WALTHAM, Mass. -- Senior quarterback Bryant Johnson (Hopedale/Milford HS) completed 17 of 22 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns, and also ran for a score, as Bentley University started strong and held on for a 31-28 win over Merrimack College in Northeast-10 Conference football Friday night on the winners' home field.

In the first meeting between the two programs since they finished in a three-way tie for the 2009 NE-10 championship, Bentley jumped out to a 14-0 lead after the opening quarter and led 31-14 after three before Merrimack made things interesting with 14 unanswered points in the final stanza.

The Falcons, with the win, snapped a two-game slide and improved to 2-2 in the conference (2-4 overall). Merrimack fell to 2-3 overall and 2-1 in the NE-10.

The first quarter was dominated by the home team with two lengthy scoring drives consuming nearly 13 minutes of clock time. On the opening drive, two long gains, a 22-yard run by junior Bobby Tarr (Byfield/Bishop Fenwick HS) and a 25-yard pass from Johnson to senior John Malone (Walpole/ Walpole HS), moved the ball down to the Warrior six. After a short gain by Tarr, Johnson took it in from the four for the touchdown.

Merrimack moved the ball on its first possession, but came up just short on a fourth-and-two from the Falcon 21, with senior Sal Ruffino (Allentown, Pa./Central Catholic HS) and sophomore John Aminti (Sandy Hook, Conn./Newtown HS) making the stop.

Bentley replied with a 13-play, 81-yard drive that featured a 22-yard Johnson completion to Malone on a third-and-16, and was capped by a 16-yard scoring strike to senior Kyle Tuthill (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas HS). Both of those receivers recorded a career milestone in the game with Tuthill making his 100th catch as a collegian earlier on that drive and Malone eclipsing 1,000 receiving yards.

The Falcons had a great opportunity to go up 21 after Aminti recovered a fumble on the Warrior 10. A personal foul after the play pushed it back to the 25, and Bentley came up empty on the drive, turning the ball over on downs. Merrimack made it hurt even more, responding with a seven-play, 65-yard drive to close to within seven, 14-7. Junior QB James Suozzo (Everett), who had two rushing and two passing touchdowns, took it in from the one for the score.

Bentley quickly bounced back and moved 70 yards on 11 plays to restore the 14-point differential. Johnson completed two third-down passes on the drive and sophomore Jack Pizzotti (Melrose/Melrose HS) scored the TD on a three-yard run.

Merrimack threatened to get within seven by intermission, Suozzo driving the Warriors down to the Bentley six before senior linebacker Greg O'Brien (Canton/Xaverian Brothers HS) came up with an interception in the end zone.

Merrimack opened the second half with an 11-play scoring drive that was finished by another one-yard run by Suozzo. Once again, the Falcons countered, using a 28-yard field goal by junior Paul Branco (Brockton/Brockton HS) to go up 10, 24-14.

The Falcons got the ball back on an interception by junior Steve Hopkins (Waltham/Waltham HS) and moved right downfield to push the advantage to 17. Johnson connected with Malone on a six-yarder for his 13th TD pass of the season.

Midway through the fourth, one play after the Falcons' first punt of the evening, Suozzo went deep to sophomore Isaiah Voegeli (Hyannis) for a 60-yard TD pass, cutting the Bentley lead to 10.

Following a punt by Branco that rolled out of bounds at the Warrior six with 3:34 left, Suozzo moved his team 94 yards in just seven plays, a drive aided by two major penalties on the Falcons. He hit senior Greg Abelli (Billerica) in the back corner of the end zone, and the extra point made it a three-point game with 1:54 left.

Bentley senior tight end Mike Slattery (Natick/Natick HS) recovered the ensuing onside kick and the Falcons used most of the clock before having to punt. Branco again put it to the Warrior six, and Suozzo had time for just one pass, which was thrown out-of-bounds, before time expired.

Merrimack out-gained the Falcons, 474-348, despite a 15:52 time advantage for Bentley. The Warriors also finished with 27 first downs, but were guilty of three turnovers (to the Falcons' one) and 12 penalties for 106 (Bentley had eight for 79).

Johnson, who had a passing efficiency of 191.27, distributed the ball to seven different receivers. Malone caught five for 53 yards, Tuthill had 69 yards on four receptions and Tarr led the ground game with 11 carries for 44 yards.

Suozzo finished 23 of 42 for 328 yards, and also had 63 rushing yards. Abelli led the Warriors in receiving with 10 for 94 yards.

Hopkins and O'Brien led the Falcon D with 11 and eight tackles, respectively.

Next week, Bentley returns to the road for the fifth time in 2010, playing a Saturday afternoon game at Southern Connecticut State.

Box Score (Final)

Merrimack vs Bentley (10/08/10 at Waltham, Mass.)

Score by Quarters     1  2  3  4   Score

-----------------    -- -- -- --   -----

Merrimack...........  0  7  7 14  - 28       Record: (2-3,2-1)

Bentley............. 14  7 10  0  - 31       Record: (2-4,2-2)

Scoring Summary:

1st 11:11 BEN - Bryant Johnson 4 yd run (Paul Branco kick), 7-68 3:49

    00:07 BEN - Kyle Tuthill 16 yd pass from Johnson (Branco kick), 13-81 8:37

2nd 10:46 MER - James Suozzo 1 yd run (Greg Molloy kick), 7-65 2:21

    04:35 BEN - Jack Pizzotti 3 yd run (Branco kick), 11-70 6:05

3rd 11:17 MER - Suozzo 1 yd run (Molloy kick), 11-71 3:34

    06:57 BEN - Branco 28 yd field goal, 9-61 4:14

    01:11 BEN - John Malone 6 yd pass from Johnson (Branco kick), 7-53 3:53

4th 08:30 MER - Isaiah Voegeli 60 yd pass from Suozzo (Molloy kick), 1-60 0:09

    01:57 MER - Greg Abelli 10 yd pass from Suozzo (Molloy kick), 7-94 1:37

                                    MER      BEN

FIRST DOWNS...................       27       20

RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............   29-146   47-128

PASSING YDS (NET).............      328      220

Passes Att-Comp-Int...........  42-23-2  22-17-0

TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS.....   71-474   69-348

Fumble Returns-Yards..........      0-0      0-0

Punt Returns-Yards............     1-15      0-0

Kickoff Returns-Yards.........     6-92     5-59

Interception Returns-Yards....      0-0     2-56

Punts (Number-Avg)............    0-0.0   3-33.7

Fumbles-Lost..................      1-1      1-1

Penalties-Yards...............   12-106     8-79

Possession Time...............    22:04    37:56

Third-Down Conversions........  5 of 10  5 of 11

Fourth-Down Conversions.......   1 of 4   0 of 2

Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      3-5      5-5

Sacks By: Number-Yards........     2-12      0-0

RUSHING: Merrimack-Anthony Smalls 17-71; James Suozzo 11-63; Jimon Hill 1-12. Bentley-Bobby Tarr 11-44; Jack Pizzotti 6-34; Lorenzo Warren 10-28; Bryant Johnson 11-22; Eric DiPietrantonio 5-8; Joshua Marsh 1-0; TEAM 3-minus 8.

PASSING: Merrimack-James Suozzo 23-42-2-328. Bentley-Bryant Johnson 17-22-0-220.

RECEIVING: Merrimack-Greg Abelli 10-94; Omari Mobley 6-82; Anthony Smalls 3-30; Isaiah Voegeli 2-73; Steve Serwon 2-49. Bentley-John Malone 5-53; Kyle Tuthill 4-69; Wade Critides 3-27; Mike Slattery 2-48; Tim Moscato 1-15; Brett Schuering 1-6; Eric DiPietrantonio 1-2.

INTERCEPTIONS: Merrimack-None. Bentley-Greg O'Brien 1-39; Steve Hopkins 1-17.