WALTHAM, Mass. – Less than a half minute after a TD pass and two-point conversion put LIU Post in front by one, Bentley University senior Michael Baron (Medfield/Roxbury Latin HS) sent a 31-yard field goal through the uprights with :04.4 to play to give the Falcons a stunning 30-28 Senior Day victory in Northeast-10 Conference football Saturday afternoon at Bentley.

Bentley (5-5, 5-4 NE-10) entered the game's final six minutes with a 13-point lead but fell behind 28-27 when Pioneer junior QB Jeff Kidd (Salem, Ore.) threw his fourth TD pass of the afternoon and followed with a two-point conversion pass with 30.5 seconds left.

The ensuing kickoff was pushed back to the 20 as the result of an unsportsmanlike conduct call on LIU Post and a 24-yard return from freshman Drew Mahoney (West Suffield, Conn./Suffield Academy) resulted in Bentley taking over at its own 43 with 24 seconds to play.

A pair of short completions from junior QB CJ Scarpa (Andover/Andover HS) to senior Chris Calvanese (Norfolk/Xaverian Bros. HS) moved the ball over midfield, with Calvanese going out of bounds on each to top the clock. Following an incompletion that took the time down to 12 seconds, the two teamed up again on a 31-yarder with Calvanese again getting out of bounds, this time at the Pioneer 14 with 7.5 seconds left.

Coach Bill Kavanaugh brought on Baron, who had missed a 35-yarder from the left hash mark minutes earlier, and this time, also from the left side, he delivered with his 29th career field goal.

Calvanese had a career game for the Falcons as he caught 10 passes for 154 yards and three TDs, including a 42-yarder from senior slot receiver Chris Walsh (Attleboro/Attleboro HS) on a trick play with 5:03 left in the first for the game's first touchdown. The other two were from Scarpa, who finished 24 of 34 for 228 yards in his first career start.

Kidd and the Pioneers answered right back, scoring on a 14-yard pass pulled in by senior tight end Sean Binckes (Brooklyn, N.Y.) with 1:35 on the first quarter clock.

Four plays into the second quarter, Bentley regained the lead on Scarpa's first career TD pass, this one a 13-yarder to Calvanese that finished an eight-play, 64-yard drive.

After a 58-yard scoring pass from Kidd to junior Shane Hubbard (St. Albans, N.Y.) tied the game up with 1:42 in the second, Scarpa and Calvanese teamed up again. Their 44-yard TD pass with 17 seconds left put the Falcons up 20-14 and it stayed that way when the PAT was blocked.

The only scoring of the third came on a two-yard run by junior Martin Bannerman (Pawtucket, R.I./La Salle Academy). That was just a 27-yard drive, set up by a fumble recovery by junior Shane Wellman (Taunton/Taunton HS) on a mishandled punt.

LIU Post made it a one-possession game with 5:41 left, Kidd combining with sophomore James Higgins (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) on a 13-yard scoring pass on the 17th play of the drive.

Mahoney returned the kickoff 58 yards to the LIU Post but Bentley was unable to capitalize, settling for Baron's unsuccessful field goal attempt.

LIU Post's go-ahead drive (13 plays, 80 yards over 2:35) featured a 42-yard completion to sophomore Kyle Ward (Elizabeth, N.J.) to convert a 4th-and-19 (it was 2nd-and-32 two plays earlier).  That produced a first down at the Falcon 19 and Kidd finished it with his 27th TD pass of the season, this one of eight yards to junior Mike Williams (Westbury, N.Y.). The visitors went for two and Kidd found Higgins in the back of the end zone to give his team its only lead of the day.

Bentley, which set a season-high for points, totaled 426 yards of offense with 23 first downs. In addition to Calvanese and Scarpa, the Falcons received strong performances from Mahoney, Bannerman and tight end Alex Farkes (Boston/BB&N). Mahoney had 204 all-purpose yards (137 kickoffs, 42 rushing, 25 receiving), Bannerman rushed for 83 in 25 carries, and Farkes pulled in seven passes for 73 yards.

LIU Post totaled 514 yards and 28 first downs, including 189 and ten in the fourth. Kidd was 34 of 58 for 417 yards with Hubbard his favorite receiver (9 for 137).

Senior corner Josh Charles (Hyde Park/Catholic Memorial HS) and junior linebacker Bryan Hardy (Barnstable/Barnstable HS) each had nine tackles for Bentley, junior Sam McDonald (Norfolk/ King Philip Reg. HS) intercepted his fifth pass of the season (this one with the Pioneers in Falcon territory in the third) and Bentley also received a fumble recovery from sophomore linebacker Brandon Brown (Oxon Hill, Md./Suitland HS).

Incredibly, these two teams will meet on the same field next Saturday (12 noon) as the 5-vs.-6 game as part of Northeast-10 Championship weekend.