Box Score Scranton, PA – Coming off of a school record 19 wins in a row, the #4 Lackawanna College football team welcomed #20 Nassau Community College to Scranton, PA. The Falcons were celebrating Homecoming Weekend and Sophomore Day, along with the unveiling of the College's new mascot. Coach Duda and his team were able to block out any distractions and came out determined to show why they are one of the best programs in the country.
From the start of the game, the Lackawanna defense played with a chip on their shoulder. Nassau would try to move the ball on their first series but the Falcons defense would create one of 5 turnovers to give the ball to QB Matt Cavallaro and the offense. They would waste no time as Calvin Bell would score on a 1 yard run to put the Falcons up 7-0. In the 2nd quarter, Lackawanna would add a 34 yard FG from Cameron Ceccotti and a 23-yard TD reception by Sameer Parks to extend their first half lead to 17-0. The Lions would pull some trick plays out of their hat and scored 12 unanswered points to trim the Falcons' lead to 17-12, going into halftime.
Lackawanna came out of the locker room for the 3rd quarter and took complete control of the game. Cavallaro marched the Falcons down the field and found Norval Black in the end zone for a 7-yard TD pass. This is all the offense Lackawanna would need, as the defense put up one of their best performances of any half this season. Robert Kennedy, Ian Newton and Mike Crawford each returned an interception for a TD, tying a season high for INT's returned for a TD in a game. All in all, the defense has returned 6 INT's for a TD in the last 2 games. Any time Nassau would gain momentum, the Falcons had an answer and they held the Lions to only 6 points in the 2nd half. In fact, Lackawanna outscored Nassau 31-6 in the final two quarters.
With the 48-18 win, the Falcons move to 8-0 on the season and have extended their unbeaten streak to 20 games in a row. QB Matt Cavallaro finished the game 12-21 for 141 yards and 2 TD's, while Norval Black finished with 3 receptions and a TD, along with Sameer Parks adding 2 receptions and a TD. However, it was the defense that would control this game by creating 5 turnovers and recording 9 sacks on the quarterback. Brandon Hickerson- Rooks and Teron Haley had 4 of the 9 sacks between them and Pheldarius Payne made the most of his sophomore day by recording 6 tackles.
Lackawanna will return to action next week and continue their end of the season home stand when they welcome the NJ Warriors to Valor Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00pm.
