Bentley loaded with local talent

Bentley College juniors Luis Cotto of Waltham, who rushed for 843 yards last fall, and Tyler McNamara of Medway, who set school and conference records with 14 field goals in 18 attempts, are among the top returning players for the Falcons football team.

Picked to finish second this fall behind Southern Connecticut in the Northeast-10 Conference preseason coaches poll, Bentley will return 12 starters when it kicks off the season Aug. 29 against visiting Millersville University.

"Cotto had a good spring, he's healthy, and he's a strong runner," said Peter Yetten, Bentley's head coach of 30 seasons. "McNamara's leg is even stronger, and they should be strong contributors."

Bentley's roster also includes seniors Joe Dzerkacz, a fullback from Maynard; Jozef Reddington, a linebacker and punter from Northborough; and redshirt freshman Bryant Johnson, a backup quarterback from Hopedale who attended Milford High.

The sophomore contingent includes Tim Sousa, a defensive lineman from Medway; Mike Slattery, a reserve tight end from Natick, who has added size; Wade Critides, a wide receiver from Wayland, who had a great spring and is fighting for a starting position; Spiro Siannes, a tight end from Waltham with good hands; and linebacker Jim Sweeney of Waltham.

The freshman class includes John Slein, a tackle from Ashland, who has impressed the coaching staff; Dan Alberico, a defensive back from Watertown; and twin brothers Don and Steve Hopkins of Waltham, who provide depth at safety and on special teams.

"We're trying to solidify our offensive line, and we want to diversify our rushing offense," added Yetten, who guided the Falcons to a 7-3 mark last season. "Defensively, we could be strong, but we need players to step up on both sides of the line. We've got good athletes, some of whom just need experience."

With the departure of past rivals Bryant University, now in Division 1, and C.W. Post, off to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, Bentley will play Stonehill College twice this season. Next year, the NE-10 will add the University of New Haven to its football-playing member schools.

New appointments at Babson College

New appointments at Babson College include Waltham resident Jeremy Viens as assistant men's basketball coach, Stefanie DeSimone as manager of the Babson Skating Center, Krystin Ojala as assistant athletic trainer, Clayton Reed as head coach of the Alpine ski team, and Needham resident Amy Lampe as game-management coordinator and assistant sports information director.

Viens was head coach of the Team New England Select AAU program. DeSimone, who worked at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough, was skating director of the Bay State Blades program. Ojala was a graduate assistant athletic trainer at Northeastern University. Reed graduated this spring from Middlebury College, where he was a two-time All-East skier, and Lampe is a recent graduate of Eastern Connecticut State University.

Odds and ends

Anjali Forber-Pratt of Natick and Anderson Wise of Needham are members of Team USA that will compete in next month's Paralympic Games in Beijing. Forber-Pratt will compete in wheelchair sprints and Wise in power lifting.

Milford's Phil Negus was the winning pitcher for the Sanford Mainers as they claimed the New England Collegiate Baseball League championship with a 4-1 win over Newport. Negus, a junior at Wake Forest University this fall, went 7 1/3 innings to help complete the two-game sweep.

Marvin Pave can be reached at 508-820-4223 or marvin.pave@ rcn.com.