Big man on Bentley's campus

WALTHAM -- Dan Keohane knew that when it came time for the heavy lifting, he could turn to Mackenzy Bernadeau, a mammoth of a young man on his Waltham High football team.

"We worked together for a couple of summers for my friend's stone masonry company," recalled Keohane, now an assistant coach at Bentley College, where Bernadeau, a senior, is a Division 2 preseason All-American on the offensive line.

"It's fair to say the heaviest stones were handed off to Mack."

There's some heavy lifting of another kind facing the 6-foot-4, 302-pound Bernadeau and his Falcon teammates this fall. After being among the Northeast-10 Conference's elite teams since the 2000 season, the Falcons slipped to 6-5 overall last year and finished sixth in the conference with a 4-5 record.

Although four conference losses were by seven points or less, Bentley was only picked fifth in this year's preseason poll. That selection has motivated Bernadeau, a two-year captain who has attracted the attention of a dozen National Football League teams, to finish his college career on a high note.

"We've got a lot to prove, and I've trained my life away this summer," said Bernadeau, who has started every game at Bentley since his freshman season and was named a Division 2 All-American by Lindy's College Football Magazine for the second consecutive year. "I've been working out at a gym in Watertown four hours a day, four days a week with some of my teammates. I do some boxing there as well, and I run on my own on the weekend.

"I don't want to look back with any questions about whether I could have done more my senior season," said Bernadeau, who will be back on campus tomorrow for the first official practice of the season.

"I don't want to have any regrets. I get messages from former teammates who are now working who tell me they wish they had one more shot, so I want to make the most of mine."

Bernadeau has made the most of his time as a Falcon.

A year ago, he was named Bentley's Offensive MVP, the conference's Lineman of the Year for the second time, and a first team All-New England selection. An anchor at left tackle since the first game of his freshman season, he was shifted to left guard after three games last fall and the transition, he said, has been smooth.

"He could have played Division 1 football and the sky's the limit for him," said Bentley head coach Peter Yetten, now in his 29th season. "Mack's move to guard lets us take advantage of his speed and pulling ability. We've never had an NFL draft pick at Bentley, but if he continues to improve, Mack could be the one. We're also teaching him to long-snap to make him an even more complete player if the pros are interested."

Bernadeau doesn't want to get ahead of himself.

"It was exciting at first to know the pros were interested in me and I'm honored," he said, "but my focus is on this season and being there for my teammates. I can remember last season when we won our opener in a big upset [9-7] at East Stroudsburg [Medway's Tyler McNamara kicked a last-second winning field goal]. I was lying on the ground after blocking all over the place and never saw the ball go through.

"But hearing the reaction from our bench and knowing what we accomplished, well, those are the moments you live for as a football player, and I want to experience more of them at Bentley before I'm done."

While growing up with his four siblings in Waltham, Bernadeau knew of Bentley, but when he first thought of going to college, he didn't know if living on campus in his hometown was the right fit.

But that perception changed after he visited the campus and also saw Bentley play a postseason game during his senior year of high school. The program and the campus impressed him.

And while Division 1-AA schools like Massachusetts, Maine, and Northeastern came knocking, Bernadeau chose Bentley, where his family and friends could drive just a mile or two to his games.

His parents, Max and Marie, are among his most loyal fans and there's usually a sizable contingent of family and friends at Bentley's games -- one reason Bernadeau is glad he stayed close to home.

"I also had a comfort level with coach Yetten [who taught in the Waltham school system]; coach Keohane had been my high school coach for three years; and Paul Mayberry, who was my high school coach my senior year, had been a Bentley assistant," said Bernadeau, whose older brother (by seven years), Scotty, was a lineman/captain at Trinity Catholic High and Nichols College.

"Coach Keohane and coach Mayberry made me a better high school player and prepared me for what to expect as a college player."

So did Scotty Bernadeau, who was as big as his younger brother, but a tad shorter (at 6-2).

"Mack B. used to go to my high school games and he has always been a hard worker to make himself a better player," said Scotty Bernadeau, who now works in real estate. "He wanted to be a captain in high school and he did that. When I was at Nichols, we used to do 100-yard power sprints and I'd put my brother through the same drills in the summer. I think that really got him motivated. His passion for the game just grew and has never left him."

A business management major who envisions co-owning a restaurant or gym someday, Bernadeau is first and foremost a loyal and supportive friend and teammate, according to those close to him.

"Aside from being one of the steadiest linemen I've ever seen, what has never changed since I've known Mack is how thoughtful he is of his coaches and teammates," said Keohane.

One of those teammates, senior linebacker and close friend Gustavo Medina -- who played at Wellesley High -- describes Bernadeau as "humble and on the quiet side, but his impact on the game is huge. He knows how to pump up his teammates and you won't find a more dedicated team captain."

That dedication was evident when Bernadeau talked about Bentley's upcoming season, which kicks off Sept. 7 at Southern Connecticut.

"I'm feeling a lot more adrenaline and a lot more motivation knowing this is it," said Bernadeau. "This is 10 times more exciting than ever before."