WALTHAM, Mass. – Over the last two Northeast-10 football seasons (2019, 2021), the winner of the Bentley University-University of New Haven game has gone on to win the conference championship.

Bentley earned the 2019 championship by virtue of a 31-14 homefield victory while New Haven turned the tables last year with a late-season victory by an identical score on its own blue turf.

The two teams, who last met in the 2021 NCAA Division II playoffs last November, will renew acquaintances Friday night when Bentley hosts the Chargers under the Friday night nights. Kickoff is set for 6 pm and the web stream will be available at NE10NOW.tv/bentleyfalcons.

The game will take place on the 50^th anniversary of the first club football game in Bentley history, a 6-6 tie at Western New England September 23, 1972 in which the Falcons scored the tying TD in the final minute.

Both teams will come into the contest sporting 2-1 records and possessing a lengthy winning streak. Bentley has won its last nine home games while New Haven, number 23 in this week's AFCA Division II Coaches Poll, is unbeaten in its last 14 conference games. Both are 16-3 since the midpoint of the 2019 season.

This season, Bentley has rebounded from a season-opening one-point loss to West Chester with convincing home victories over Pace University (41-20) and Post University (49-6). Meanwhile, New Haven has defeated Southern Connecticut State (31-26) and American International (54-26) following an opening day road loss to nationally-ranked Bowie State (27-20).

In last Friday's game, coach Alvin Reynolds' Falcons took control from the start, building a 28-0 lead before the first quarter was over. The opening 15 minutes saw Bentley amass 241 yards of total offense, an average of 13.4 yards per play with graduate QB Mark Waid (Cortland, Ohio/Girard HS) completing seven of eight passes for 190 yards and two scores. For the season, Waid has amassed 746 yards of total offense with 537 coming through the air.

Through three weeks, Bentley has two of the four NE10 rushers with at least 200 yards this season. Waid is the NE10 co-leader with 209 and senior Nate Larkins (Huntington, N.Y./John Glenn HS) is tied for third with 208. Larkins is also tied for the conference lead in scoring with 30 points.

Among the conference's nine players with at least eight rushes per game, Waid (8.0) and Larkins (5.1) are 1-2 in yards per carry. Junior Vinnie Holmes (Mansfield/Mansfield HS), in his 19 carries, has also been effective, averaging 6.4 yards.

Senior Noah Neville (Boston/Newton North HS) is the Falcons' number one receiver and the NE10 co-leader in yards per reception. He's pulled in 10 for 191 yards and three scores, and has pushed his career totals to 95 receptions, 1,529 yards and 18 TDs.

Defensively, Bentley ranks in the top three in the conference in points allowed (14.3), rushing yards allowed (77.7) and total defense (248.3). The Falcons, in their last two games, have limited Pace to 70 net rushing yards and Post to zero, on 24 plays.

The most known of the Falcon defensive players are 2021 NE10 Defensive Lineman of the Year Cedie Dashiell II (Buena Park, Calif./Buena Park HS), junior linebacker Salvatore Lupoli, Jr. (Chelmsford/Chelmsford HS) and senior corner Jailen Branch (Randolph/Milton Academy), who was recently one of only 22 college football players nationally named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.

Lupoli leads the Northeast-10 in tackles with 31 and the career numbers for Dashiell II including nine forced fumbles (tied for the most among active Division II players) and 23.5 sacks (fifth most). Branch has been credited with four pass break-ups this season.

Others who have stepped up this season include senior corner Mathieu Severance (Lynn/Lynn English HS), junior defensive lineman Zachary Goodwin (North Easton/Catholic Memorial HS) and senior safety Joseph Howshan (Lawrence/Central Catholic HS). Severance has 16 tackles and is tied for the NE10 lead in break-ups (5). Goodwin has been in on 13 tackles and Howshan has both an interception and a fumble recovery.

New Haven's potent offense, which produces 35 points and 392 yards a game, is led by graduate QB Connor Degenhardt, who threw five touchdown passes last week against AIC. It was a performance that resulted him in being selected as the NE10 Offensive Player of the Week. For the season, he's thrown for 797 yards, ten touchdowns and only one interception.

His scoring passes have been distributed to a half-dozen different players, including tight end Kevin Foelsch, who has reached the end zone three times.

New Haven graduated Zach Mauro, who ran for 308 yards in two games against Bentley last year. Christopher Als is this year's leading rusher, with his 209 yards tied for the conference-high, and Chris Carlyle is the Chargers' top receiver with 13 for 191 yards.

Defensively, New Haven has come up with ten sacks, five interceptions and two blocked kicks.

Terrell Ford was this week's NE10 Special Teams Player of the Week after returning a kickoff 81 yards for a TD. For the season, he's averaging 35.3 yards on 11 returns.

Bentley is 3-10 all-time against New Haven with two straight wins at home, 31-14 in 2019 and 27-24 in overtime in 2017.

After completing the program's first three-game homestand since 1995, Bentley will play at Franklin Pierce University on Oct. 1. The next home game is Oct. 8 against Saint Anselm College.

BENTLEY BRIEFS: Both of Bentley's losses last year came against the Chargers. In addition to 31-14 in the regular season meeting, New Haven earned a 38-13 victory over the Falcons in the NCAA playoffs … among the categories in which Bentley leads the Northeast-10 are first downs, fewest fumbles lost, passing yards per completion, rushing offense, fewest sacks allowed, passing efficiency, fewest tackles for losses allowed, total offense and fewest turnovers … junior Mason Campbell (Naples, Fla./Barron Collier HS) is second on the team in scoring with 22 points (13/13 PAT, 3/3 FG) … in last week's win over Post, Holmes, Wagner transfer Eric DeMayo (Peabody/Peabody HS) and junior tight end Pat Damon (Hanover/Hanover HS) all scored their first career TD, and junior Brett Pullman (Worcester/Holy Name HS) threw his first career touchdown pass … Bentley is 7-1-1 all-time on Sept. 23.