Franklin Pierce University football
Photo Courtesy of Meg Stokes

Bentley Runs Over Ravens In Home Finale

RINDGE, N.H. (November 9, 2019) – The Franklin Pierce University football team looked to finish strong at home against Northeast-10 Conference foe Bentley University, but it simply wasn't the Ravens' afternoon. The Falcons jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead en route to a 70-0 win at Sodexo Field during Hall of Fame Weekend. 

The loss sees the Ravens suffer their ninth loss on the season and they end their conference slate with a winless mark. Bentley, winners of four in a row, now sit in a tie atop the NE10 standings at 5-4 with a 5-2 record in league play.

In a halftime ceremony, the Franklin Pierce University athletic department honored their four inductees, Mike Adams '09 (Baseball), Kim Jaksina '12 (Field Hockey/Women's Lacrosse), Christopher Joyce '06 (Men's Soccer) and Roscoe Sweeney '13 (Men's Ice Hockey) who were inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame Friday evening.

For Bentley, it was a tour de force in terms of the run game. 485 of the Falcons' 558 total yards of offense came on the ground. It all started with a 12 play, 80-yard drive that saw freshman Nathaniel Larkins rush in for the one-yard score. Pierce was able to stuff out the two-point conversion to keep the game at 6-0. 

That would be just about the only miscue on the part of Bentley. Larkins would strike again late in the first quarter on a 10-yard rush with Drew Mahoney completing the two-point conversion on a pass from Stephen Sturm (7-of-8, 73 yards).

Beneficial field positioning would set up Bentley's third score of the afternoon. It took only 48 seconds for Sturm to punch in the one-yard rush. In just three plays, the Falcons moved 30 yards and increased their lead to 21-0. 

It was the first of four second quarter scores as Bentley's run game continued to roll. Junior running back Andrew Brasicki would register the next three TD's. He had his best game of the season rushing 20 times for 172 yards and three touchdowns. Bentley would take a 42-0 lead into halftime. 

The Ravens offense sputtered as they attempted to put something on the board. Freshman quarterback Drew Campanale (Shrewsbury, Mass.) hobbled and gritted his way through the game posting 121 yards through the air and no turnovers. Running back K.O. Gaskin (Lynn, Mass.) also produced 43 rushing yards on seven carries, but it wasn't enough. 

Bentley swapped out Brasicki and Larkins for backs Brad Rogers and Anthony Duong. Rogers scored twice in the third quarter and rushed for 56 yards on 11 carries. Duong had an impressive 52-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter and accumulated 100 yards rushing on 12 carries. Adding to the dominance was senior running back Austin Triglia who scored a five-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter. 

In total, Bentley scored ten times, all on the ground, and from six different rushers. The only points secured not on the rush were Mahoney's two-point conversion and eight successful extra point attempts. 

On the defensive side for Pierce, freshman defensive back Luke Winslow (Lansing, N.Y.), paced the Ravens with eight total tackles. Classmate Joey Poisson (Goffstown, N.H.) recorded his first career sack and freshman corner Quill Langley (Lilburn, Ga.) broke up his second pass of the campaign.

The Ravens will look to snap their shutout streak as they concluded their inaugural season on the road against NCAA Division I school Merrimack College. Kickoff against the Warriors is set for Saturday, November 16, at 1:00 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://fpuravens.com). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (https://shopfpuravens.com). You can also follow the football team on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Ravens_FB) and Instagram (http://www.instagram.com/franklinpierce_fb).