10/2/21
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Falcons football team opened the home slate of their 2021 fall season with a dominant 53-13 win over McDougle Technical Institute on a sun-soaked, breezy Saturday afternoon at Scranton's Memorial Stadium.
 
The Falcons (3-1) piled up 478 yards of total offense, with a balanced passing game (250 yards) and rushing attack (228 yards). Lackawanna College had a stretch of seven straight drives ending in points, while the defense racked up twelve tackles for loss, seven sacks, a safety, an interception, and seven punts on the day.
 
Lackawanna College wasted little time, scoring in just six plays on its opening drive, as Barry Brown found Alphonso Foray for a 20-yard touchdown to take the lead 7-0 with 12:14 to play in the first quarter. The MTI Bison (1-3) responded with an impressive 15-play, 76-yard touchdown drive that shaved nearly eight minutes off the clock, but fumbled the snap on the extra point attempt, letting the Falcons cling to a 7-6 lead late in the first.
 
On the ensuing possession, the Falcons got a big return from Cohen Russell to the Bison 35-yard line, where the Falcons put together a four-play scoring drive capped by Antwan Squire's first touchdown run of the season, making it 14-6 Falcons with 2:12 to play in the first quarter.
 
The turning point for the Lackawanna College defense came on the next Bison possession, where an 11-play drive carried MTI deep into Lackawanna territory once again, only for Aakeem Snell to win a one-on-one match-up in the corner of the endzone for the interception. The Falcons would go three-and-out on the ensuing possession, but Cameron Ceccotti's boomed a punt over the head of the waiting returner, pinning the Bison at their own nine-yard line and flipping field position.
 
The Falcon defense started to ramp up the pressure, forcing a quick three-and-out and getting the ball back on the Bison 27-yard line. The Falcons would cash-in four plays later, on a seven-yard run by X'Zavion Evans to make it 21-7 at the 9:02 mark of the second quarter.
 
Things got worse for McDougle, as the Bison were tackled on the kick return at their own 13-yard line. An 11-yard sack by Brian Dallas pinned MTI at their own two, and Avanti Lockhart got a second-straight sack on third-down to force the safety and make it 23-6.
 
The Falcons took the free kick from their own 35 and marched down to the endzone, where Barry Brown found Colbie Young for a seven-yard touchdown and a 30-6 Falcon lead with 4:44 to play in the first half. The Bison took the next possession and, after a 43-yard pass, found themselves in Falcon territory, but couldn't find points and turned the ball over on downs. Lackawanna College would make MTI pay, when Barry Brown uncorked a high-arching pass for Delvin Palmer to run under, which Palmer caught in stride and turned into a 77-yard touchdown to make it 37-6 at the 1:50 mark of the second quarter.
 
A Bison three-and-out left 49.7 seconds on the clock for the Falcons to operate from their own 46, with all three timeouts remaining. Barry Brown hit Cohen Russell on a crossing route for 23-yards, and the Falcons got to the Bison 15 before Cameron Ceccotti came on to kick a 32-yard FG and make it 40-6 at the break.
 
The Bison got the ball to start the second half, but were forced to punt away, and the Falcons took their first possession of the half and marched 78 yards, capped by a seven-yard touchdown run from Isaiah Edwards to make it 47-6.
 
After an eleven play MTI touchdown drive made it 47-13, the Falcons, with Brayden Hawkins running the show, once again marched into Bison territory. Lackawanna College had to settle for a Ceccotti 25-yard FG to make it 50-13, after a holding penalty erased a Deondre Scott touchdown. It was one of the 31 total penalties between the two teams. The Falcons would add one more Ceccotti FG, this one from 28 yards out, before the game would go final.
 
Barry Brown led the Falcons through the air, going 7-for-12 for 153 yards and three touchdowns. Baryden Hawkins went 7-for-13 for 97 yards for Lackawanna College. Squire led the Falcons on the ground, griding out 78 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. Evans finished with 55 yards and a touchdown, while Edwards had 54 yards and a TD. Deondre Scott added 26 yards, while Ja'Quai Bishop had 25, all in the fourth quarter.
 
Delvin Palmer and Cohen Russell each had three catches, while Palmer had a team-high 113 yards to go with his touchdown. Nine different Falcons caught a pass on the afternoon.
 
Defensively, the Falcons limited MTI to 205 total yards on offense, including just 50 yards on the ground. Jahman McNeil led the Falcons with eight tackles, while Avanti Lockhart finished with 2.5 TFLs and six total tackles. Brian Dallas had a pair of sacks to lead as one of six Falcon defenders with a sack. Harold O'Neal, Rushawn Lawrence, and Tyrece Mills all were among the top tacklers for the Falcons.
 
Lackawanna College is back in action next weekend, when they host the #15 Monroe College Mustangs at Scranton's Memorial Stadium on Saturday, October 9^th, at 7:00pm.