NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.  – Bentley University senior quarterback Danny Guadagnoli (Framingham/ Framingham HS) amassed a career-high 433 yards of total offense, but a last minute comeback bid fell short and the Falcons dropped a 40-34 decision to explosive Merrimack College in Northeast-10 Conference football Saturday afternoon at Marrone-Mejail Field.

Guadagnoli finished 23 of 39 for 371 yards, surpassing 5,000 career passing yards in the process, and two TDs through the air and rushed for 62 yards and one TD in 17 carries. Junior Jeff Hill (Mansfield/Mansfield HS) also had an outstanding game for the Falcons with eight catches for 166 yards and two scores, touchdowns of 30 and 76 yards.

Merrimack was powered by senior QB Joe Clancy (Newburyport) and senior running back Quinn McDonough (Medford) in the Homecoming Day victory. Clancy threw for four touchdowns, boosting his season total to 38, and ran for another while McDonough rushed for 158 yards and one score in 27 carries.

Despite giving up 27 second-half points, Bentley still had a chance with a minute to play as Merrimack twice missed field goals (22 and 34 yards) in the final three minutes. Following the second one, the Falcons regained the ball at their own 20, with no time outs left, and drove to the Merrimack 24 before time expired.

The Bentley D pitched a shutout in the opening quarter while the offense built a 13-0 lead. Junior tailback Jet Kollie (Lowell/Lowell HS) broke a 28-yard run for a touchdown on a four-and-two play and Guadagnoli found Hill in the end zone for a 30-yard TD pass, completing a nine-play, 90-yard drive.

Merrimack's offense came alive in the second quarter with Clancy scoring on a one-yard keeper and throwing a 13-yard game-tying TD pass to freshman Justin Mount (Westford).

Bentley regained the lead with 15 seconds left in the opening half as Kollie finished an extended 12-play drive that featured a 22-yard pass to the Merrimack two from Guadagnoli to freshman Mike Gardiner (Southlake, Texas/Southlake Carroll HS/Bedford, NH, HS) on a fourth-and-five.  On the very next play, Kollie took it in for the score, sophomore Michael Baron (Medfield/Roxbury Latin School) added the extra point and Bentley went into the break on the positive side of a 20-13 score.

Bentley stopped Merrimack on the opening drive of the second half, but a lost fumble on the ensuing Falcon possession gave the Warriors the ball back at the Bentley 20. Five plays later, on a third-and-goal from the three, Clancy teamed up with sophomore Jere Brown (Freeport, N.Y.) on a tying touchdown.

Merrimack's next possession saw Clancy move his team 80 yards in seven plays, with a five-yard completion to senior Greg Devine (Hanover) giving the home team its first lead, 27-20.

Bentley answered right back with a one-yard keeper by Guadagnoli  on the opening play of the fourth completing a seven-play, 74-yard drive and evening the count at 27 apiece.

That was the first of four touchdowns in the first six minutes of the fourth. McDonough took it in from the five to give Merrimack a 34-27 lead and Bentley countered on its very next play from scrimmage, a 76-yard bomb from Guadagnoli to Hill. The Falcon standout receiver shook a tackle at about the 40 and raced to the end zone for his 21st career touchdown.

It took Merrimack only four plays to regain the lead with the quick scoring burst seeing nothing but first-down plays. It finished with Clancy and Mount teaming up for a second time, this time from seven yards out for what proved to be the winning TD. The extra point attempt sailed wide and the difference stood at six with 9:35 left.

Guadagnoli and the Falcons drove to the Merrimack 46 on their next possession, but an interception by freshman Jared Mincey (Edison, N.J.), the Falcons' third turnover of the afternoon, proved costly. It appeared a Merrimack defender was offside on the play and Guadagnoli, thinking he had a free play, threw it downfield while being pursued. No flag was thrown and the Warriors had the ball back with just under seven minutes to play.

They ran off more than four minutes before the first of the two missed field goals kept the Falcons' hopes alive. Bentley didn't move the ball on the ensuing possession, and after a punt, Merrimack drove to the Falcon 17 before missing again, giving the visitors one final shot.

In addition to the eight receptions by Hill, Guadagnoli completed five passes to sophomore Chris Calvanese (Norfolk/Xaverian Bros. HS) and four, for 84 yards, to Gardiner. Clancy was 29 of 45 for Merrimack with nine different receivers on the end of his passes.

The two teams combined for 1,034 yards of total offense and 56 first downs, with Merrimack (5-3, 4-3 NE-10) having a slight edge in both categories, finishing with 528 yards and 30 first downs. Possession time went in the Falcons' favor (31:14 to 28:46), despite the Warriors having it for over ten minutes in the fourth.

Junior corner Nick McCarthy (Winthrop/Winthrop HS) led Bentley in tackles with ten, one more than freshman linebacker Shane Wellman (Taunton/Taunton HS) and senior linebacker Taylor Tavarozzi (Berlin, Conn./ Berlin HS).

Bentley, 4-4 overall and 3-4 in the conference, will look to end a two-game slide when it hosts Southern Connecticut State next Saturday on Senior Day.