WALTHAM, Mass. – Forty years after starting his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Indiana State University, Alvin Reynolds will make his debut as a head football coach Friday night when his Bentley University Falcons pay a visit to West Chester University. Kickoff is set for 6 pm at Farrell Stadium with a webcast  available at https://psacsportsdigitalnetwork.com/wcupagoldenrams/.

The sixth head football coach in Falcon history, Reynolds came to Bentley in 2018 and was the team's defensive coordinator the last two seasons. Last year, during a 9-2 campaign that included an appearance in the NCAA Division II playoffs, his defense was responsible for 22 sacks and 24 takeaways.

Among the defensive returnees for Bentley this fall are 2021 Northeast-10 Defensive Lineman of the Year Cedie Dashiell II (Buena Park, Calif./Buena Park HS), first-team All-Conference corner Jaylen Branch (Randolph/Milton Academy) and junior linebacker Salvatore Lupoli Jr. (Chelmsford/Chelmsford HS), the fourth leading tackler in the conference a year ago. All three are team captains, along with All-Conference wide receiver Noah Neville (Boston/Newton North HS).

Dashiell, who has 20 career sacks, anchors a d-line that also includes senior Quinn Nilan (Berkeley Heights, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) and juniors Herve Tshibamba (Naugatuck, Conn./Naugatuck HS) and Joe Rivers (Lunenburg/Lunenburg HS). Tshibamba is coming off a solid rookie season that included 32 tackles and 2.5 sacks.

Projected starters at linebacker, alongside Lupoli, are senior Christian Lanzalotto (Rumson, N.J./Rumson-Fair Haven HS) and sophomore Dan DiMare (Reading/Reading Memorial HS). Lupoli, the most experienced of the trio, had 90 tackles and three takeaways last fall.

Branch, a two-time All-Northeast-10 honoree, had 31 tackles and ten pass break-ups in 2021. The other projected starters in the secondary include senior Mathieu Severance (Lynn/Lynn English HS) at the other corner, grad student Aaron Racki  (Tampa, Fla./Cambridge Christian HS) at free safety and senior Joseph Howshan (Lawrence/Central Catholic HS) at strong safety. Racki led the secondary in tackles last season, making 54 stops.

Youngstown State transfer Mark Waid (Cortland, Ohio/Girard HS) is expected to make the start at quarterback following the graduation of three-year starter Stephen Sturm. Waid, who threw for 600 yards and ran for 466 yards in 12 games with the Penguins, had an amazing high school career, finishing fourth in Ohio history with 11,658 yards while throwing for 117 touchdowns.

Neville and senior running back Nate Larkins (Huntington, N.Y/John Glenn HS) were both key contributors to the Bentley offense last year and should be again this fall. Larkins rushed for 558 yards and had three 100-yard games in September. Neville enters this season with 85 career receptions, good for 1338 yards and 15 TD.

The rebuilt offensive line includes 6'9", 330-pound right tackle Gavin Olson (Manhasset, N.Y./Manhasset HS). The graduate transfer from Harvard started the final nine games for Bentley a year ago.

Also projected to start on the line are senior Andrew Sartori (Mount Sinai, N.Y./Mount Sinai HS) and junior Phil Koechling (Wayland/Wayland HS) at guard, junior Aaron Sousa (Lexington/Lexington HS) at center and freshman Mike Boutros (Worcester/Doherty Memorial HS) at left tackle.

West Chester, 6-5 last season, returns four All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division honorees, including linebacker Jackson Taylor. He was the PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year following a season that included 98 tackles, 10.5 tackles for losses and three takeaways.

The other three are the entire offensive backfield, quarterback Shane Dooley and running backs Ja'Den McKenzie and Phil Poquie. Combined, the trio amassed over 1900 rushing yards and 19 TD. McKenzie finished 20 yards shy of 1,000 and scored 13 touchdowns. Poquie was a force over the second half of the year and finished with 629 yards and seven TD.

Dooley, in nine games, completed 60 percent of his aerials for 1,719 yards and 20 TD. He'll be without his three top receivers from 2021, a trio who teamed for 92 receptions for 1597 yards and 15 TD.

Bentley and West Chester have opened the season against each other annually since 2016. The Golden Rams won the first four meetings but it was all Falcons last year, 41-17.

In that one, Sturm accounted for four touchdowns (two passing, two receiving)  and Abel Lopes Jr. (Scituate/Scituate HS) set a school record with an 84-yard punt return.  Bentley outgained West Chester, 440-241, and forced two touchdowns. The Falcons ran for 300 yards, including 149 from Larkins.

Next Saturday, Bentley will begin a three-game homestand with a 4:00 encounter with Pace University. That day, the Falcons will celebrate 50 years of football at Bentley.

For fans who are planning to attend Friday's game, West Chester asks that tickets be purchased online at www.wcupatix.com.