Box Score 9/17/22
MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga – In a match-up of nationally ranked teams, it was the eleventh ranked Georgia Military Bulldogs who flexed some considerable muscle, running over the Falcons on offense and stifling the Falcon with a smothering defense en route to a 34-12 win at Davenport Field on Saturday afternoon.
The Falcons (2-1) came in ranked at #12 in the country, but couldn't keep up with the Bulldogs (3-0) early, as GMC scored the game's first 27 points before halftime, then cruised the rest of the way. The Bulldogs ran for 113 yards and passed for 194 in a balanced attack, while racking up 19 first downs. The Falcons passed for 204 yards, but could only manage 56 on the ground, and struggled on third down, going 2-for-13 on the game, and being forced to punt eight times.
After Lackawanna College forced a punt on the opening series, the Falcons got possession on their own 30, but the Falcons were intercepted on third down on a high pass over the middle, which was returned to the Falcon 22-yard line. The Falcon defense did what it had to do, and held the Bulldogs to just a 35-yard field goal that made it 3-0.
A Falcons three-and-out gave the ball back to GMC, and the Bulldogs mounted a drive, highlighted by a 36-yard completion to Daithan Davis, and punctuated by four straight runs from La'Darius Ceasar, the last of which was a one-yard touchdown to make it 10-0, still in the first.
Another three-and-out for Lackawanna gave GMC the ball back, with 5:37 to go in the first, and they struck with a 63-yard touchdown pass to Tayler Gant that made it 17-0, still in the first, without the Falcons having picked up a first down.
The next drive started brighter for the Falcons, as Lackawanna picked up a pair of first downs, but the drive stalled out just past midfield, when the Falcons went for it on fourth down and came up short. Helped by a defensive holding penalty, Georgia Military moved the ball into Falcon territory, and got inside the red zone down on the Falcon nine-yard line, but the defense held and forced another field goal, making it 20-0, Bulldogs.
A few three-and-outs, two from the Falcons sandwiching one from the Bulldogs, gave GMC the ball on the Falcon 29 after a nifty punt return from Tayler Gant. A few penalties bounced the ball back-and-forth, but the Bulldogs until the Bulldogs held a first-and-five on the 29, and a pass to the end zone was broken up by
Keeno Arrington (Pittsburgh, PA). But the defense, which had spent a ton of time on the field in the first half, broke on the next play, when Riley Myers escaped out to his left and tip-toed down the sideline for a 29-yard touchdown to make it 27-0, halfway through the second quarter.
On the ensuing possession, the Falcon offense finally responded. A Brown pass to
Tyson Tate (East Norriton, PA) got the Falcons out to their own 38, then back-to-back
Antrell Monroe (Passaic, NJ) runs had the Falcons into GMC territory on the 39. Brown found
Petey Tucker (Hyattsville, MD) down the left sideline, and Tucker raced towards the end zone, but stepped out at the two-yard line. The Falcons wasted little time, handing the ball to Monroe, who pounded his way up the middle for his first touchdown of the season, cutting the deficit to 27-6.
The defense forced a three-and-out, and the Falcons had an opportunity with 2:53 to go to try to cut in into the lead, with all three timeouts remaining and getting possession to start the second half. But, Lackawanna College couldn't take advantage, going three-and-out and punting back to GMC, which knelt out the final 54 seconds of the half.
The second half saw Lackawanna twice go three-and-out on its first two possessions. GMC would strike on its second possession, mounting a drive from its own 33 and, eventually, scoring on a third-and-goal from the 16 on a 16-yard touchdown that made it 34-6.
With 5:20 to go in the third, Lackawanna College inserted back-up quarterback
Hamas Duren (Sicklerville, NJ) who immediately ran for seven yards on his first play. The Falcons had a first down on the next play, but a holding penalty backed them up, and they eventually had to punt once more.
After forcing a Bulldog punt, the Falcons had their best offensive play of the afternoon, as Duren lofted a pass to the left side to
James Westry (Newark, NJ), who scampered for 45 yards to the GMC 30. Later, facing a 4
th-and-8 from the GMC 28, Duren connected with
Joshua Dodd (Seven Oaks, MD) on a sliding catch for the first down at the GMC 15. Two plays later, on a third-down in the very beginning of the fourth quarter, Duren threw his first career touchdown, connecting with tight-end
Justin Thompson (Ambridge, PA) for a 12-yard pass that made it 34-12.
GMC's next drive was helped by a pair of penalties against the Falcons, and the Bulldogs ended up shaving off nearly eight minutes of clock, but the drive ended without points, as the 30-yard field goal attempt went wide right.
With 6:01 to go, Duren got the Falcons going again, this time connecting with Dodd on the third play of the drive for 27 yard to the GMC 42. An eight-yard run from Duren got the Falcons to the 34, and an encroachment penalty against the Bulldogs put the Falcons on the 29, but Duren got picked on a pass to the end zone, and the interception was returned out to the GMC 40. The Bulldogs were able to run out the clock, from there.
Monroe led the Falcons with 27 yards rushing on five carries and a touchdown. Duren was 5-for-11 for 109 yards and a touchdown, as well as an interception, and Brown was 9-for-15 for 95 yards and an interception. Three Falcons had three receptions, each, with Tucker the high-yardage man at 60 yards receiving. Westry had three catches for 59 yards, and Dodd caught three for 48 yards.
Arrington led the defense with a team-high five tackles, while
Kealey Davis (Woodbridge, VA) at 4.5 tackles and
Willie Matthews (Montclair, NJ) at four tackles.
The Falcons get back to work on Saturday, September 24
th, when they travel to Newton, NJ for a big Region 19 football match-up with the Sussex County CC Skylanders. Kickoff is set for 4:00pm ET from Newton HS.
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