WALTHAM, Mass. – Following a 4-0 month of September that extended their winning streak to nine games, the Bentley University Falcons will look to carry that momentum into October. They'll kick off the month Saturday at Saint Anselm College with kickoff at Grappone Stadium in Manchester, N.H. set for 3:30 pm. Live video can be viewed on the NE10 Digital Network.

Three of the Falcons' four wins have come against teams who are 3-0 in their other games so far this season, West Chester, Stonehill and American International. That success has elevated Bentley into the AFCA Division II Top 25 for the first time in a dozen years with coach Bill Kavanaugh's team checking in at number 24.

Bentley is coming off a 35-27 win at AIC, a game that saw the Falcons score on four straight possessions after facing a 14-0 deficit early in the second quarter. An impressive ground game (285 yards), four fourth-down conversions and three takeaways played a key role in the comeback.

The Falcons will be playing a Saint Anselm team that is 1-2 overall after a 42-7 win over Franklin Pierce in the home opener. Ahead 14-0 at the half, the Hawks broke it open with 28 unanswered points in the third, including two scoring plays of 60+ yards by Anthony Brown (68-yard pass reception, 62-yard punt return). Previously, Saint Anselm lost 55-23 to former Northeast-10 member Merrimack and 34-31 at Southern Connecticut State.

Bentley's rushing game has been the most proficient in the Northeast-10 and tenth best in Division II. The reigning Northeast-10 champion Falcons have averaged 5.4 yards per carry as well as over 240 a game. Junior Nathaniel Larkins (Huntington, N.Y./John Glenn HS) already has three 100-yard games, including 131 at AIC, and is seventh in Division II with 510 rushing yards.

Senior quarterback Stephen Sturm (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley HS), known mostly for his passing during his career, ran for 103 at AIC, becoming the first Falcon QB to reach the century mark since Kelley Row in 2005. Ironically, that also came against the Yellow Jackets. For the season, he's rushed for 230 yards, ranking eighth in the conference, while throwing for 594 and eight TDs.

Graduate student and 2020 Academic All-America Andrew Brazicki (Franklin Park, N.J./St. Thomas Aquinas HS) has also been a threat. Bentley's leading rusher annually from 2017-19, he has averaged 6.2 yards per attempt and has 338 yards of all-purpose running.

Much of the credit for the success of the ground game has to go to the line which includes Harvard transfer Gavin Olsen (Manhasset, N.Y./Manhasset HS) and junior Dom DePaoli (Weymouth/Xaverian Brothers HS) at tackle, grad student Lucas DeBettencourt (Oak Bluffs/Martha's Vineyard HS) and senior Charlie Tordik (Asbury, N.J./North Hunterdon HS) at guard and fifth-year senior Sean Mitchell (Park Ridge, N.J./Saint Joseph Reg. HS) in the middle. Collectively, Bentley has allowed a conference-low three sacks this season.

UMass transfer and reigning Northeast-10 Defensive Player of the Week Cole McCubrey (Boylston/ Tahanto Reg. HS) and sophomore Sal Lupoli (Chelmsford/Chelmsford HS) lead Bentley in tackles, with 39 and 38 respectively. Senior defensive end Cedie Dashiell II (Buena Park, Calif./Buena Park HS), twice the NE10 Defensive Player of the Week earlier this season, leads the NE10 in both sacks (6) and tackles for loss (6.5).

As a team, the Bentley D leads the conference in fewest yards allowed (313.25), interceptions (5) and fumbles recovered (4). There have been two interceptions for touchdowns, including a 45-yarder by McCubrey at AIC on his second pick of the year, and Dashiell II has forced three fumbles, second most in Division II nationally.

The Falcon secondary will be tested by a Saint Anselm that averages over 50 pass attempts and 318 passing yards per game. Sophomore Drew Willoughby has thrown for 954 yards and seven TDs with four of his receivers having at least 10 catches thus far.

That includes junior tailback Vincent Wagner, the NE10 leader in receptions per game (6.0), and Brown, with 15 catches for 278 yards and four TD.

Saint Anselm has yet to get much going on the ground with only 112 yards through three games.

Defensively, the Hawks are allowing 428 yards but do have 11 sacks and four takeaways. Senior linebacker Damien Williams has three sacks and is one of five players with 16 tackles to date.

In the most recent meeting between the two programs, in October 2019, Bentley held on for a 41-35 win after the Hawks scored 14 unanswered in the first 7:05 of the fourth to make it a one-possession game. Sturm threw for three TD, and both Drew Mahoney and Austin Ryan (Foxborough/Foxboro HS) had over 100 receiving yards.

Bentley has a five-game winning streak against Saint Anselm and is 18-1 all-time against the Hawks, whose only win came in 2014, 38-34.

After the trip to New Hampshire, Bentley will return home to prepare for next Saturday's home game against Pace.

FALCON FACTS: Bentley is looking for its first 5-0 start since 2012 … the team's nine-game winning streak is its longest since 2002-03 when the Falcons won 11 in a row, including the first 10 in 2003 … Bill Kavanaugh, now in his eighth season as Bentley's head coach, was a defensive lineman and captain that year … Sturm needs 114 yards to become the sixth player in program history with 6,000 passing yards, joining Marc Eddy, Danny Guadagnoli, Ted Larkin, Bryant Johnson and John White. He currently has 43 career TD passes, eighth in school history.