9/24/21
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The #15 Lackawanna College Falcons (1-1) hit the road once again, this time for a true road game with a difficult opponent. The Falcons will travel to take on the Army JV Black Knights on Monday September 27^th at 3:30pm at historic Michie Stadium on the banks on the Hudson River in West Point, NY.
 
About the Falcons
In the last game for Lackawanna College, the Falcons overcame a 14-point deficit from late in the second quarter to storm back and defeat the ASA College Miami Silver Storm 31-21.
 
Lackawanna College trailed 21-7 with 3:42 to go in the second quarter after a third touchdown run for the Silver Storm. The Falcons got the ball, drove down the field, and kicked a 23-yard FG from Cam Ceccotti with 0:32 seconds remaining in the half.
 
That kick-started a torrid second half from the Falcons, who scored on three of their five drives in the second half, including an eight-play, 55-yard drive that ended in a touchdown to start the third quarter. The Falcon defense held the Silver Storm to four straight punts, including three straight three-and-outs.
 
The Falcons had 347 yards of offense, including 172 on the ground. The defense held Miami to just 187 yards of total offense, and just 3-for-11 on 3^rd Down.
 
Barry Brown led the Falcons with 177 yards and two scores through the air. For the season, Brown has thrown for 450 yards and four touchdowns, along with two interceptions.
 
Antwan Squire was the leading rusher for the 2^nd time this year with 77 yards on 14 carries, and Isaiah Edwards had 69 yards on 12 carries, along with two touchdown runs. Squire leads the team with 124 yards on 30 carries this year.
 
Cohen Russell led the team in catches once again, this time with three receptions for 43 yards and a touchdown. X'Zavion Evans had two catches, while six different Falcons had one reception each, including Jawon Hall, whose one catch was a 60-yard touchdown. Russell leads the team on the season with nine catches for 74 yards and a touchdown.  
 
Defensively, Dewayne Grantham led the Falcons with five solo tackles vs. Miami. Jalen Wring had five tackles, as well. The Falcons had six tackles for loss, including two from Ty'Lheir Grose, who also had a sack for Lackawanna College. On the year, Tyrece Mills leads the team with 12 tackles and two interceptions, Jalen Wring is second on the team with 11 tackles.
 
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 179 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 23-3 since the 2018 season.
 
 
About The Opponent
The Falcons will take on the JV squad from Army West Point. While there is not a ton of information on the JV team, the varsity has been enjoying some of its best football in recent years.
 
Under Jeff Monken, the Black Knights have gone 52-39 since 2014, a winning percentage of .571. That winning percentage is the best the Black Knights have had from a coach since Dale Hall, who coached from 1959 to 1961 and had a .586 win%. Monken is third all-time in career wins at Army, and is six wins away from passing Charles Daly ('13-'22) for second all-time.
 
Monken led Army to its first 11-win season in school history in 2018, and they had back-to-back 10-plus win seasons in '17 and '18, the first time that had ever happened at Army. He was the first Army coach to win three bowl games in his career, and helped Army capture the Commander-in-Chief's trophy for the first time in 21 years in 2017.
 
Army's varsity program is 3-0 this year, with wins over Georgia State, Western Kentucky, and UConn so far this year. The Black Knights host Miami (OH) on September 25^th at Michie Stadium.
 
The JV, much like the varsity, will run the triple option, an offense predicated on ball control and deception. It's a difficult offense to defend against, especially if teams are not used to playing against it. The Falcon defense will have their work cut out for them.
 
 
Game Notes

• With last week's win, Lackawanna College remains among the top 15 teams in the NJCAA Division I rankings this week. The Falcons have five teams that have been or are currently ranked in the NJCAA Football polls (Division I and Division III) on their schedule this year:

 

• Iowa Central (#8 DI; Lost 28-21)
• Monroe College (#13 DI; Will play on October 9^th)
• Snow College (#1 DI; Will play on November 6^th)
• Nassau Community College (#1 DIII; Will play on November 13^th)
• Georgia Military (#12 DI Preseason; Will play November 20^th)

 

• NJCAA Division I Top 15 Rankings (Week 3)

1. Snow College (UT); 3-0 [Next game: vs. Community Christian College (CA) 9/25]
2. Kilgore College (TX); 3-0 [Next game: at New Mexico Military Institute (NM) 9/25]
3. Garden City CC (KS); 2-0 [Next game: vs. Independence (KS) 9/25]
4. Iowa Western CC (IA); 2-0 [Next game: at Iowa Central CC (IA) 9/25]
5. Mississippi Gulf Coast CC (MS); 3-1 [Lost 42-37 vs. Hinds (MS) 9/23]
6. Independence CC (KS); 3-0 [Next game: at Garden City (KS) 9/25]
7. Trinity Valley CC (TX); 3-0 [Next game: vs. Tyler (TX) 9/25]
8. Iowa Central CC (IA); 3-0 [Next game: vs. Iowa Western (IA) 9/25]
9. Jones College (MS); 4-0 [Won 35-23 vs. Itawamba (MS) 9/23]
10. Coffeyville CC (KS); 2-0 [Next game: vs. Highland (KS) 9/25]
11. East Mississippi CC (MS); 4-0 [Won 49-7 vs. Holmes (MS) 9/23]
12. New Mexico State MI (NM); 3-0 [Next game: vs. Kilgore (TX) 9/25]
13. Monroe College (NY); 1-0 [Next game: vs. Hudson Valley (NY) 9/25]
14. Northwest Mississippi CC (MS); 3-1 [Won 45-13 vs. Northeast Mississippi CC (MS) 9/23]
15. LACKAWANNA COLLEGE (PA); 1-1

    Receiving Votes: Butler (KS), Hinds (MS), Tyler (TX) 
    Bold and Italics: Opponent on Lackawanna College's schedule
 

• Lackawanna College is one of two schools east of the Mississippi River in the Division I Rankings, with Monroe College being the other school.
• Lackawanna College hasn't played a service academy since 2015, when they played both Navy Prep (53-7 win) and Army Prep (49-36 win) in the same season. The Falcons also played both Navy and Army Prep in 2014, beating Navy on the road but losing to Army at Michie Stadium, the last time the Falcons were there.
• Lackawanna College is 0-1 in trips to West Point since 2010, and just 1-2 at West Point since 2000. All three games have come against Army Prep. The Falcons are 4-2 against Army Prep since 2000.
• Due to a renovation project at Scranton's Memorial Stadium, the Falcons will not have a home football game until Saturday October 2^nd, when they host McDougle Technical Institute. It's the second time in four years that the Falcons won't be home until October, and first time since 2018, when they went without a home game until October 6^th of that season.
• Due to Army's contractual obligations with CBS Sports, there will not be an official video livestream. Please DO NOT click on links shared by strangers on our social pages or with our social accounts tagged in them. Very often, these are spam/phishing links used to get your personal information. Please be cautious. The athletic department will post updates as often as we can via our social media pages.