Boston Globe sports correspondent John Vellante takes a look at Bentley defensive standouts MAtt Zahoruiko and Chris Carroll, both of whom saw their college career come to an abrupt end following an outstanding senior year. This article appeared in the Nov. 15 edition of the Boston Globe North (http://www.bostonglobe.com/).
By John Vellante November 15, 2009
Bentley University senior captains Matt Zahoruiko or Chris Carroll didn't envision the season or their respective football playing careers ending so abruptly.
A 23-21 loss to Northeast-10 rival Stonehill last Saturday was painful, denying the Falcons in their bid to capture the conference title outright. Bentley shared the title with Merrimack and Southern Connecticut.
But with the loss, the Falcons (8-2) also dropped out of the Division 2 national rankings, and on Sunday, they were snubbed by the NCAA playoff selection committee.
Nonetheless, Zahoruiko, a 6-foot, 240-pound middle linebacker from North Andover, and Carroll, a 5-11, 195-pound free safety from Lynn, look back on a season with satisfaction.
"Disappointing? Sure it was, the way we lost the final game,'' said Zahoruiko, who finished the season tied for the NE-10 Conference lead with 123 tackles. "But we worked hard all season and have fond memories of what we accomplished. We all wanted to play at least another week, but it wasn't in the cards.''
Carroll, who recorded a conference-best eight interceptions, said: "It felt like a bad dream, not being selected. It was disappointing, to say the least. We had hopes, but things didn't work out. But the season as a whole was a success. We were picked to finish fourth, and we claimed a share of the championship.''
The key to Bentley's success this season was its defense. The Falcons allowed a conference-low 16.3 points per game and forced a conference-high 33 turnovers (24 interceptions and nine fumbles). In contrast, its offense sputtered and scored an average of 23.6 points per game, third fewest in the conference.
"It's no secret: Our defense was our strength,'' said Bentley's first-year coach, Thom Boerman. "It was the best in the conference, and those two [Zahoruiko and Carroll] were two of the three best on the team. Most of the year they led the country in tackles and interceptions, and that says a lot about their performance. When you're among the country's leaders, it doesn't get any better than that.''
Boerman, though, was just as impressed with Zahoruiko's and Carroll's leadership abilities.
"As a first-year coach, I leaned on those two to get my message about commitment across. I brought in [former Lowell High coach] Scott Boyle from Saint Anselm to be my defensive coordinator, and he had a whole different scheme than what we had last year. Zahoruiko and Carroll had to absorb that scheme and terminology very quickly and get it across to the others. The whole defensive unit adapted quickly because of their leadership. They're just football-smart kids.''
Zahoruiko, named the conference's co-Defensive Player of the Year along with Assumption linebacker Dustin Zitsmann, finished the season with 57 solo and 66 assisted tackles. He was credited with 284 career tackles overall. Carroll had 14 career interceptions.
"It's tough for me to talk about what I did personally, because football is a team game,'' said Zahoruiko, who sees coaching in his future. "We all worked so hard, and this was a memorable season.'' Carroll, too, wants to coach someday.
"It was all there for the taking,'' said Boerman, "but we let it slip away. Losing to Stonehill cost us a national ranking, an outright conference championship, and a playoff spot. I am sure had we won, we'd be preparing for the playoffs. Everyone was just crushed. It was like a punch to the stomach sitting there watching the selection show on TV and not hearing your name called. I feel sorry for the seniors, especially Zahoruiko and Carroll, who played their last college game. They did so much to get us this far, and then it slipped away. They deserved better.''
Ideas and information may be sent to JohnPVel@aol.com. 
