophomore defensive tackle Bobby Richman (North Attleboro/North Attleboro HS) forced and junior linebacker Blaine Hopwood (New Bedford/New Bedford HS) recovered a fumble at the AIC 29, junior Lorenzo Warren (Boston/Catholic Memorial HS) took it in from the four for his second touchdown of the afternoon, with 12:25 left.

The Falcon momentum continued about two minutes later when AIC's Terrell Williams (Hempstead, N.Y.), the NE-10 rushing leader, fumbled just shy of the goal line and Bentley senior defensive end Matt Campo (Dedham/Catholic Memorial HS) recovered, thwarting the scoring drive.

It remained 23-14 until AIC junior Bryant Fitzgerald (Highland Park, N.J.) capped a five-play, 50-yard drive with a 16-yard run with 23 seconds left in the third. The point-after attempt failed and Bentley went into the final stanza on top by three.

A three-and-out forced a Bentley punt and the Yellow Jackets took possession on their own 36. A 24-yard pass on the first play moved the ball into Falcon territory and two third-down conversions gave AIC a first-and-goal on the seven. After a three-yard loss on first down, sophomore Kevin Arduino (Cornwall, N.Y.)  hit sophomore Maurice Easterling (Yonkers, N.Y.) on a 10-yard go-ahead scoring pass.

After falling behind, Bentley would gain possession three more times and each would terminate with a turnover. The ensuing kickoff was fumbled, junior QB Danny Guadagnoli (Framingham/ Framingham HS) was stripped at the AIC 22 with 1:47 left after a six-minute drive that started at the Falcons 20, and after a last minute punt, the second interception of the game by senior Markell Rice (New Rochelle, N.Y.) with 27 seconds left closed the book on the Falcons.

Bentley dominated the first half statistically (248-80 yards, 17-2 first downs, 46-18 plays) but emerged with just a two-point lead as the result of two big plays by Rice, the younger brother of Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens. After the Falcons' first TD, he returned a kickoff 87 yards for a tying score, and early in the second, he returned an interception to the Bentley one, setting up the shortest of scoring drives.

Warren gave Bentley a 7-0 lead midway through the first with the first of his two four-yard TD runs, and senior Will Lockwood (Menlo Park, Calif./Sacred Heart Prep) kicked three field goals in the final 19 minutes of the half, connecting from 30, 22 and 44 yards. The latter, with 38 seconds left until intermission, put the Falcons back in front.

Guadagnoli's up-and-down afternoon saw him complete 21 of 36 for 222 yards and also scramble for 38 yards. Warren rushed for 67 yards on 12 carries, and senior Sean Cross (Duxbury/ Duxbury HS) led the Falcon receivers with six for 65 yards.

Arduino finished nine of 15 for 111 yards, and Williams led AIC on the ground with 97. Rice amassed 134 return yards and also had three tackles.

Senior defensive end Andrew Sklar (Ivyland, Pa./Perkiomen Prep) had a strong day on defense for Bentley with a forced fumble and three tackles for losses among his eight total stops. Fumbles were recovered by sophomore corner Brad Keirstead (Waltham/Waltham HS) as well as Campo and Hopwood.

Bentley, which controlled the ball for just a shade under 36 minutes, finished with twice as many first downs (24-12) and a 344-291 advantage in total offense. However, the four turnovers were one more than AIC finished with, and the Yellow Jackets had a huge advantage in return yards, 147-37.

Bentley will host Merrimack College next Saturday in the annual Homecoming Day, with kickoff slated for 2 pm.