9/27/25

EPHRAIM, Utah -- In a game that went deep into the night and featured plenty of offense, some key defensive stands from the home side made the difference, as #13 Snow College pulled away from #15 Lackawanna College, 55-38, in NJCAA Division I football action on Saturday night at Terry Foote Stadium in Utah.
 
After a Michael Johnson (Windsor, Ontario, Canada) interception return for touchdown brought the Falcons within three at 41-38 early in the fourth quarter, there was plenty of hope on the Lackawanna sideline. The Falcons (2-2) had made a furious rally from down 34-17 to close the gap to three, but the Badgers (3-2) and their defense stepped up big with back-to-back stops. The offense then took advantage with a one-play score, a 57-yard touchdown run for Seth Rigtrup, that extended the margin out to 48-38 with 4:08 to play.
 
Needing to push the ball downfield, the Falcons and quarterback Jacob Tiberi (Smyrna, DE) had a 1^st-and-10 at the Lackawanna 41-yard line. As Tiberi climbed the pocket, an oncoming rusher from Snow knocked the ball loose from Tiberi as he tried to launch it. The Badgers picked it up and ran it back to the three and then punched it in to extend out to 55-38 with 2:52 to play. Lackawanna would get the ball out to midfield, but an interception in Snow territory with under 30 seconds to go sealed the Falcons' fate.
 
Tiberi was valiant in defeat, going 29-for-52 for 370 yards and four touchdowns. Jamal Jefferson, Jr. (Euclid, OH) led the receivers with eight grabs for 79 yards. Khi'Lee Patterson (Fox Chapel, PA) added six grabs for 85 yards. Carmelo Taylor (Roanoke, VA) had a touchdown grab from 64 yards out, and running back Hassan Akanbi (Winchester, VA) added two touchdown catches and 101 yards on the ground. Johnson had eight tackles to lead the team, while Calif Spencer (Harrington, DE) and Wesley Conover (Philadelphia, PA) each had 1.5 tackles-for-loss. LaFenis Mays (Chester, PA) had five tackles, while five different Falcons registered four stops.
 
The Falcons outgained the Badgers (496-409), had more first downs (28-21), and held the ball for nearly 35 minutes of game time. Snow averaged over seven yards per play and took advantage of three Lackawanna turnovers.
 
Lackawanna initially jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to a perfect quarter from Tiberi, who was 7-for-7 for 128 yards and two touchdowns. He connected with Akanbi on a five-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring at 11:36 to go in the opening frame, then hit Christian Harrison (Temple Hills, MD) from 35 yards out to make it 14-0 Falcons at the 5:11 mark.
 
Snow answered with a seven-play drive that started at its own ten-yard line, helped by a personal foul penalty and a long pass into the Lackawanna red zone. The Falcons added a 26-yard field goal to start the second to take a 17-6 lead, but the second quarter was a nightmare for Lackawanna, as the Falcons only got 42 yards of offense, went 1-for-5 on third downs, and gave up 21 points to the Badgers. Snow kicked a 40-yard field goal, scored a touchdown on a 21-yard pass, then hit another one from 21-yards out to take the lead at 24-17 with 3:51 to play in the half. Snow added another score, this time a 33-yard field goal, to make it 27-17 heading into the break.
 
Lackawanna went three-and-out on its opening possession of the third, and Snow hit an 87-yard run from Rigtrup, one of his three scores, to take a 34-17 lead less than two minutes into the third. That's where it seemed like the Falcons woke back up. Tiberi connected with Taylor on a 64-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline to make it 34-24 with 11:57 to go in the third, and the Falcons struck again, this time on a 26-yard wheel route to Akabi, to get withing 34-31 at the 7:40 mark in the third.
 
Snow got a big kick return on the ensuing kickoff and then scored three plays later to get back ahead at 41-31, and Tiberi again drove the Falcons down the field, putting Lackawanna into scoring position entering the final quarter. In the third, Tiberi was 14-for-18 for 188 yards and two touchdowns.
 
At the start of the fourth, the Falcons were picked off, just the second interception for Tiberi this season, at the Badgers' 10-yard line. Johnson stepped in front of an errant throw on the next series at the 28-yard line and returned it to the end zone to give the Falcons a big boost and cut the deficit to 41-38 at 11:53 to play.
 
Snow was forced to punt with 7:47 to play, but the Falcons could only take 1:25 off the clock and were forced to punt back. Snow punted again, only managing to take 58 seconds off, and the Falcons had the ball with 5:24 to go, but, once again, the Falcons were stoned by the Badgers' defense, and a punt gave Snow a short field near midfield, where they'd strike for a one-play touchdown to essentially put the Falcons away.
 
Tiberi's 29 completions are a new Lackawanna College single-game record, eclipsing the previous high of 27, set by Faustino Saucedo back in 2014 against Army Prep. Tiberi has now thrown for 13 touchdowns and 1,156 yards through his first four games.
 
Lackawanna College will be back home for its next contest on Saturday, October 4^th, as the Falcons play host to the Monroe University Mustangs. Kickoff is set for 4:00pm ET at PenFed Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Scranton.