11/2/24
 
MOUNT VERNON, NY – Lackawanna College football didn't hold a lead for 59 minutes and 12 seconds of Saturday's game at Monroe University.
 
All they needed was the other 48 seconds.
 
Bryan Johnson scampered in for the go-ahead touchdown on a sensational 19-yard run with 48 seconds to play, and Patrick Body, Jr. added an interception return for touchdown just eleven seconds later to seal the 28-20 victory for the Lackawanna on the road at Memorial Field at the Stadium in New York.
 
The #11 Falcons (7-2) trailed 20-14 with 3:12 to go in the game when Johnson (Woodbury, NJ) led the offense out on the field to start a drive from his own 40. Lackawanna had been plagued by turnovers, fumbling three times, and the offense struggled to get things moving in crucial spots throughout the contest. This drive started brightly on back-to-back passes to Michael Hodge (Richmond, VA) that moved Lackawanna to the Monroe 40-yard line. A personal foul penalty on a completion to the Monroe 36-yard line moved the ball to the Mustangs' 21. Later, facing third-and-eight from the Monroe 19-yard line, and the clock ticking under a minute, Johnson took a shotgun snap and scrambled to his left. Realizing he had nothing downfield, Johnson tucked and ran, darting behind Johnny Cranford (Pottstown, PA), who opened a lane for him at the 15. Johnson then cut left, accelerated through two arm tackles at the ten, put the last defender in the spin cycle at the three, and strode into the end zone with 48 seconds left, tying the game and setting off a wild celebration from the Falcons. The Keegan Hughes (Scranton, PA) extra point kick gave Lackawanna its first lead all game long.
 
The kickoff from Michael Hartshorn (Clarks Summit, PA) sailed over the returner's head to the six-yard line, and Monroe could only return it to its own 13-yard line. The Mustangs (4-4) had possession with 46 seconds remaining, but promptly gave the ball right back to the Falcons when Body, Jr. (Monroeville, PA) stepped in front of an out-pattern on the left sideline. Body tipped the pass at the 15 and came down with it at the 14, quickly gathering himself and sprinting down the sideline for the pick-six. Another Hughes extra point made it 28-20, Falcons, with 37 seconds remaining.
 
The Mustangs moved the ball to the Lackawanna 30, and a pass over the middle was almost intercepted at the Lackawanna 10-yard line, but two Falcons collided, and the ball hit the turf. To add insult to injury, a personal foul was called on Lackawanna, and the ball moved to the 15-yard line with four seconds to go. Quarterback Raeden Oliver took the snap under duress and scrambled to his right, but the Lackawanna defense did its job, as Kylon Roberts (Columbia, MD) cut off his escape, and Milan Ball (Largo, MD) ripped him down on the sideline with time expiring.
 
Lackawanna had 17 first downs and 298 yards of total offense, moving the ball fairly well on the ground (158 on 4.5 yards per rush), but was getting hurt on turnovers and third and fourth down conversions. Wyatt Hagan (Chantilly, VA) went 5-for-12 for 71 yards and a touchdown, while Johnson threw for 69 yards and rushed for 35 more. Maurice Edwards (Mundelein, IL) had 143 yards on 7.5 yards per rush and a touchdown. Hodge caught five balls for 65 yards, while Daryl Harper (Montgomery Village, MD) had a team-high six grabs for 45 yards. Christian Harrison (Temple Hills, MD) caught three balls for 30 yards and a score.
 
Defensively, Lackawanna was stellar, holding Monroe to 181 yards of total offense, 38 yards rushing, and 3-for-14 on third down. The defense had seven sacks and 12 tackles-for-loss, forcing two turnovers. Nyair Graham (Camden, NJ) led the way with seven tackles, 3.5 for loss, and 1.5 sacks. Gene Townsel (Richmond, VA) had six tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and a fumble recovery.
 
After forcing a three-and-out on the opening possession, the Falcons moved the ball methodically to the Monroe 27-yard line, but back-to-back incompletions on third and fourth down halted the drive. Later, with Lackawanna punting at its own 42, Hartshorn's punt was blocked. Theodore McDuffie scooped up the loose ball and returned it to the Lackawanna five-yard line. Monroe scored on a touchdown pass on third-and-goal, but the extra point was at first blocked and returned by the Falcons. However, an offsides penalty negated the play, and Monroe's next attempt went through to give the Mustangs the lead with under five minutes to go in the first.
 
Another Falcon punt led to a Monroe score, this time when the Mustangs took the possession and marched into Lackawanna territory, hitting a 30-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0 with 10:25 to play in the second.
 
The next possession saw the Falcons finally start to get their offense going. Hagan scrambled for 13 yards to get to the Lackawanna 40-yard line, then hit a big pass play to Hodge on third down that moved the ball to the Monroe 20-yard stripe. Hagan then found Harrison for their third touchdown hook-up in two weeks on a 20-yard slant in the end zone to make it 14-7 with 7:26 to play in the second quarter.
 
Still trailing 14-7, Lackawanna had the ball moving on back-to-back big runs from Edwards with under five minutes to go in the half, but were forced to punt at the Monroe 39-yard line. The Mustangs were buried deep at their own nine, and eventually punted on fourth down, but a roughing the kicker penalty was called on the Falcons, giving Monroe the ball at its own 32. The Mustangs moved the ball into Lackawanna territory to get to the 30-yard line, but two sacks in the final three plays of the half sent the game to halftime, still at 14-7.
 
Early in the third quarter, disaster struck against the Falcons. Just a minute into the second half, Hagan scrambled to his left at his own 25. He was tackled from behind, and the ball seemingly came loose before he hit the turf on the sideline. Mustang defender McDuffie scooped up the loose ball and ran it back 24 yards for the touchdown. A 15-yard personal foul on the celebration moved the extra point try back, and Monroe missed the kick, which would factor into the final score.
 
Lackawanna would score a touchdown three minutes later on a 13-yard run from Edwards off the left-side. The Falcons trailed 20-14 with just under eleven minutes to go in the third, so seemingly plenty of time left to make a comeback.
 
That time quickly evaporated. After forcing a punt, the Lackawanna offense fumbled near midfield to give the Mustangs the ball. Monroe punted again, and the Falcons went in reverse, as the drive stalled after a holding call on third down erased a first down run, forcing the Falcons to punt away.
 
Monroe punted again to end the third quarter, but Hodge had a great return to set the Falcons up at the Monroe 30-yard line to start the fourth. That drive quickly fizzled, as three straight negative plays and an incomplete fourth down throw gave the Mustangs the ball back.
 
Monroe made it to the Lackawanna 35-yard line before being forced to punt. The Falcons punted back. Monroe punted back…but this time the Falcons muffed the punt, and the Mustangs recovered with a little over four minutes remaining at the Lackawanna 35-yard line.
 
The Lackawanna defense stood tall on that drive, and was rewarded for its efforts. An errant snap (something that had plagued Monroe throughout the first match-up earlier this year, but had not reared its ugly head up until this moment in today's game) sailed over the head of the quarterback Oliver, who chased the ball back to the 40-yard line, but Townsel, like usual, was in on the play, and beat Oliver to the football, setting up the dramatic game-winning drive from Johnson and the Lackawanna offense.
 
The Falcons have now won six straight games, and will head into their regular season finale with hopes of securing a postseason bowl bid. Their final opponents in the regular season will be the #2 Georgia Military College Bulldogs, who beat Lackawanna 40-35 earlier this season in Georgia. The game in Scranton is set for a 1:00pm ET kickoff on Saturday, November 9^th, at PenFed Field at Scranton's Memorial Stadium.