WALTHAM, Mass. – Following an impressive all-around effort against the University of New Haven that resulted in a 31-14 victory over the Northeast-10's preseason favorite, the Bentley University Falcons will look to carry that momentum into this Saturday's contest at Assumption College. Kickoff at Multi-Sport Stadium is set for noon (it was changed from 1 pm due to the EEE threat) and fans can watch on the NE10 NOW Digital Network.

The win for Bentley in its home and Northeast-10 opener was the first of the season after two losses for the Falcons.                

Assumption, after a season-opening 54-16 loss to Kutztown, has strung together three straight wins. The Greyhounds have outscored Saint Anselm, Southern Connecticut and Franklin Pierce – a trio of teams with a combined 1-11 record to date – by an aggregate score of 126-39.

Bentley, in the win over New Haven, pitched a shutout over the final 55 minutes and limited the Chargers to only six snaps inside the Falcon 40 during that stretch. Meanwhile, the Falcons put up 24 unanswered points and totaled 333 yards total offense, most allowed by New Haven in their first four games.             

The Bentley offense featured junior quarterback Stephen Sturm (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley HS) and fifth-year senior Drew Mahoney (West Suffield, Conn./Suffield Academy). Sturm completed 23 of 37 for 236 yards with no sacks or interceptions while also collecting a career-best 58 yards on the ground on nine carries. Mahoney caught nearly half those passes, finishing with 11 for 146 yards, including the longest TD catch in the conference this season, 79 yards.

It was the second straight game that Mahoney has reached double-digits in receptions and gave him an average of 10 per game this season, best nationally in Division II. He has 30 for 290 yards through three games, and has climbed to fourth in program history in receptions (161).

Sturm's completion percentage (.636) is a conference-high and he's been picked off only once in 110 pass attempts this season. Junior Austin Ryan (Foxborough/Foxborough HS), who has 17 career TD catches in 13 games, follows Mahoney with 17 receptions for 120 yards. Sophomore Noah Neville (Boston/Newton North HS) and senior Ryan McCarthy (Holden/Wachusett Reg. HS) also average at least two catches per game.

Junior Andrew Brazicki (Franklin Park, N.J./St. Thomas Aquinas HS) wasn't a big part of the offense against New Haven but remains one of the NE10's leading rushers for the season with 226 yards and a per-carry average of 4.8. Classmate Jordan Artope (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson HS) scored his third and fourth TDs of the season Saturday, the second straight game he's crossed the goal line twice.

It was the second time in three games, both against teams that earned NCAA bids last season, that the o-line didn't allow a sack. That quintet includes three players expected to make their 20th consecutive start Saturday: senior guard Matt Boyle (Duxbury/Duxbury HS), junior center Sean Mitchell (Park Ridge, N.J./Saint Joseph Reg. HS) and junior tackle Tim Leonard (Rumson, N.J./Rumson-Fair Haven HS).

The Falcon defense has had a nose for the football during the first three games, coming up with nine takeaways. Three of those came in the New Haven game, including a game-opening pick-six by senior Will Sheriffs (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS). Sophomore Jailen Branch (Randolph/Milton Academy) also intercepted a pass and sophomore Ryan Philibotte (Nashua, N.H./Salisbury School) recovered a fumble for the second time this season.

Junior linebacker Marc Doran (Ramsey, N.J./Saint Joseph Reg. HS) leads the team in tackles (21), sophomore Cedric Dashiell (Buena Park, Calif./Buena Park HS) has three sacks and the team's five interceptions are split among five different players.

Sophomore Isaiah Collins (Dorchester Center/Belmont Hill School)) has been a plus on special teams. Twice against New Haven, he returned kicks over 50 yards and he finished the day with three kickoff returns for 139 yards. For the season, he's averaged 28.6 yards, raising his career mark to 26.3.

Assumption is coming off a 53-6 win over Franklin Pierce, a game in which the Greyhounds scored 27 in the first quarter and 26 in the second. Four of the Hounds' first-half possessions started on the FPU side of the field as they took advantage of a 50-yard kickoff return, a fumbled kickoff return, and a blocked punt

The Assumption ground game is led by Doug Santos and Khaleed Exum-Strong, both of who have averaged over eight yards a carry. Santos has 373 yards and three TDs and Exum-Strong 257 and a conference-best five scores.

Coach Andy McKenzie starts junior Easton Turner at quarterback. Through four games, Turner has thrown for 517 yards and four scores while completing 51 percent of his passes. Three of the four TDs have gone to Brevin Easton, who has seven catches for 173 yards.

Assumption, which has 12 takeaways (eight fumbles, four interceptions), averages 370.8 yards a game and allows 381.3. The only relatively close game they've played was a 19-7 win over Southern Connecticut State.

In the series between the Falcons and Hounds, the road team has prevailed in the last three meetings. Assumption won in Waltham last fall, 52-21, while Bentley finished its 2017 season with a 35-31 victory over the then-unbeaten Hounds. In that one, Ryan caught eight passes for a school record 284 yards, including touchdowns of two, 60, 63 and 50 yards.

Last year's game saw Assumption score 31 unanswered points in the second half after the two teams went into intermission even at 21.

                Following the Assumption game, Bentley will return to prepare for an Oct. 12 game against Southern Connecticut State.