10/10/25
WEST POINT, NY – A game deserving of overtime got a wild finish, as the USMAPS squad intercepted a pass in the first overtime and returned it 80 yards for a walkoff touchdown, knocking off Lackawanna College, 20-14, on Friday night on post at the military academy.
USMAPS (2-0) had just missed a 44-yd field goal on their possession of overtime, but the Black Knights defense had put the Falcons into a third-and-long. Lackawanna (3-3) called a wheel route to the back leaking out of the backfield, but the pass was intercepted at the 20 by a linebacker. With a raucous crowd urging him on, the Black Knights defender eluded
Jacob Tiberi (Smyrna, DE) and raced to the end zone to win it.
Tiberi threw for 318 yards and two touchdowns, but was picked off three times by the Black Knights defense. USMAPS tied the game with under four to play in regulation on a 13-play, 82-yard drive that drained nine minutes off the clock. The Knights ran for 207 yards and had 21 first downs, while holding the high-octane Lackawanna offense well below its usual average.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Falcons got on the board in the second. A USMAPS ten-minute drive stalled out when
Brodie Daugherty (Manheim, PA) intercepted a pass over the middle. Tiberi and company wasted no time, hitting
Chrisitan Harrison (Temple Hills, MD) for a 63-yard score to get the Falcons the lead at 7-0 with 6:49 to go in the half.
USMAPS answered with a ten-play drive, converting on a third-and-long pass down the seam for 28 yards to tie the game. Tiberi and company were undaunted, as he directed an eight-play drive in just 1:13 of game time, converting on a second down from the USMAPS 23-yard line on a back corner pass to
Jamal Jefferson, Jr. (Euclid, OH) that put the Falcons up 14-7 at the half.
The defense forced a punt on the opening possession of the second half, and the Falcons drove to the USMAPS 29-yard line, but failed to convert a fourth down. Prep mounted a drive that started at 5:57 to go in the third, and went into the start of the fourth, but the Falcons once again stood tall.
Lackawanna went three-and-out, and the Black Knights, starting from their own 18, went on a typical Army drive, draining the clock with a 14-play, 82-yard march that shaved nine minutes off the clock and tied the game. USMAPS converted two third downs and a fourth down en route to a four-yard touchdown run up the middle to tie the game.
Tiberi got the Falcons to their own 41-yard line, but his sideline shot was picked off at the USMAPS 25-yard line with 1:31 to go. The Falcons' defense bent but didn't break, forcing a fourth down failure from the Black Knights at the Lackawanna 36-yard line.
With 33 seconds left and one timeout, the Falcons moved the ball to midfield. With 18 seconds left, the Falcons had plenty of shots, but they came up empty, setting up overtime.
In OT, USMAPS missed a 44-yard field goal on the first offensive possession in overtime, but the Falcons' fate was sealed on the third down interception.
Running back
Hassan Akanbi (Winchester, VA) had 13 rushes for 57 yards, while Harrison was the top target once again for the Falcons, catching ten balls for 159 yards and a score. Jefferson had six grabs for 82 yards and his first touchdown of the season, while
Eyasu Palmore (White Oak, MD) had six catches for 63 yards. Linebacker
Michael Johnson (Windsor, Ontario) led the Falcons with 12 tackles, while
Aamir Pender (Philadelphia, PA) added seven tackles.
Haleem Muhammad (Pennington, NJ) added seven stops, and both
Michael Odeyemi (Reading, PA) and
Calif Spencer (Harrington, DE) each added seven stops apiece.
Lackawanna College will get back to work on Saturday, October 18
th, with an away game at Sussex County CC. Kickoff is set for 1:00pm ET in New Jersey.
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