9/20/24

SCRANTON, Pa. -- Lackawanna College football had an emotionally and physically draining contest this past weekend with the #3 Snow College Badgers, and now the Falcons will have to try to pick up the pieces with, arguably, an even tougher task, as they travel to take on the #7 Georgia Military College Bulldogs on Saturday, September 21st.  

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

Kickoff is scheduled for a 1:00pm ET start at Davenport Field in Milledgeville, GA. It's the first true road game of the season for Lackawanna. Live coverage will be provided by JockJive Sports via their YouTube channel. A direct link can be found HERE. Robert Williamson will handle the play-by-play duties. This is the 21st overall meeting between the two sides in a rivalry dating back to 1995. GMC holds a 12-8 edge in the previous 20 meetings, having won three of the last four contests. GMC managed to take both games last season against Lackawanna, winning a defensive struggle at home, 17-9, in the first game, before polishing off the Falcons with a come-from-behind win, 31-24, in November in Scranton. In that second game, the Bulldogs ran for 239 combined yards and held the ball for almost 40 minutes, overcoming deficits of 14-0 and 21-14 to win the game. The last win for Lackawanna came in November 2022, when the Falcons bludgeoned the Bulldogs, 42-11, on their way to clinching a post-season bowl appearance. 

This year's Falcons (2-1) come into the contest as the #13 team in the latest NJCAA Division I rankings, staying put despite a loss to #3 Snow last week. The game between Snow and Lackawanna was a white-knuckle affair from the start, with both teams combining for 35 points in the opening period. Snow returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and a lead just ten seconds in, and led 22-13 into the second quarter. Lackawanna scored the game's next 20 points, sandwiching a pair of field goals with two touchdowns, the second a 49-yard strike down the sideline midway through the third that made it 33-22. Snow closed the gap with two touchdowns, taking the 36-33 lead with just over five minutes to go. A Lackawanna drive ended prematurely on an interception, but the Falcons got a defensive stop on 4th-and-2 at midfield, getting the ball back to the offense with 1:41 to play. With just under a minute to play, Lackawanna took a 40-36 lead after a 33-yard touchdown pass to Carmleo Taylor (Roanoke, VA), his third of the day. Snow got the ball on its own 38-yard line after a personal foul penalty on the kickoff, and the Badgers moved the ball quickly downfield, scoring with seven seconds left on a one-yard run to reclaim the lead and, eventually, escape the upset bid. The Badgers outgained the Falcons by one yard (373-to-372), and intercepted the Falcons three times, while going 9-for-17 on first down. Lackawanna threw for 278 yards through the air, intercepted a pair of passes and recovered a muffed punt. Quarterback Wyatt Hagan (Chantilly, VA) was 21-for-35 for 278 yards and four touchdowns, along with three interceptions. Taylor had five catches for 108 yards and three scores, while Daryl Harper (Montgomery Village, MD) had six catches for 60 yards and a touchdown. Michael Hodge (Richmond, VA) had five catches for 82 yards, while Maurice Edwards (Mundelein, IL) ran for 115 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. Defensively, Gene Townsel (Richmond, VA) had eleven solo tackles, two tackles-for-loss, and a sack. Nyair Graham (Camden, NJ) added six solo tackles and nine total tackles, as well as 2.5 tackles-for-loss. Andrew Marshall (Carroll, OH) had nine total tackles, eight solos.  

Georgia Military College (3-1) comes in as the #7 ranked team in the country, and was dominant in a 65-0 victory a weekend ago at home against Central Georgia Tech. The Bulldogs were unbothered on offense, putting up 561 yards of total offense and averaging 8.6 yards per play. On the ground alone, GMC had 305 yards rushing, averaging 7.3 yards per carry. The Bulldogs scored 51 points in the first half, 30 in the second quarter alone. Quarterback Jaylan Brown threw four touchdown passes in the first half, and finished with 251 yards passing, while the Bulldogs had four different backs with 40 or more yards rushing, including Brown going for 64. Trequan Jones had eight carries for 96 yards and a touchdown. Trevon Kinchen had 10 carries for 41 yards and two touchdowns, and receiver Trenton Smith had four catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, the Bulldogs had six sacks and eleven tackles-for-loss, picking off the opposition twice. Jarris Coney had six solo tackles, while Aiden Benton had six total tackles, two TFLs, one sack, a forced fumble, and three hurries on the quarterback. Jeremiah Burks had four tackles, two TFLs, and one sack. 

Through four games, GMC has scored 215 points, averaging 53.8 points per contest, second in the country. The Bulldogs lead the nation in total yards rushing (1,220) and are third in yards per game on the ground (305). They have 21 rushing touchdowns, the most by a wide margin. GMC's defense has six picks, fourth in the nation, and their 14 sacks have them at sixth in the nation this year. 
 
This game represents an important contest for both squads, who are both hoping to keep impressing the junior college football world at large. GMC lost its only game against a ranked opponent so far this season (42-41 in OT vs. #1 Iowa Western CC), and, apart from the Falcons, has just one ranked opponent (#3 Snow) on its remaining schedule. Even though their loss was impressive, the Bulldogs can ill-afford another tick in the loss column, and would love to run the table. Lackawanna is in a similar position, not dropping a spot in the rankings despite a narrow loss to Snow. The Falcons do not have the luxury of another ranked opponent, apart from the two games against GMC, on the schedule. So, to leave any lasting impression, Lackawanna will need to win out for any realistic shot at a playoff berth.  

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 208 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. 

Lackawanna College will stay on the road next weekend, as the Falcons come back north for a Region XIX clash against Sussex County CC on Saturday, September 28th. The game is set for a 1:00pm ET start in Newton, NJ, and will be the first of two games between the Falcons and the Skylanders this season.