10/29/22
 
SCRANTON, Pa. -- Shaking off the rust of playing one game in five weeks, Lackawanna College overcome a rash of penalties and self-inflicted wounds to outlast their longtime NEFC rival Monroe College, 21-14, on a sun-soaked Homecoming weekend afternoon at Scranton's Memorial Stadium.
 
The 12^th-ranked Falcons (5-1) survived 17 penalties and three interceptions on its first four possessions, thanks in part to another stellar defensive performance, and three passing touchdowns from the combination of Barry Brown (Philadelphia, PA) and Hamas Duren (Sicklerville, NJ). The Lackawanna College defense held the Monroe Mustangs (3-4) to just 136 yards of total offense, including -10 yards on 30 rushing attempts on the ground. It's the second straight game in which the Falcons didn't give up positive yardage on the ground. The Falcons compiled eleven tackles-for-loss and seven sacks against the Mustang attack.
 
Offensively, the Falcons struggled to gain much momentum, only putting up 290 yards of offense, but managed 166 yards through the air, hitting several chunk plays that made the difference. Brown was 9-for-14 for 100 yards and two scores, as well as two interceptions, while Duren went 5-for-13 for 66 yards, with a touchdown and a pick. Petey Tucker (Hyattsville, MD) had his breakout game, catching three balls for 89 yards and two scores, including a 44-yard strike down the middle from Brown that proved to be the difference in the game. Terez Worthy (Salisbury, MD) led the attack on the ground, going for 114 yards on 21 carries, his second straight game over 100 yards.
 
After a Brown interception ended the first drive of the game early, Lackawanna College got the ball back for drive number two with 10:38 to go in the opening period. The Falcons put together a solid eight-play, 54-yard drive that ended in a 21-yard touchdown from Duren to Tucker to make it 7-0.
 
Monroe got the ball and went on a lengthy 16-play, 68-yard drive, converting multiple third downs and a fourth down before getting into the end zone to make it 7-all. The drive took 7:25 off the clock and spanned into the second quarter. Lackawanna College threw an interception on its next two possessions, but forced a three-and-out on each Mustang possession to keep Monroe from capitalizing.
 
With 5:27 to go in the second, the Falcons started at their own 35. A 24-yard strike from Brown to Tucker moved the chains, and a 15-yard personal foul on Monroe placed the ball on the Mustang 26. A pair of Terez Worthy runs placed the ball at the one, but a false start penalty, followed by no gain, made it 3^rd-and-goal at the Monroe five-yard line. Backpedaling from pressure, Brown looked to be in trouble at his own 15, but managed to escape trouble and loft a pass to the waiting arms of Worthy in the end zone. The Falcons would hold that lead into halftime.
 
The second half started with Monroe converting on a third down on a 26-yard pass to get just beyond midfield, but the drive stalled, and disaster struck as a bad snap skipped by the punter and settled at the Monroe 34. The Falcons got possession, and, after several penalties moved the ball up-and-down the field, the Falcons faced a 3^rd-and-12 from the Monroe 44, still leading 14-7. Brown took the shotgun snap and, after feigning to his right, he rolled out to his left, before planting his feet and lofting a pass to the center of the field, where Tucker was able to outrun a defender and secure the pass at the three-yard line, before fighting through a tackle for the touchdown, pushing the Falcon lead to 21-7.
 
A personal foul penalty on a nifty return put Monroe in business on the Lackawanna 42. Monroe converted a first down, and was helped by several personal foul penalties from the Falcons, which put the Mustangs in a 1^st-and-goal situation at the Lackawanna seven-yard line. Monroe eventually converted on a 3^rd-and-5 with a lofted fade to the right corner of the end zone, cutting the Lackawanna advantage to 21-14 with just over five minutes remaining in the third.
 
Penalties and poor execution marred the rest of the way, as both teams traded punts and possessions. Monroe had one more real opportunity to tie the game when they got the ball with 8:32 to go, and quickly crossed midfield. But the Falcons defense brought the heat, as Willie Matthews (Montclair, NJ) and Najae Hallenbeck (Toms River, NJ) recorded back-to-back ten-yard sacks to push the Mustangs way out of any sort of threatening field position. After an incomplete pass, the Mustangs were forced to punt on 4^th-and-30, but Paul Tangelo got his hand on the kick, deflecting the punt, which only went nine yards to the Monroe 39, where the Falcons took over and were gifted a first down after Monroe was called for roughing on 3^rd-and-long, which gave Lackawanna a fresh set of downs and let Lackawanna, eventually, run out the last four minutes or so to win the game.
 
Jahman McNeil (Plainfield, NJ) came back from injury to lead the defense with seven total tackles, all solos, with a tackle-for-loss. Paul Tangelo (Gaithersburg, MD) and Andrew Vines (Garner, NC) each had five total tackles, all solos, as well as one sack, each. Willie Matthews had a team-high 2.5 tackles-for-loss on the day.
 
The win puts the Falcons at 5-1 on the year, and gives them their second win over Monroe on the season. Lackawanna College's next game is on Saturday, November 5^th, when they travel to Nelsonville, OH to play Hocking College. That game is set for a 12:00pm ET kickoff.