Box Score 8/31/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The rain could not quite hold off, but Lackawanna College football made sure to make the dry moments count. The Falcons forced six turnovers and scored two touchdowns and a safety on defense in a 54-0 wipeout of the Palmetto Collegiate Bandits on Saturday afternoon at Scranton Memorial Stadium. The game ended with 2:27 to go in the third quarter, due to lightning in the area and a lashing rain that had developed in the second half.
 
The Falcons (1-0) forced six turnovers, four fumbles and two interceptions, and scored on a pair of fumble recoveries. The first came in the first quarter, when Gene Townsel (Richmond, VA) scooped up a loose ball, already his second fumble recovery of the quarter, and scooted into the endzone from four yards out to give Lackawanna a 14-0 lead. This had come after the Falcons had fumbled deep in the red zone, their second fumble in a wild first stanza.
 
The second scoop-and-score happened towards the end of the contest, when the game was well in hand. After a big pass play had put Palmetto (0-2) on the Lackawanna 10-yard line, quarterback Matteo Rodriguez dropped back from under center but was immediately under fire from an edge rush by linebacker Micah Brown (Stafford, VA). Brown's rush forced Rodriguez to climb the pocket into the waiting arms of defensive tackle Quoy Rainey (Lindenwold, NJ), but Brown's outstretched right arm punched the ball loose. Linebacker Damonte Foreman (Elizabeth City, NC) was there to scoop the ball up at the 16-yard line, and raced 84 yards the other way to punctuate the eventual Lackawanna win at 54-0.
 
With 2:27 to go in the third, and the visitors facing a fourth-down deep in their own territory, the driving rain finally took its toll. The officials came to the Lackawanna sideline when they spotted some lightning in the distance, and the radar told a grim story of lightning and rain not letting up. After a brief discussion with the Palmetto Collegiate staff, a mutual decision was made to end the game.
 
Quarterback Wyatt Hagan (Chantilly, VA) was 12-for-25 for 196 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Maurice Edwards (Mundelein, IL) eclipsed the 100-yard barrier on 12 carries, with a pair of touchdown runs, including a 47-yard scamper up the middle on just the second play from scrimmage for the Lackawanna offense. Receivers Michael Hodge (Richmond, VA) and Daryl Harper (Montgomery Village, MD) each had three catches, with Hodge jumping over defenders to make plays, and Harper snagging a touchdown grab on a scramble to the right side in the first quarter.
 
Defensively, Lackawanna was dominant, holding the Bandits to just 107 yards of total net offense. The Falcons held Palmetto to -11 yards rushing on 20 carries and had seven sacks and nine tackles-for-loss. Townsel had a team-high six tackles with a TFL, a forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. Kamden Wyatt (Philadelphia, PA) had a pair of interceptions, and a pass break up, while six different Falcons ended up with a sack.
 
Lackawanna gets back to work next Saturday, September 7^th, when the Falcons travel to take on Division III Louisburg College. The contest will take place at Potomac HS in Dumfries, VA, and will kick off at 3:00pm ET.