Lackawanna College

10/31/26
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – A late turnover undid Lackawanna College football's upset quest, as the Falcons fell to the visiting Millersville University Marauders, 31-28, on a sunny Saturday afternoon at PenFed Field at Scranton Memorial Stadium.
 
The Falcons (0-9) were moving the ball in the fourth quarter, down 31-28, and they got to the Millersville six-yard line for a third-and-goal. Quarterback David Naniewicz (Scott Twp., PA) stepped up in the pocked and rolled to his left, but was intercepted when he tried to force a pass through the middle in the end zone, allowing the Marauders to escape without giving up points and get a touchback.
 
Millersville (1-8) drained four minutes off the clock and punted away, giving Lackawanna one more crack at it with 3:39 to go, but the Falcons got as far as their own 40-yard line before getting stuffed on fourth-down, when a Naniewicz scramble was stopped a yard shy of the sticks.
 
The Marauders managed to bleed the clock the rest of the way and secured their first win the end of the 2024 season, but this was one the Falcons did not make easy on the visitors.
 
Millersville ran for 236 yards, a 5.1 yards per clip, and had 341 yards of offense, but the Marauders fumbled once and threw an interception. Lackawanna had 263 yards of offense, including 168 through the air, but the Falcons had two interceptions and a fumble and were forced to settle for a pair of short field goals on crucial drives.
 
The Marauders scored in just three plays on their first series of the contest to go up 7-0, after forcing Lackawanna to punt on the opening series. Millersville then kicked away to Jayden Byrd (Norristown, PA) at the six-yard line. Byrd shot up the right side of the field and burst through the line near midfield, cutting back across the field and racing past the kicker for a 94-yard thunderbolt of a kick return touchdown that tied the game and put the Falcons back on terms in the first quarter.
 
Millersville scored on its next drive to go ahead 14-7 with about seven minutes to go in the quarter, and, after forcing a Lackawanna punt, the Marauders had the ball on their own 39-yard line looking poised to start another drive. Lackawanna's defense came up with a big play, however, when Brandon Massie (Garfield, PA) ripped the ball loose and Keith Melton (Petersburg, VA) recovered the fumble, giving Lackawanna a 1^st-and-10 at Millersville 48-yard line. Lackawanna got the ball to the Millersville eight, but couldn't get any further and eventually got a 32-yard field goal from Isiah Rodriguez (Old Forge, PA) to cut the deficit to 14-10.
 
After the defense forced a punt, Lackawanna drove down the field on its next series, helped by a pair of pass interference penalties from Millersville, and eventually scored on a two-yard run by Jalen Fletcher (Bethlehem, PA) to pull in front at 17-14 with over five minutes to go in the half.
 
Millersville burned clock and made it all the way to the Lackawanna four-yard line, but the Falcons held firm and forced a 21-yard field goal attempt, tying the game heading into halftime.
 
Another turnover from Millersville, this time on a pick from Massie, helped set up the Falcons at the Millersville 30-yard line early in the third quarter, and Lackawanna drove all the way to the Marauders' 5-yard line, but Millersville forced a third-down incompletion and Lackawanna settled for another Rodriguez kick, this time from 23 yards out, to go ahead, 20-17.
 
Millersville drove into Lackawanna territory and faced a 4^th-and-4 at the Lackawanna 27-yard line, where the Marauders converted on a 27-yard touchdown pass to re-take the lead at 24-20 with just over six minutes to go in the third quarter.
 
Naniewicz directed the Falcons down to the Millersville 32-yard line, but his pass was intercepted on a deflection, and the Lackawanna drive was ended. Then Millersville got to the Lackawanna College six-yard line in just two plays, eventually scoring to go up 31-20 with under two to go in the third.
 
Down, by not out, the Falcons rallied with a long pass to Keaon Jenkins (Wayne, NJ) and a solid run from Fletcher that got the Falcons to the Millersville 38-yard line to start the fourth, and Lackawanna scored three plays later when Naniewicz hit James Colston (Harrisburg, PA) in the right corner of the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown strike. A two-point pass to Khi'Lee Patterson (Fox Chapel, PA) later, and the Falcons were within three with 14 minutes to go.
 
The Lackawanna defense stepped up and forced a punt from the Marauders, getting the Falcons the ball back on their 42-yard line with under 12 to go. Naniewicz and company all contributed on a drive to the Millersville six-yard line, highlighted by a 17-yard run from Fletcher, a 13-yard pass to Elijah Harris (Phoenix, AZ), and a pass interference call that put the ball inside the ten, but the interception in the end zone killed the drive, and, eventually, the game.
 
Naniewicz was 14-for-26 for 168 yards and a touchdown, along with two interceptions. Fletcher ran for 88 yards and a touchdown, while also catching four balls for 38 yards. Patterson had four catches for 28 yards, and Jamal Jefferson, Jr. (Euclid, OH) had two grabs for 19 yards.
 
Defensively, Massie led the Falcons with eight tackles, while Javian Pujals (Bethlehem, PA) had eight tackles and two TFLs. Rashon Giddens (Norristown, PA) had seven tackles, five solos. Steven Jenkins (Pittsburgh, PA) posted six tackles and two TFLs.
 
Lackawanna College will hit the road for its final two games, and next week the Falcons will go to Shepherdstown, West Virginia to take on the Shepherd Rams. Kickoff is set for 12:00pm ET at Ram Stadium on Saturday, November 7^th.