11/19/22
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – With blustery winds and a temperature hovering around freezing through most of the day, the #5 Snow College Badgers looked right at home, knocking #7 Lackawanna College around for a 30-7 win on Saturday afternoon at PenFed Field at Scranton's Memorial Stadium.
 
The Falcons (7-2) trailed almost literally from the start, as a mistake on the opening kickoff return resulted in a safety, giving Snow (8-2) a 2-0 lead just seconds into the game. Snow eventually wore down the top-ranked Falcons rush defense, piling up 265 yards and 5.6 yards per carry on the ground, while Lackawanna had just 228 yards of total offense, getting held scoreless until midway through the fourth quarter. The Falcons were 4-for-14 on third down, and struggled to gain any sort of consistency on offense.
 
Barry Brown (Philadelphia, PA) was 8-for-20 for 125 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Terez Worthy (Salisbury, MD) led the rushing attack with 66 yards on 20 carries. Defensively, Lonnie Rice (Philadelphia, PA) had eight total tackles and two tackles-for-loss, along with a fumble recovery, while Paul Tangelo (Gaithersburg, MD) had eight total tackles and a tackle-for-loss. Donnell Henriquez (Harrisburg, PA) added a pair of interceptions.
 
The Badgers from Snow won the kick and deferred to the second half, and were rewarded when the kickoff bounced through the hands of the Falcons and into the end zone. The Falcons attempted to bring it out and, in the process of being tackled in the end zone, threw an illegal forward pass. The Falcons were dinged for the penalty and the Badgers had a 2-0 lead barely seconds into the game.
 
Snow got the ball on the free punt, and had the ball at the Lackawanna 26-yard line, but the Falcon defense forced the three-and-out. Lackawanna got to work on offense and moved the ball into Snow territory, getting a 1^st-and-10 at the Snow 24, before the Badgers held firm and sacked Brown to turn the Falcons over on downs.
 
The Badgers moved the ball to midfield, but Henriquez picked off the errant pass, returning it to the Snow 49. The Falcons couldn't do anything with the decent field position, and punted away into a strong wind. Snow drove to the Falcon 31, but Henriquez got another pick to end the Badger threat. The ensuing Lackawanna possession also ended in a punt, with the Falcons unable to capitalize.
 
The next Snow possession stretched into the second quarter, and the Badgers capitalized, getting a six-yard touchdown run on a sweep from the six-yard line from linebacker Cole Bowers. A two-point conversion made it 10-0, Snow, just 39 seconds into the second quarter.
 
A promising Falcon drive was stalled because of a false start, followed by another Snow sack, forcing the Falcons to punt. The Badgers recorded five sacks on the day. After a Snow punt, Lackawanna got the ball on its own 26, and moved the ball out past the 45, but Brown was picked off on a downfield pass, turning the ball back over to the Badgers. Snow found some running room, and put a nine play drive together to get to the Falcon 37, buut back-to-back tackles-for-loss from the Falcons, sandwiching a false start, put the Badgers behind the sticks, and forced a punt with just over two minutes to play in the second. The Falcons moved the ball out to midfield, but another Brown sack on third down, followed by a low snap covered up by the punter, mercifully ended the half for the Falcons, down 10-0 at the break.
 
Lackawanna College caught a break almost immediately to start the second half, when Snow fumbled on the first play from scrimmage at their own 29-yard line. Lackawanna moved the ball to a 1^st-and-goal from the Snow 8-yard line, but Brown fumbled on a low snap, allowing the Badgers to recover and take away what was a golden opportunity for the Falcons.
 
Snow immediately seized the opportunity on their ensuing possession. After Carsen Manookin lost seven yards back to his own three-yard line. Manookin rushed for eight and 14 yards, respectively, to move the ball out from the shadow of the goal post to the Badger 25-yard line. With the Falcons' spirit wavering, Manookin broke it on the next play, a 75-yard run where he broke several arm tackles and took off down the left side. The extra point that followed made it 17-0, Badgers.
 
A three-and-out for Lackawanna, followed by a punt that got hung up in the air and downed in Falcon territory, immediately paid dividends for Snow, as the Badgers completed a 31-yard touchdown pass on their first play of the drive. In the span of about two minutes of game time, Snow had blown the score open to a 24-0 margin.
 
Lackawanna College's ensuing possession moved the ball into Snow territory, but the Badger defense once again stood tall, holding the Falcons on 4^th-and-4 from the Snow 34. Snow got dinged with a penalty or two on their next drive, and Daisean Cash was sacked for a nine-yard loss by Rice to force a punt, and the Falcons had possession on their own 49 heading into the fourth, but the Snow defense once again held, forcing a Falcon punt from the Snow 47.
 
Pinned on their own 12, Snow couldn't get the ball beyond their own 22, and punted into the wind to their own 43. The Falcons finally got on track when, after a negative rush and a penalty put the Falcons on their own 40, Brown connected with Dewayne Johnson (Greensboro, NC) for 52-yards to the Snow 8-yard line. The Falcons scored two plays later, when Brown hit Justin Thompson (Ambridge, PA) from four yards out to make it 24-7 at the 8:49 mark.
 
Much like their contest last week, when they let up a late score, the Snow Badgers put their foot down and kept composure, running behind their physical offensive line on 12 straight plays to punch it in, chewing up six minutes of clock in the process and staking themselves to a 30-7 lead. The ensuing Falcon possession ended in a punt, and the Badgers ran one running play to drain the clock and come away with the win.

The loss denies coach Mark Duda his first opportunity to collect his 200^th win, and all but ends the Falcons' faint hopes at an NJCAA semi-final berth, but the Falcons may have another opportunity, depending on what potential postseason bowl bids may await Lackawanna College. For #5 Snow College, the Badgers are hoping that this performance is enough to convince the NJCAA Football Committee to put them into the top-four for the NJCAA semi-finals. As it stands right now, the Badgers are on the outside, looking in.
 
 
The postseason fate for the Falcons will be finalized early this week. Pay attention to lackawannafalcons.com for all the pertinent information.