10/27/23

SCRANTON, Pa. -- After a week away to heal up, Lackawanna College football is geared up for the final leg of the 2023 campaign. First up, a consequential clash against a top-ranked opponent, as the #12 Falcons travel to the Mountain Time Zone to take on the #5 Snow College Badgers in front of a national TV audience on Saturday evening. 

Kickoff between the two squads is set for a 9:00pm ET (7:00pm MT) start at Stoddard Field at Terry Foote Stadium, nestled in the mountains in Ephraim, Utah. This match-up between the two squads has been picked as the NJCAA Game of the Week, which means the match-up will be featured on ESPN+. You can watch the game online HERE or via the ESPN App. Gary Chidester, Director of Communications at Snow College, will be the play-by-play broadcaster. You have to have an ESPN+ account to watch the game. Live updates will be available via the Lackawanna College Athletics page on X (x.com/falconssports) and via the Lackawanna College Football page (x.com/lcfalconsfb). 

The Falcons (6-1) come into the contest on a four-game winning streak, and ranked #12 in the latest NJCAA Division I Football rankings. Two weeks ago, the Falcons defeated Hocking College 31-5 in a rain-soaked Homecoming Weekend match-up. Lackawanna had 24 first downs and nearly 400 yards of offense, but struggled to get completely going. That being said, Petey Tucker (Sophomore; Baltimore, MD) had five catches for 108 yards and three touchdowns, tying a Lackawanna College program-record for most TD catches in a game. Hamas Duren (Sophomore; Sicklerville, NJ) threw for 197 yards and three scores, while Terrez Worthy (Sophomore; Salisbury, MD) continued his torrid pace this year, rushing for 126 yards on 28 carries, boosting his season total to 1,139 yards rushing through seven games, tops in the country. Defensively, Devin Harper (Sophomore; Fort Mill, SC) had a 71-yard interception return for touchdown, and the Falcons limited the Hawks to just 145 yards of total offense. Preston Green (Sophomore; Long Pond, PA) led the charge with a season-high seven tackles, four for loss, in the win. Nyair Graham (First Year; Camden, NJ) had five tackles, one for loss, in the win. You can read the full recap HERE.

Snow (6-2) comes into the game looking for a quality win on its resume late in the year. The Badgers are fresh off a 55-0 victory over Pacific Northwest Christian College last weekend. That was a game where the Badgers didn't quite get going until the last seven minutes of the second quarter, but they more than made up for it, scoring 27 points in the final seven to secure a 41-0 halftime lead. It started when the Badgers scored on a 41-yard pass with 6:50 to go in the half, making it 20-0. Another punt from PNCC, the fifth straight, ended in a 79-yard punt return score. A bad snap on a punt the next series gave Snow possession inside their opponent's ten-yard line, resulting in a four-yard touchdown run a few plays later. Snow then intercepted a pass near midfield and converted on a 52-yard touchdown pass on second-and-22 from its own 48. From there, the Badgers coasted to victory with a running clock in the second half. Snow had 21 first downs and 408 yards of offense, scoring 55 points on just 53 plays from scrimmage, and averaging 7.7 yards per play. the defense was dominant, holding the visitors to just 79 yards of total offense. Donovan Smith was 10-for-15 for 206 yards and four touchdown passes, while Spencer Lambert ran for 83 yards and a pair of scores, and Tyrique Carter caught for 63 yards and two touchdowns. 

This will be the fifth all-time meeting between Lackawanna College and Snow College. After Lackawanna shocked Snow in their first-ever meeting in 2019, the Badgers have won the last three in dominant fashion, outscoring Lackawanna 111-42, averaging 37 points per game in those three victories. Last year's game was a suffocating performance from the Badgers, scoring two points on the opening kickoff when the Falcons mishandled the opening kickoff in the end zone, and shutting down the Lackawanna offense on the way to a 30-7 road win in Scranton. Two years ago, the Falcons fell 54-28 on the road in Ephraim.  

You can read the full games notes for this week's contest HERE.

Lackawanna College is next in action on Saturday, November 4th, when the Falcons travel to New Rochelle, NY to take on Monroe College for the second time this season. The game is set for a 4:00pm ET kickoff at Joseph Fosina Field. Lackawanna won the first game, 41-18, in Scranton back on October 7th.