11/8/25
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The punishing rushing attack from #6 Georgia Military College would eventually wear down Lackawanna College football, as the Bulldogs scored ran for 236 yards and averaged 5.5 yards per carry to escape with a 17-16 win on the road on Saturday afternoon in front of a Homecoming crowd at Scranton's Memorial Stadium.
 
The Bulldogs (10-1) trailed nearly the entire game and were down 16-10 with nine minutes to go in the fourth quarter after Lackawanna (4-5) finished off a 19-play drive with a 26-yard field goal from Isiah Rodriguez (Old Forge, PA). GMC receiver Trenton Smith ripped off a 24-yard run on an option rush, and a 15-yard personal foul penalty against the Falcons made it 1^st-and-10 at the Lackawanna 25. Six straight rushes later, Kinchen was in the end zone after a three-yard run on fourth-and-one, giving GMC its first lead of the game at 17-16 with 5:52 to play. He'd finish with 159 yards on 23 carries.
 
Lackawanna was forced to punt from its own 36-yard line on the next possession, giving the Bulldogs the ball back with 4:34 to go, and GMC ran it seven times in a row and kept the chains moving, eventually getting to kneel it out and escape with the win.
 
Neither team's offense was particularly interested in trying to score through the first half. Rodriguez nailed two field goals, including a season-long 37-yarder, and GMC answered with a field goal of its own in the second quarter. Rodriguez missed a 37-yard attempt at the end of the second quarter, sending it to overtime with a 6-3 Lackawanna lead.
 
After a GMC three-and-out, Lackawanna started the third with a ten-play drive that finished on a Jalen Fletcher (Bethlehem, PA) one-yard touchdown run to make it 13-3, Falcons, with 9:07 to play in the third.
 
The Bulldogs threw an interception on the first play of the next possession, and Lackawanna had the ball at its own 37-yard line with the ten-point lead, but it wasted the chance and was forced to punt after a three-and-out. Later in the quarter, the Falcons had the ball out to their own 38 with a third-and-seven, but a dropped pass on the left sideline killed the drive and forced another punt. GMC scored four plays later on a 25-yard pass to the tight-end to make it 13-10, Falcons, with under three to go I the third.
 
That would set up the Falcons to go on a 19-play drive that started at the Lackawanna 30-yard line, took nearly nine minutes of game time off the clock, and ended with Rodriguez drilling a 26-yarder for his third field goal of the game. It also set the stage for GMC to roar back for the win.
 
Georgia Military outgained the Falcons, 323-313, in offense. The Falcons had more first downs (22-17) and more passing yards (186-87), while also winning the turnover battle. GMC threw two picks; the Falcons didn't give the ball away.
 
Quarterback Jacob Tiberi (Smyrna, DE) was 16-for-36 for 186 yards. His performance brings him to 167 completions on the season, a new school-record, eclipsing the mark of 157 completions set by David Pindell in 2016. Tiberi is also now 154 yards away from setting a school-record for most passing yards in a season.
 
Running back Hassan Akanbi (Winchester, VA) ran for 127 yards on 28 carries, while Kaeon Jenkins (Wayne, NJ) set a season-high with six catches for 104 yards. Linebacker Micah Brown (Stafford, VA) was one of three Falcons with eight tackles on the day, joined by fellow backer Michael Johnson (Windsor, Ontario) and defensive lineman Michael Odeyemi (Reading, PA). Odeyemi had two TFL's and 1.5 sacks, while safety Joshua Baskerville (West Point, NY) had seven tackles, including a team-high five solo stops, and an interception.
 
The win moves #6 GMC to 10-1, the second-straight ten-win season for the Bulldogs. GMC is currently on the outside, looking in at the NJCAA Division I Playoffs. #4 Northwest MS CC won this weekend to advance to the MACCC Championship against #7 Mississippi Gulf Coast. #5 Copiah-Lincoln lost to Northwest. Meanwhile, #3 Tyler Junior College will face Cisco in the SWJCFC semi-final next weekend. The Bulldogs must hope for an upset out west, along with a committee that favors them, for any chance to leapfrog into the playoff conversation.
 
Lackawanna College will look to avoid its first losing season since 2013 when the Falcons host Snow College on Thursday, November 13^th, in the season finale. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00pm ET at PenFed Field at Scranton's Memorial Stadium, and the game will be the last for the Falcons in the NJCAA, as well as the last game in the storied career of head football coach Mark Duda.