By Justin A. Rice/Daily News correspondent


WALTHAM — .The Bentley University football team was trailing winless Pace University 27-20 on the road with just more than two minutes remaining on Saturday when junior quarterback Bryant Johnson - who had thrown five interceptions to that point - assured Bentley coach Thom Boerman that the Falcons were going to win the game.

The Hopedale native and Milford High grad then delivered on his promise by leading a 15-play, 91-yard drive to improve Bentley's record to 7-1 overall after the 28-27 victory.

"I was never in doubt, I had complete faith and confidence the young men could get it done," Boerman said. "Bryant looked me straight in the eye and said `Coach, we're not going to lose this game.' That was not bravado. That was him letting me know what we had to do.

"I was glad to see them do it. I knew they could do it. The previous 59 minutes, I'm presuming, that will be a wakeup call for us - you can go to the well only so often. Hopefully, we've gone there just enough this season."

The fourth-ranked team in the NCAA Division II Super Region One is tied for first place in the Northeast-10 with Assumption College, the team the Falcons happen to be playing at 2 p.m. on homecoming Saturday this week. Bentley will need to win that game, and its season finale at Stonehill on Nov. 7, to guarantee a playoff berth.

"Going into the (Pace) game we were looking past Pace a little and we kind of took them lightly," said Johnson, who was 29-of-59 passing for 338 yards, including the game-winning 8-yard TD pass to grad student Kelley Rowe with 18.6 seconds remaining in the game. "We definitely did not play close to our potential all game long. We were not ready to play, and you can't do that with any team in the league. It almost cost us."

Johnson agreed the fact that an 0-6 team led the game with about two minutes remaining will serve as the wakeup call they need going into the final two games of the season.

"We all know what we have at risk going into each one of these last two games," he said. "Hopefully, we'll pull it all together and we'll come in focused this week. After the way we played (last) week, the only thing we can do is come out ready and play. We can't go into any week thinking all we have to do is step out and win the game."

Bentley's fortunes changed when senior free safety Chris Carroll intercepted the ball at the Bentley 2 and returned it to the 9 with 2:30 left in the game.

"It was second-and-10 and their inside receiver ran a deep post," said Carrol, who has eight INTs on the season. ``I was covering him man-to-man and just stepped in a picked it off in front of the goal line. It was a big play. They were driving on us and eating up clock. We needed to make a play and fortunately I was able to make it.

"Bryant Johnson led us down the field and the offensive line gave him plenty of time. The receivers made big plays, big catches. It was a pretty amazing drive."

Johnson complete 9-of-13 passes for 92 yards on the drive, including a completion on a fourth-and-2 from the Pace 30 and a 16-yard completion to junior Wade Critides on a third-and-10 from the 24.

Out of timeouts on the 8, Johnson spiked the ball on first down before hitting Rowe for the game-winner.

"We had to pull together on a very tough drive at the end of the game and I'm hoping the team learned it's not about taking the field, it's about preparing every week to win the football game, and not have the other team lose it," Boerman said.

That will be no easy feat this week against Assumption - the league's No. 1 scoring team with 34.4 points per game and the third best offense with 379.1 yards per game.

Bentley, which has the stingiest defense in the league (allowing 15 points per game), does have a penchant for coming back against Assumption.

"They had a big lead on us last year and we came back to beat them," Carroll said. "They've played us tough since I've been here my three years. We're expecting a battle."

And, even though his quarterback threw five interceptions last time out and has 12 INTs on the season, Boerman wouldn't go into battle this Saturday with anyone else. He said while Johnson isn't leading the league in any statistical category, the first-year starter has intangibles that can't be measured.

"Is he in a funk?" Boerman rhetorically asked of his QB, who has thrown 1,969 yards this season and 15 TDs. "It's the turnovers that arch people's eyebrows a bit, but I don't know if I'd call it a funk. He's still learning on the job. Every week, he's learning, and I still have a lot of confidence in him."

Those intangibles were never on display more than when Johnson declared victory on Saturday.

"You like to see that," Boerman said. "In some cases, it is bravado or too much swagger. In his case, it's not, not if you know Bryant. I think he felt the need to come let me know I could trust him in the situation despite the five interceptions.

"That is one of those intangibles, the quite confidence. He understood what had to be done and I could trust him to do it."