WALTHAM, Mass. – The Saint Anselm College football team posted a 38-7 loss at Bentley University on Saturday.
Saint Anselm and Bentley exited the day with matching 4-2 overall records. The Falcons, who racked up 439 yards of total offense on the day, improve to 2-1 against Northeast-10 Conference opponents while the Hawks even their league record at 2-2.
Playing on the road for just the second time all season, the Hawks were stymied by Bentley on both sides of the ball. Four student-athletes hauled in touchdown passes for the home team, who also took advantage of three Saint Anselm interceptions in the victory.
Similar to last year's win over Saint Anselm where Bentley, then nationally-ranked, opened up a 27-0 lead at Grappone Stadium, the Falcons similarly got off to a great start on Saturday, leading at one point by a 38-0 margin.
In total, Bentley owned a distinct edge in time of possession, controlling the ball for just shy of 38 minutes. Breaking up 11 passes by the Hawks on the day, Falcons also converted all three of their fourth downs in the game and similarly clicked on third down, converting on seven of their 14 attempts on third down.
The Hawks scored their lone touchdown with 8:06 to go in the game as junior Mike Tellier (Braintree, Mass.) hauled in an 18-yard pass from quarterback Drew Willoughby (Austin, Texas) to conclude a seven-play, 74-yard drive that spanned just shy of 2:30.
Willoughby threw passes to 11 student-athletes in defeat, paced by senior Anthony Brown (Belton, Texas) and sophomore Carson Goda (Bradenton, Fla.) and their four receptions. Brown was the leader in receiving yards with 50 to his credit.
The Saint Anselm defense recorded two interceptions and recovered a fumble on the day. Junior Will Klein (Abington, Mass.) and classmate Ahmad Brown (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.) picked off errant Bentley passes and sophomore Tighe Steineke (Holmdel, N.J.) recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter.
Senior Liam Flynn (Hanover, Mass.) had a career day for the Hawks on defense, recording nine solo takedowns.
The Hawks will use next week's bye to recover before returning to action Saturday, Oct. 22 at Post University. The game will begin in Waterbury, Conn. at 6 p.m.
