Box Score 12/2/22
 
ROSWELL, NM – The first HF Sinclair Wool Bowl in 40 years brought drama, theatrics, and almost an epic comeback from the Lackawanna College Falcons, but it ultimately ended with New Mexico Military Institute grabbing the win, 28-26, on Friday evening in Roswell.
 
The Falcons (7-3) were in dire straits late in the game, down 28-13 with 9:56 to go, but scored two 13 points in seven minutes of game time, and had the ball with less than a minute to play, but they couldn't convert a fourth down deep in their own territory, coming up a half-yard shy near midfield, which allowed NMMI to take over and kneel out the win.
 
#9 New Mexico Military (9-3) turned Lackawanna over four times, all interceptions, and relied on their big play passing game to move the ball downfield against the Falcon defense. However, the Broncos were whistled for a heavy amount of penalties, hampering their efforts late to put the game away, and giving the Falcons ample opportunity to fight back.
 
After both teams traded punts to start the game, the Falcons made the first mistake, throwing an interception in their own territory, which NMMI got to the LC 39, after a blindside block penalty moved them back. The Lackawanna defense held strong, though, forcing a 55-yd field goal attempt that missed short, and giving the Falcons the ball near their own 40.
 
Barry Brown (Philadelphia, PA) and James Westry (Newark, NJ) went to work, hooking up on a 54-yard pass that got the Falcons into the red zone. After a penalty moved the Falcons inside the ten, Brown ran off the right side to put Lackawanna in front, 6-0, with 7:38 to go in the first.
 
NMMI responded on the ensuing drive, getting a big rush to get in the end zone, and converting a third down with a touchdown pass in the back of the end zone to make it 7-6, Broncos, with 5:29 to play in the first, but the Falcons answered right back, going on a touchdown drive that ended in a 13-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Westry. It was Westry's first touchdown of the season, despite leading the Falcons in catches all year. A Benjamin Paserk (Batavia, NY) kick made it 13-7, Falcons, with 2:24 to go in the first.
 
Neither team would get much going through the end of the first and into the second, but New Mexico Military was winning the field position battle, pinning the Falcons deep on their punts. Eventually, Brown was picked off on a deep pass for his second INT, giving NMMI the ball at their own 46 with a little over eight minutes to go in the second. The Broncos would capitalize on that mistake, scoring less than two minutes later to re-take the lead at 14-13.
 
Lackawanna had a drive cooking and were in the Bronco red zone on the next drive, but a pass that hit the hands of the intended Falcon receiver bounced high and landed in the outstretched arms of a NMMI defender, ending a golden opportunity to respond.
 
NMMI then put together an impressive drive, converting a pair of third downs to get into Lackawanna territory, and then, aided by a facemask against the Falcons, the Broncos were set up at the Lackawanna 11 with 55.2 seconds to go in the half. The Lackawanna defense would rise to the occasion again, as it has so often done this year, when Lonnie Rice (Philadelphia, PA), Paul Tangelo (Gaithersburg, MD), and the Falcon linebacker group flew to the ball and forced a fumble that the Falcons recovered with 50 seconds to play. The Falcons would run the clock out to get to halftime.
 
New Mexico Military came firing out of the gates in the second half, moving the ball with lightning speed, and picking up two fourth down conversions, the second a Mason Myers touchdown run that gave the Broncos a 21-13 advantage less than three minutes into the half.
 
Barry Brown, doubling as the punter for the Falcons for the evening, saw an opening and faked his own punt deep in Falcon territory, bringing it all the way out to the NMMI 40-yard line. The Falcons converted another fourth on the drive, but turned it over when they tried to do it a third time, giving the Broncos the ball at their own 22 with 8:17 to go in the third.
 
The Lackawanna defense got the offense the ball back with a three-and-out, and a pair of penalties moved the Falcons into NMMI territory, but the Broncos defense continued to perplex the Lackawanna attack, forcing another turnover on downs at the NMMI 30. This time, the Broncos moved the ball downfield quickly, converting on some chunk passes and using tempo. A pass interference call on third down gave NMMI a new set of downs, and they quickly converted on a pretty fade pass to the corner to make it 28-13 with 2:21 to play in the third.
 
A three-and-out followed from Lackawanna, and NMMI had possession at the LC 44 as the fourth quarter began. The Falcon defense forced a punt, but the offense was pinned at its own 12. The offense, laboring at this point, punted away after a three-and-out, and New Mexico started driving from the LC 45, getting inside the red zone down to the Falcon 13-yard line. At that point, with 9:56 to play, there was an injury stoppage, and an almost 20-minute delay while the injured Falcon was attended to. When play resumed, Lackawanna came out a new team, and it started right on the first play out of the timeout.
 
Myers couldn't escape pressure, and launched a pass that seemed to hang in the air as it whistled to the right sideline, where Ambrose Fletcher (Bethlehem, PA) was waiting. Fletcher cradled the errant throw, and returned the interception over 80-yards to the house, giving the Falcons a sudden surge of electricity, delivering the big play Lackawanna desperately needed. The two-point try failed, but the Falcons were down 28-19 with 9:32 to go.
 
The ensuing onside kick, which was further back because of a 15-yard penalty on the Falcons, was recovered by NMMI at the Falcon 29-yard line, but the defense once again stood tall, when Andrew Vines (Garner, NC) shot in like a missile to force a loss on a running play on third down, and the 39-yard field goal try clanged off the upright with 7:27 to go.
 
Lackawanna's joy would be short-lived, as NMMI picked Brown for a fourth time, this time on a deep route on the right sideline, giving NMMI the ball on their own 16-yard line with a little over six minutes to play.
 
Needing a stop, the defense once again showed its mettle, forcing a three-and-out and getting the offense the ball back on the Falcon 42-yard line with 4:35 to go. Aided by a penalty or two, the Falcons matriculated the ball down the field, and punctuated the drive with a Terez Worthy (Salisbury, MD) touchdown from just inside the one. The Paserk extra point suddenly made things very interesting, as the deficit closed to just 28-26, NMMI.
 
One more time for the 2022 year, the defense did its job, holding the Broncos on the ensuing possession and forcing a punt, which the Falcons caught at their own 34-yard line with 1:41 remaining and one time out left. The Falcons gained nine yards in two plays, and used their final timeout with just over a minute to go, but they couldn't gain that final yard to extend the drive, coming up a chain-link short of a first down, turning the ball over to New Mexico Military, who kneeled it out for the win.
 
The loss drops the Falcons to 2-12 all-time in bowl games, and denies coach Mark Duda the chance to clinch his 200^th career victory. That moment in history will have to wait until next season. The Falcons finish the year at 7-3, the seventh straight season (Not counting the 2021 spring COVID year) that the Falcons finished with seven wins or more. It's the 25^th season in which coach Duda has had the Falcons over .500 at the end of the year.
 
Lackawanna College football will now turn its attention to getting its graduating and departing players for the next stage of their academic lives, whether that involves football or not.