11/4/21
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Falcons (5-2) are back in action this weekend with the first of three road games to close out the 2021 regular season. This week, it's a trip to Ephraim, Utah to take on the #4 Snow College Badgers. Kickoff is set for 3:00pm ET, and the game will be streamed live on YouTube via the Snow College YouTube Channel.   
 
About the Falcons
Lackawanna College is fresh off a 52-0 shutout win over Sussex County CC on homecoming weekend. While the Falcons offense was impressive (550 total yards, 26 first downs), the defense was what carried the day, limiting the Skylanders to just 126 yards of offense, forcing nine punts, and forcing four fumbles. The Falcons overcame a sluggish start on offense, thanks to an 85-yard pass to Alphonso Foray, which put the Falcons at the Sussex 3-yard line with a 7-0 lead heading into the second quarter. The Falcons would capitalize and score, then find another touchdown later to go up 21-0. From there, Lackawanna College would assert control, especially in the third quarter, where the lead ballooned to 42-0, as the defense continued to force punts and turnovers, giving the Falcons the ball back. Lackawanna College scored seven touchdowns, and topped 440 yards of total offense for the fifth time this season.
 
Barry Brown went 12-for-24 for 227 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air, while also catching a touchdown pass from Antwan Squire. Brayden Hawkins had a busy second half, going 9-for-17 for 153 yards and a pair of touchdowns, himself.  Brown has now thrown for 1790 yards and 22 touchdowns on the season. He's hitting on 59.3% of his passes, and is averaging 16.6 yards per completion, and 9.8 yards per attempt. Hawkins is 20-for-36 for 285 yards this year, and his two touchdowns against Sussex were the first touchdowns he's thrown this year.
 
The Falcons didn't rely on the ground game too much, going for 162 yards on 35 carries, an average of 4.6 yards per carry against a stout Sussex County defense. Antwan Squire led the Falcons with 62 yards on eleven carries on the afternoon. Isaiah Edwards had 48 yards and a touchdown on eight carries, while Ja'Quai Bishop had 39 yards on his nine carries. Squire leads the team with 385 yards on 75 carries this year, averaging just over 55 yards per game on the ground. Edwards leads the Falcons with four touchdowns on 50 carries for 313 yards. X'Zavion Evans is third on the team with 130 yards rushing on the season, to go with three touchdowns.
 
Jawon Hall led the Falcons with four catches on the day, including a 62-yard touchdown from Brayden Hawkins. All of Hall's catches came in the second half. Alphonso Foray had a team-high 104 yards on three catches, including a game-high 85-yard catch that set up a Falcons' touchdown. Colbie Young had three catches for 61 yards and a score, while Delvin Palmer had two catches for 50 yards and a touchdown. Palmer leads the Falcons in catches (26) and yards (572), and has six touchdowns on the season. "DP" is averaging 22.0 yards per catch, and 81.7 yards receiving per game this year. Cohen Russell is second on the team with 22 catches for 294 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Young has a team-high seven touchdowns to go with his twelve catches for 277 yards this year. Tight-end Jasiah Purdie is third on the team with 16 catches for 123 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The Falcons have five different players with ten or more catches this season.
 
Cameron Ceccotti hit all seven of his extra points, and also hit a 29-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter. Ceccotti had nine kickoffs, averaging 55.0 yards per kick, and had three punts for a combined 91 yards, with a long of 43 on the day. On the year, Ceccotti is now six-for-seven on field goals, having made his last six in a row. His long is 36 yards. He's also averaging 54.5 yards per kickoff, and has six touchbacks on the season.
 
The Falcons didn't have much to return against Sussex, with a Delvin Palmer punt return for 13 yards and a Joshua Dodd kick return for 15 yards as the only opportunities. Both Cohen Russell and Palmer are dangerous on kick returns this year, averaging 30.1 (Russell) and 28.3 (Palmer) yards per return, respectively. Neither has scored a touchdown, yet, but both have year-long returns of 63 yards, apiece, this season.
 
The Lackawanna College defense was dominant on the afternoon, only giving up 126 total yards of offense, including just 22 yards passing from the Skylanders. The Falcons forced four turnovers, all fumbles, and nine Sussex punts on the afternoon. They also held Sussex to just 2-for-13 on third down attempts. Dewayne Grantham led the Falcons with six total tackles, including four solos, and a tackle-for-loss. Gabriel Gray led the team with five solo tackles and a forced fumble. Samuel Graham had four tackles, including a tackle-for-loss, and a fumble recovery. Isaiah Oduro had three solo tackles, and a team-high two tackles-for-loss. William Hackett had two tackles, a tackle-for-loss, two fumble recoveries, and a blocked punt. Harold O'Neal, who did not play against Sussex, leads the team with 34 total tackles on the season, and has the team-lead in solo tackles with 25. O'Neal is tied with Isaiah Oduro for the team-lead in tackles-for-loss, at 6.5 this year for each player. Tyrece Mills is second on the team with 29 total tackles, and has two interceptions, to go with 3.5 tackles-for-loss this year. Grantham has 28 total tackles, including 22 solos, and 2.5 tackles-for-loss this season. Hackett is fourth on the team with 25 total tackles, 22 solos, and 1.5 tackles-for-loss this year. Cottrell Hatchett has 22 total tackles, 15 solos, to go with 6.0 tackles-for-loss and a team-high 2.5 sacks. The Falcons, as a team, have 47.5 tackles-for-loss and 17.0 sacks this year, and have eight takeaways on the season.
 
Coach Mark Duda is in his 28^th season as head football coach at Lackawanna College, and his 29^th with the program. After one year as the defensive coordinator in the inaugural season in 1993, coach Duda took over as head coach, and has won 183 career games, the most among active coaches in the NJCAA. The Falcons were 1-1 in the spring of 2021, which was their first football action since a 2019 NJCAA National Championship appearance against Mississippi Gulf Coast CC. Coach Duda and the Falcons are 27-4 since the 2018 season.
 
 
About The Opponent
Snow College comes in to the contest as the #4 team in the NJCAA Division I Week 9 rankings, sporting a 6-1 record. The Badgers were idle last week, and their last game was a 43-21 win over Kilgore College in Texas. The Badgers and Rangers were locked in a tight game late in the first half, with Snow leading 9-7 and Kilgore trying to mount a late scoring drive, when Snow's defense answered the bell, picking off an errant pass and returning it 55 yards for a touchdown, giving Snow a 16-7 lead at the break. From there, the Badgers offense would wake up, piling up 27 second half points en route to their big road win.
 
Snow shares two common opponents with Lackawanna College this year. The Badgers defeated ASA College Miami 45-3 back on October 16^th, and defeated Georgia Military College 49-17 on October 2^nd. Lackawanna beat Miami 31-21 back in mid-September, and will play the Bulldogs from GMC on November 20^th.
 
The Badgers are, statistically, one of the best teams in the NJCAA. Snow averages 48.6 points per game, tops in the country by about five points, and have scored less than 40 points just once this year, in their 17-14 loss to then #4 Iowa Western on October 9^th. Snow College has not gained less than 330 yards of offense in any game, and is averaging nearly 258 yards per game on the ground, good enough for 2^nd in the NJCAA.  The Badgers are averaging 6.9 yards per rush (1^st NJCAA), and they have run for 30 touchdowns on the season.
 
Defensively, the Badgers are almost even more impressive, holding opponents to just 6.3 points per game (1^st NJCAA) and giving up only 195 yards of offense per game (1^st NJCAA). Snow is allowing just 48.3 rushing yards per game, also tops in the country. The Badgers have scored six defensive touchdowns this season, tied for first in the NJCAA.
 
Tommy McGrath is the starting quarterback for the Badgers offense. McGrath has thrown for 1224 yards on the year, with 15 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. McGrath has completed around 54% of his passes on the year. Gabriel Sweeten and Evan Svaboda have also seen time under center for the Badgers this season.
 
The main star of the Snow attack is running back Targhee Lambson, one of the most dangerous players in the NJCAA with the ball in his hands. Lambson has run for 636 yards this season, and is averaging 8.7 yards per carry, tops in the country. Lambson has scored 12 rushing touchdowns, good for 4^th in the NJCAA, and averages around 91 yards per game on the ground. If it's not Lambson toting the rock for Snow, it's more than likely Carsen Manookin, who has run for 498 yards and six touchdowns on the season. The Badgers have five players who have run for over 100 yards so far this season.
 
Snow's other main man in attack is Taylor Larsen, the speedy wide receiver with 28 catches for 370 yards and 3 touchdowns on the season. He plays in the slot for the Badgers, and also returns punts and kickoffs. Elijah Ervin has 12 catches for 227 yards on the year, to go with a pair of touchdowns. Dawson Tanner is third on the team with 12 catches for 154 yards, and Caden Leggett has 11 receptions for 197 yards and three touchdowns on the year.
 
Stockton Lund is the placekicker, and has gone 5-for-7 on field goals, with a long of 45 on the season. He's also hit 45-of-47 extra points on the season. Brodie Taylor will handle the punting duties. Taylor has punted just twelve times this season, averaging 43.3 yards per punt. Larsen handles the punt returns, with eleven returns for 194 yards, including a 72-yard touchdown earlier this year. Manookin has also returned some punts for the Badgers this season. Larsen is also the main kick returner, and is averaging 38 yards per return.
 
Owen Fa'amoe leads the Badgers with 23 total tackles, and 18 solo tackles on the year. Fa'amoe is tied with John Taumoepeau for the team-lead in tackles-for-loss at seven, apiece. Taumoepeau leads the Badgers in sacks with four on the season. Austin Francis has a team-high three interceptions, including the interception return for touchdown against Kilgore. Francis and Kohl Hogan both have interception returns for scores this year. As a unit, the Badgers have scored six touchdowns on defense. Snow College has 44 tackles-for-loss this season, including 21 sacks, and has 16 takeaways.
 
Zac Erekson is in his second season at the helm for Snow College. Erekson was an assistant for a year before taking over as head coach in 2020. In his first season, Erekson led the Badgers to an 8-0 regular season record in the pandemic-shortened spring 2021 season, and an appearance in the NJCAA National Championship game against Hutchinson CC. Prior to his time at Snow, Erekson was the AD and head football coach at Skyline HS in Salt Lake City, UT. He also spent time coaching football in Texas HS football. Erekson is a Springville, Utah native (an hour from Snow's campus) and played football at Dixie State and BYU. Erekson is 14-2 as the head football coach at Snow College.
 
Game Notes

• The Falcons are currently receiving votes, but are not ranked in the NJCAA Division I Top 15 rankings. There are still five teams that are currently or have received rankings on the Falcons' schedule this year:

 

• Iowa Central (#11 DI; Lost 28-21)
• Monroe College (#9 DI; Lost 49-48, OT)
• Snow College (#4 DI; Will play on November 6^th)
• Nassau Community College (#1 DIII; Will play on November 13^th)
• Georgia Military (#15 DI; Will play November 20^th)

 

• NJCAA Division I Top 15 Rankings (Week 9)

1. East Mississippi CC (MS); 9-0 [Next game: vs. #10 Hinds CC 11/6]
2. Iowa Western CC (IA); 7-0 [Next game: at #15 Georgia Military College (GA) 11/6]
3. Jones College (MS); 8-1 [Next game: vs. #5 Northwest Mississippi CC (MS) 11/6]
4. Snow College (UT); 6-1 [Next game vs. Lackawanna College 11/6]
5. Northwest Mississippi CC (MS); 7-2 [Next game: at #3 Jones College (MS) 11/6]
6. New Mexico Military Institute (NM); 7-1 [Next game: vs. Trinity Valley CC (TX) 11/6]
7. Coffeyville CC (KS); 6-1 [Next game: vs. #14 Butler CC (KS) 11/7]
8. Independence CC (KS); 7-1 [Next game: vs. Fort Scott CC (KS) 11/7]
9. Monroe College (NY); 7-0 [Next game: at Sacred Heart University Club (CT) 11/6]
10. Hinds CC (MS); 7-2 [Next game: at #1 East Mississippi CC (MS) 11/6]
11. Iowa Central CC (IA); 6-2 [Next game: vs. Grandview JV (IA) 11/7]
12. Mississippi Gulf Coast CC (MS); 7-2 [Regular Season Complete]
13. Tyler Junior College (TX); 5-3 [Next game: at Kilgore College (TX) 11/6]
14. Butler CC (KS); 6-2 [Next game: at #7 Coffeyville CC (KS) 11/7]
15. Georgia Military College (GA); 6-2 [Next game: vs. #2 Iowa Western CC (IA) 11/6]

 
Receiving Votes: Lackawanna College (PA); Blinn College (TX); Garden City CC (KS); Trinity Valley CC (TX); Hutchinson CC (KS)
Bold and Italics: Opponent on Lackawanna College's schedule
 

• This is the third meeting between Snow College and Lackawanna College. The Falcons won the first meeting in 2019, when Lackawanna College went out to Ephraim, UT and knocked off Snow 17-6. It was the first time since 1997 that Snow College failed to score at least seven points. Snow College returned the favor in the spring 2021 season, coming to Scranton, PA and beating Lackawanna College 27-7. It was the first loss at home for Lackawanna College since 2014, and their first loss at Scranton's Memorial Stadium in almost 15 years.

 
In that spring match-up, the Badgers jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter, but could never quite pull away from Lackawanna College until the fourth quarter. The Badgers piled up 24 first downs and posted 366 yards of offense, but a pair of interceptions killed what looked to be scoring drives, as the Falcon defense hung on. The Badger defense was sensational, limiting Lackawanna College to just 71 yards on the ground, 236 yards overall, and just 2-for-11 on third down conversions.  
 

• Lackawanna College is 2-2 against teams west of the Mississippi River since 2015. The Falcons are 1-1 against Snow College.

 

• Lackawanna College has not lost more than two games in a year since the 2014 season.

 

• Lackawanna College is 4-3 against ranked teams since 2019, but have lost their last three, including their two match-ups against ranked teams this season.

 

• Lackawanna College quarterback Barry Brown is among the nation's best in several passing categories this season. Brown is 3^rd in the NJCAA in passing efficiency (174.2), 4^th in passing yards per game (255.7), 2^nd in passing touchdowns (22), 6^th in yds/attempt (9.8), 7^th in total passing yards (1790), and 11^th in completion percentage (59.3%).

 

• Falcons wide receiver Delvin Palmer is 4^th in the NJCAA in yards receiving per game (81.7) and 2^nd in the country in yards per reception (22.0). Palmer also ranks 5^th in the NJCAA in total yards per game (132.7), while his fellow receiver Cohen Russel comes in at 8^th in the country (124.0).

 

• Palmer and Russell are the most potent one-two special teams punch in the nation, both averaging 30.1 (Russell) and 28.3 (Palmer) yards per kick return this year. As a team, Lackawanna College averages 27.0 yards per return, good enough for 6^th in the NJCAA.

 

• The Lackawanna Falcons are 3^rd in the NJCAA in time-of-possession, averaging around 33:57 minutes with the ball, per game.

 

• Lackawanna College has one of the most potent passing attacks in the NJCAA. Lackawanna is 4^th in the NJCAA in passing yards per game (297.6). The Falcons are also 4^th in yards per attempt (9.5) and 5^th in yards per completion (16.1). Their 25 passing touchdowns has them tied for 2^nd in the NJCAA with East Mississippi CC and Kilgore College.

 

• For those who cannot make it to the game in Ephraim, Utah, Snow College is providing a live video streaming link on their YouTube channel. You can watch the game HERE.