11/8/24

SCRANTON, Pa. -- Lackawanna College football will celebrate its sophomore class with a massively important game this coming Saturday, November 9th, as the #9 Falcons welcome #2 Georgia Military College to Northeast Pennsylvania for a top-ten match-up.  

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

Kickoff is scheduled for a 1:00pm ET start from PenFed Field at Memorial Stadium in Scranton. This is the 22nd all-time meeting between Lackawanna and Georgia Military College, in a rivalry that started with a bowl game back in 1995. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series, 13-8, and have won four of the last five match-ups, including both games played last season, and the first game of this year, a 40-35 win at home in Milledgeville, GA back on September 21st. It was a game where Lackawanna fell behind 13-0 less than three minutes into the contest, then were behind 27-14 early in the third after a turnover that set-up GMC in good field position. The Falcons twice came back from those deficits to hold a one-point lead, then led 35-34 with 13 minutes to go in the game, before GMC responded with a touchdown drive to take the lead at 40-35 with a little over seven minutes to go. Lackawanna had two possessions to respond, but couldn't move the ball. GMC ran the ball ten times in a row to force Lackawanna to burn all its timeouts and end the game. You can read the full recap HERE. 

Lackawanna College (7-2) comes into this week's contest as the #9 team in the latest NJCAA Division I rankings, jumping two spots after a 28-20 win on the road at Monroe University. In that game, Lackawanna was either tied or trailing for 59 minutes and 12 seconds against Monroe, but that changed in the dying minute of the fourth quarter. With Monroe ahead 20-14 and driving, the Falcons' defense, which had seven sacks on the day, got another sack on a bad snap and fumble recovery at the Lackawanna 40-yard line. The Falcons marched to the MU 19-yard line, where they faced a third-and-long with under a minute to go. Quarterback Bryan Johnson (Woodbury, NJ) would save the Falcons, as he surveyed the field, didn't see an opening, and darted through several tackles to score a touchdown with 48 seconds to play. The extra point gave Lackawanna its first lead of the game at 21-20, and the Falcons expanded that lead just eleven seconds later, when Patrick Body, Jr. (Monroeville, PA) stepped in front of a pass on the left sideline and raced into the end zone for the interception return touchdown, boosting the Lackawanna lead to 28-20 with 37 seconds to go. Monroe moved the ball all the way to the Lackawanna 15-yard line with six seconds to go, but the Falcons flushed the quarterback out to the sideline on the final play of the game, getting the sack as time expired to preserve the win. The Falcons rushed for  182 yards, averaging 5.2 yards per carry, and overcame three turnovers to grab the win. The defense held Monroe to 38 yards rushing, and just 181 yards of total offense, which putting up 14 tackles-for-loss and seven sacks. Johnson passed for 69 yards and rushed for 35 more. Quarterback Wyatt Hagan (Chantilly, VA) had 71 yards passing and a touchdown. Running back Maurice Edwards (Mundelein, IL) had 138 yards rushing and a touchdown, averaging 7.3 yards per carry. Receiver Daryl Harper (Montgomery Village, MD) led the way with six catches for 45 yards, while Michael Hodge (Richmond, VA) had five catches for 65 yards. Linebacker Nyair Graham (Camden, NJ) led the defense with seven total tackles, including 3.5 tackles-for-loss and 1.5 sacks. That performance earned him NJCAA DI Defensive Player of the Week. Linebacker Gene Townsel (Richmond, VA) had six tackles, including 1.5 TFLs and 1.5 sacks, as well as the crucial fumble recovery to set up the game-winning drive. You can read the full recap HERE.

Georgia Military (9-1) has not lost since an early season OT loss to defending national champion Iowa Western CC at home, back on August 31st. The Bulldogs have rattled off eight straight wins, including wins against impressive opponents like Lackawanna, Tyler JC, and Snow College. The Snow win might be the most impressive of the season for the Bulldogs, going on the road against the #4 team in the nation and coming away with a 31-24 overtime win back on October 26th. Those impressive results have GMC on the brink of making the NJCAA Division I playoff as the #2 seed, meaning they would host the semi-final. Georgia Military has scored 30 or more points in every game its played this season, scoring over 60 points in four games, including a season-high 76 in the 76-0 win against Clayton State University club football this past weekend at home. The Bulldogs had 465 yards of offense, averaging 7.3 yards per play, and punted just twice all day. The defense had three touchdowns, five sacks, and 14 tackles-for-loss. GMC had a 34-0 lead at the break, then scored 28 more in the third to completely blow the game open. The Bulldogs ran for 285 yards and went 5-for-9 on third downs. They had six rushing touchdowns on the day. Derrick Mincey had eleven rushes for 98 yards and two touchdowns, while Ta'Marion Peters had had eight carries for 52 yards and two more scores. Chip Cooper threw for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Demarie Jordan led the defensive with seven tackles, three TFLs, and two sacks, plus a forced fumble. 

Georgia Military is averaging 50.8 points per game this season, the top-scoring offense in the country and five points clear of second place. GMC averages around 420 yards of offense per game, sixth in the country, which includes 281.7 yards per game on the ground, second in the country. The Bulldogs lead the nation in total yards rushing, putting up 2,817 yards on the ground. Defensively, the Bulldogs give up 266 yards per game, in the top ten in the country. Teams are scoring about 16.5 points per game against GMC this year. The Bulldogs give up around 89 yards per game on the ground, inside the top ten in the NJCAA. They're sixth in the country in sacks with 34 this season, and are tied with Lackawanna's defense for first in the country with six defensive touchdowns this season. 

This game's importance for both squads cannot be understated. The Bulldogs, with a win, will guarantee themselves a spot in the NJCAA Division I Football Playoffs, likely as the #2 seed, where they would host the semi-final match-up. It'll be GMC's first real chance to compete for a national championship in nearly eleven years. A loss would certainly drop them out of contention to host, and potentially out of the top four. Lackawanna, meanwhile, probably has no realistic shot to make the playoff, even with a win, but a positive result could guarantee the Falcons get a post-season bowl berth. A loss would give Lackawanna its third loss of the season, and likely end the year for the Falcons. On top of that, the Falcons will be celebrating their sophomores with a Sophomore Day celebration before the game, so there will be extra emotion surrounding the final home game of the regular season. 

GMC's head coach is Rob Manchester, now in his fourth year as the head coach for Georgia Military, where he also serves as the Athletic Director. Manchester has been a part of the program for 22 years in some capacity. He was the team's Defensive Coordinator for 14 years prior to becoming the head coach, and the Bulldogs were a consistent terror, limiting opponents in rushing, scoring, and total yards allowed, while forcing nearly 25 turnovers a year. Manchester was the coordinator for the 2013 Mississippi Bowl, where the Bulldogs competed for an NJCAA National Championship. He has coached the Bulldogs as either the DC or the head coach in eight NJCAA bowl games. Before he became coordinator of the whole defense, Manchester ran the secondary, which was the linchpin of some dominant Bulldogs' defenses in the 2000's. Manchester played college football at the University of Kentucky, where he was a four-year letterman for the Wildcats. He started his coaching career at Tulane under Tommy Bowden, helping the Green Wave to a 12-0  record in 1998, winning a Conference USA championship and a Liberty Bowl win over BYU. He moved on to Kentucky as a grad assistant from 1999 through 2001, coaching the defense, and assisting with the junior varsity squad. He holds both a bachelor's and master's degree from Kentucky. 

The head football coach for Lackawanna College is Mark Duda, now in his 31st season at the helm for the Falcons. Duda has 213 career victories, the most among active coaches in the NJCAA. Coach Duda, an NJCAA Hall-of-Famer, has produced over 400 scholarship athletes and had 20 different players end up with NFL contracts after spending time at Lackawanna. Lackawanna has had a .500 or better record in 26 of his 30 previous seasons, and has five official undefeated regular seasons. Duda is a northeast PA native, graduating from Wyoming Valley West in 1979, a prominent member of the Spartans' vaunted "Mad Dog" defense. Duda went on to play at the University of Maryland, setting a record of 13 sacks in a year, which stood for 30 years, before being drafted by the then-St. Louis Cardinals in 1983. Duda made 34 starts and 55 appearances, recording 9.5 sacks in the NFL. He earned a bachelor's degree from East Stroudsburg in 1991, and has a master's degree from Thomas Edison College. 

Saturday's game is set for a 1:00pm ET kickoff from PenFed Field at Scranton's Memorial Stadium. Tickets will be sold at the gates: $5 for adults and $3 for students. Those with Lackawanna College IDs get free admission. There will be a pay-per-view video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE. Sports Information Director Tom Ferguson will handle the play-by-play duties.