11/4/23

MOUNT VERNON, NY -- A potential postseason bowl bid hung in the balance as Hamas Duren and the Lackawanna College Falcons took the field for their possession in the second overtime. The sophomore quarterback kept those hopes alive, throwing a touchdown pass to tie the game, and then rushing in for the two-point conversion to walk it off, as the 14^th-ranked Falcons survived for the 38-36 double-overtime victory over Monroe College on Saturday evening in Mount Vernon, NY.
 
Lackawanna College (7-2) led by as much as 15 in the first half, and took a nine-point lead when Duren (Sicklerville, NJ) found Terrez Worthy (Sophomore; Salisbury, MD) for an eight-yard touchdown with 8:35 to go. Monroe (6-3) had marched up-and-down the field most of the day, and kept it going with a ten-play drive that ended in a 32-yard field goal with 4:50 to play. The Mustangs forced a Worthy fumble on the first play of the next series, the first fumble all year for the Falcons' back, and then scored one play later from 22-yards out, tying the game from a nine-point deficit in the span of just 15 seconds. The extra point, however, was blocked by Lackawanna, keeping the game at 27-all and, eventually, sending things to overtime.
 
After each team kicked a field goal in the first OT period, Monroe scored to open the second OT, hitting a third-down pass for a 20-yard score to make it 36-30, Mustangs. The two-point conversion failed, setting up Duren and the offense. After a two-yard run from Worthy on first down, Duren found Petey Tucker (Sophomore; Baltimore, MD) for a first down, with a penalty pushing the Falcons to the Monroe six-yard line. Duren then found his trusty H-back Jaehlan Joyner (First Year; Burlington, NJ) in the flat for a six-yard score to tie the game. Needing a two-point conversion for the win, Duren kept it himself on the read, darting to his left, cutting up field, pushing through a tackler and reaching across the line to give Lackawanna the exciting win.
 
Lackawanna was outgained 473 to 430 in total offense, and Monroe had 24 first downs to Lackawanna's 22. Duren was 19-for-29 for 246 yards and two touchdowns, as well as an interception, while Worthy rushed for 170 yards and three first half touchdowns. Duren had 33 yards rushing. Tucker had a career-high eight catches for 118 yards, while Avohn Cross (Sophomore; Philadelphia, PA) and Maxwell James (Sophomore; Burke, VA) both had three catches for 38 and 34 yards, respectively. Saint McLeod (Sophomore; Philadelphia, PA) led the defense with seven solo tackles, while Isaiah Holloway (Sophomore; Teaneck, NJ) and Kamden Wyatt (Sophomore; Philadelphia, PA) each had five stops.
 
Monroe was knocking on the door almost immediately on its first possession, using a 51-yard burst from Kyon Barnes to get into Lackawanna territory, but the Mustangs came up empty when Terence Folkes (Sophomore; Belleville, NJ) intercepted a pass in the red zone to halt the drive. Duren and Worthy got the offense going, with Worthy ripping off a 25-yard run to get into Monroe territory, and Duren connecting with Robert Rossi (Sophomore; Scranton, PA) on a 26-yard pass that, after a penalty on Monroe, put the Falcons inside the ten. Worthy cashed in with a seven-yard run to make it 7-0, Falcons.
 
A Monroe drive stalled in Lackawanna territory at the 31-yard line, and the Falcons struck again on third down from the 39, hitting a 61-yard touchdown run from Worthy that made it 13-0. On extra point, however, the Mustangs burst through the line to block the kick, picked up the loose ball, and returned it for a rare defensive two-point conversion to make it 13-2.
 
Monroe put together an eleven-play, 57-yard drive that ended in a field goal to make it 13-5, but the Falcons answered with another touchdown drive, this one ending in a Worthy 14-yard scamper, that made it 20-5 with just under ten minutes to play in the second quarter.
 
After a three-and-out and a short punt put Lackawanna at the Monroe 30, the Falcons came up empty when a Duren deep pass was picked off at the three-yard line. Monroe quarterback Mason Boothe completed three-straight passes before hitting Wilkes-Barre native Rafael McCoy with a 65-yard strike to get to the Lackawanna 14-yard line. With the field position flipped, Monroe punched it in a few plays later on second and goal, then kicked the extra point to cut the deficit to 20-12 with under five to go before halftime.
 
The ensuing Lackawanna possession almost ended in disaster when Duren was sacked inside his own five and fumbled the football, but he recovered it at the one-yard line, and the Falcons just managed to punt it out to the 36. That wouldn't deter the Mustangs, however, as Wyoming Valley West product Donte Rhodes punched in the touchdown from five yards out. The two-point conversion attempt failed, but the Mustangs were within two at 20-18 heading into the break.
 
Lackawanna turned it over on downs in Monroe territory, and the Mustangs actually had the ball in the end zone on 3^rd-and-11 from the Lackawanna 28-yard line, but a holding penalty took the points off the board, and the Mustangs had to punt away.
 
The following Falcons' drive went into the fourth quarter, and the Falcons had the ball on the Monroe 33-yard line at 4^th-and-5, but a failed fake punt went nowhere. Monroe gave the ball right back on the next play, fumbling at its own 47-yard line. Lackawanna immediately pounced on the mistake, first converting a 3^rd-and-long on a 38-yard pass to Tucker, then scoring inside the ten-yard line on the eight-yard pass from Duren to Worthy that made it 27-18 and set up the wild final minutes in the fourth.
 
After Lackawanna blocked the extra point that would have given Monroe its first lead, each team traded punts, which meant the Falcons had possession at their own 31 with 1:05 to go in a tie game. Duren hit Tucker with a pair of passes to get the Falcons near midfield, then ran for six yards to pick up a third down, getting an extra 15-yards on a personal foul call against Monroe. Lackawanna moved the ball to the Monroe 29-yard line with about three seconds remaining, and set up for what would have been a 46-yard game-winning field goal, but the snap hit the center's leg and skipped on the turf, where it was picked up by the Mustangs. Monroe almost returned it for the score, but the Falcons managed to tackle the returner near midfield to send it to overtime.
 
Worthy's 170 yards on the ground moves him to 2,231 yards rushing in his Falcons career, now just 178 yards behind Alan Jones (2,409) for first all-time in Lackawanna College history.
 
The win moves Lackawanna to 7-2 on the year, and puts the Falcons in position for a potential bowl bid. The Falcons will close out their regular season next Saturday, November 11^th, when they host the #11 Bulldogs from Georgia Military College. That game is set for a 1:00pm ET kickoff from PenFed Field at Scranton Memorial Stadium.