10/4/25
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – A third quarter collapse almost threatened to derail Lackawanna College football, but Jacob Tiberi and his receiver Christian Harrison wouldn't have it, as the tandem combined for a pair of second half touchdowns to lead the Falcons to the victory, 44-34, over Monroe University on Saturday evening at PenFed Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
 
The Falcons (3-2) led 16-6 at the break in a game that was plagued by stoppages and penalties, but both teams came out firing in the second half. The Mustangs (2-3) returned the second half kickoff to the Lackawanna 36-yard line, then scored two plays later on a half-back pass that cut the deficit to 16-13.
 
On its ensuing possession, Lackawanna answered back on the first play from scrimmage. Hassan Akanbi (Winchester, VA) took the handoff, darted left, then cut right to make one man miss and zoom up the field. The first-year back scampered for 80 yards and helped the Falcons reclaim a ten-point advantage at 23-13. Monroe responded with its own big play, throwing a 79-yard touchdown pass in less than two minutes to make it 23-20.
 
Monroe scored again two minutes later, this time on a blocked punt, returning the bouncing ball into the end zone to make it 27-23, Monroe, the first lead of the game for the visitors.
 
With his team needing a response, Tiberi (Smyrna, DE) stepped in, launching a deep pass down the middle of the field to Harrison (Temple Hills, MD), who stepped out of a would-be tackle at the ten-yard line, spun through another at the five, stayed on his feet at the three, and got a push from several of his teammates to get into the end zone for a 58-yard score, giving the Falcons the lead back at 30-27 with 2:22 to go in the third.
 
Later, Tiberi finished off a drive with a two-yard touchdown pass to Eyasu Palmore (White Oak, MD), the second score between the two, extending the Lackawanna lead to 37-27 with 7:07 to go.
 
Monroe marched down the field and answered with a 20-yard touchdown pass to get within 37-34 with 4:32 to play, and the Falcons moved the ball to the Monroe 25-yard line with under a minute to go. On a fourth-down where the Falcons needed a first down to seal the game, Lackawanna took to the air. Tiberi drifted back, rolled, then launched a perfect ball into the right corner of the end zone, where Harrison hauled it in and dragged a toe for a game-sealing touchdown with 48 seconds to go.
 
Tiberi finished with four touchdowns on the day, giving him 17 for the season through five games. It's the most touchdowns in the first five games of the year for a Lackawanna quarterback.
 
Lackawanna College is back to action on Friday, October 10^th, with an away game at Army Prep. First kick is set for 6:00pm ET at the USMAPS field in West Point, NY.