11/9/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – A furious comeback fell a few yards wide and short, as Lackawanna College football missed a 49-yard field goal as time expired to drop a wild 35-33 contest at home against #2 Georgia Military College on a sun-soaked Saturday afternoon at PenFed Field at Memorial Stadium.
 
The #9 Falcons (7-3) came back from a 21-point deficit at the start of the quarter to get within two, and had just forced a punt from the Bulldogs (10-1) with 1:46 remaining to take possession at their own 19-yard line. Quarterback Wyatt Hagan (Chantilly, VA) hit a 13-yard pass to Michael Hodge (Richmond, VA) on third down to move the ball out to the 35, and then hit another pass to Hodge, this time an acrobatic catch for 34 yards down the left sideline, which set up the Falcons at the GMC 31. Lackawanna couldn't get anywhere on the two plays after clocking the football, leaving just two seconds left for Keegan Hughes (Scranton, PA) to try the 49-yard field goal. After a GMC timeout, Hughes put his right boot to it, but the line drive kick drifted to the left and short of the sticks, giving the visitors the signature win they needed to clinch their spot in the NJCAA Division I playoffs.
 
It was the emotional cap to a wild ride of a fourth quarter for both teams. Lackawanna trailed big after a 69-yard touchdown run from Trequan Jones opened the fourth quarter for the Bulldogs, putting the Falcons down by a 35-14 margin. Needing a spark just to make things respectable, the Falcons struck on a long pass down the right sideline from quarterback Hagan to receiver Carmelo Taylor (Roanoke, VA), who burned his way down the field for a 75-yard touchdown. The snap on the extra point was low, and the Falcons couldn't get the kick off, which made a difference later in the contest.
 
Later in the quarter, still down 35-20, the Falcons had the ball at their own 25 with 6:19 to play. On second down, Hagan looked right and fired a pass to a slanting Taylor about 13 yards down the field. Taylor spun out a defender, then raced through the rest of the GMC defense for another 75-yard score, bringing the margin to 35-27 with 5:49 to go.
 
A quick three-and-out gave Lackawanna another possession with 3:25 remaining from its own 43. Hagan directed the Falcons to the GMC 32-yard line on a 10-yard completion and a defensive pass interference penalty, then he hit Daryl Harper (Montgomery Village, MD) on the left side near the GMC 15-yard line, Harper raced past one defender, spun through another tackler, and got into the end zone for the touchdown with three minutes to go. A unsportsmanlike penalty on the celebration moved the two-point conversion back to the 18-yard line, and the pass attempt fell incomplete, which meant Georgia Military held a 35-33 lead with three minutes to go, setting up the Lackawanna defense to get a stop on a third down sack on the next possession near midfield to get the ball back to the offense and set the stage for the final drive that ultimately fell short.
 
Lackawanna outgained GMC, 405 to 379, passing for 365 yards and three touchdowns. Georgia Military ran for 215 yards on 49 carries. Neither team turned the ball over, and neither team was great on third down, with GMC going 4-for-18 and Lackawanna going 4-for-16. GMC's defense had eight sacks on the day.
 
Hagan passed for 351 yards and three touchdowns, going 17-for-35 on the day. Taylor had three catches for 164 yards and his two scores. Hodge had five catches for 96 yards, while Harper had four grabs for 62. Running back Maurice Edwards (Mundelein, IL) had 14 carries for 34 yards and a touchdown.
 
Defensively, Andrew Marshall (Carroll, OH) led the way with eight tackles and a tackle-for-loss, while Chris Campanelli (Kenoza Lake, NY) had one of his best games of the year, putting up eight tackles. Kamden Wyatt (Philadelphia, PA) had seven stops, two tackles-for-loss, and a sack.
 
The win punches Georgia Military's ticket to the NJCAA Division I Playoff. GMC is currently the #2 team in the nation and would host a home semi-final if those rankings remain. The loss for Lackawanna means the Falcons are 7-3. There is still an outside chance the Falcons could be invited to a bowl game, but that would require some teams in front of the Falcons to lose or decline.