Lackawanna College

9/12/26
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – In a tale of two halves, Lackawanna College football wasted a great defensive effort for the second week in a row, as Seton Hill spoiled the Falcons' home opener, 20-10, on Saturday afternoon in front of nearly 500 spectators at PenFed Field at Scranton Memorial Stadium.
 
The Falcons (0-2) were tied at 10-10 at the break and seemingly had momentum, running the ball with authority in the first half, but the numbers dried up and the Griffins (1-2) used a strong fourth-quarter rushing attack to shorten the game and eventually score a backbreaker touchdown with four minutes to go to pull away for the win.
 
Lackawanna overcame a pair of interceptions and a blocked punt in the first half, finding itself down just 7-0, when the Falcons put together a solid drive of 13 plays, 51 yards, and seven minutes to tie the game at 7-7, thanks to a Jalen Fletcher (Bethlehem, PA) five-yard run, his second TD of the year.
 
After forcing a three-and-out, the Falcons drove the field from their own 44, relying on the ground game from Daniel McConomy (Middletown, DE) and a pass interference call against SHU to get to the nine-yard line, where they'd settle for a 26-yard Isiah Rodriguez (Old Forge, PA) field goal to go ahead 10-7 with 2:56 to play in the half.
 
Bad kick coverage let Seton Hill get the ball to midfield, but Jahmeil Brown (Perth Amboy, NJ) made the play of the day for the Falcons, ripping the ball out of a receiver's hands for an interception and giving the Falcons the possession at their own 27. Lackawanna couldn't get the ball moving, however, and a punt let Seton Hill take over with 53 seconds to go at the 50-yard line. The Griffins drove to the LC 31-yard line before kicking a 49-yard field goal to tie the game at halftime.
 
After the Falcons had tuned up the Griffins for 154 yards on the ground in the first half, while giving up -2 yards on the ground defensively, the script seemingly flipped, and it started right away in the third. Seton Hill returned the kickoff to Lackawanna's 30-yard line, then kicked a 42-yard field goal to go ahead, 13-10. Lackawanna got the ball to the 37 on its next drive, but the Falcons were forced to punt, and SHU took over in its own territory.
 
The Lackawanna defense stood tall, forcing a punt, and the Falcons started to move on their next drive, getting to midfield and into SHU territory thanks to the legs of David Naniewicz (Scott Twp., PA) and McConomy, but the drive stalled and the Falcons had to punt away.
 
Lackawanna recovered a fumble at the Seton Hill 35-yard line on the next drive, putting the Falcons in prime territory to make something happen, but Naniewicz was stuffed on a run, sacked, and then threw an incomplete pass, forcing another punt.
 
Seton Hill started at its own 10-yard line, and was backed up to its eight-yard line with a 4^th-and-12, when a bad snap sailed on the punter and forced him to improvise. The problem was, the Falcons had coverage too far down the field, which let punter Cody Rubrecht run 21 yards to pick up the first down. He eventually had to punt again, but more time came off the clock, and the Falcons took over at their own 20 with 10:39 to play.
 
Lackawanna struggled to move the ball and was forced to punt away with nine minutes to go, and Seton Hill made them pay, methodically running the ball down, mixing in a 10-yard pass, and then breaking the damn with a 39-yard touchdown run to go ahead 20-10 with 4:13 to play.
 
The Falcons couldn't muster anything once again on their next possession, turning over on downs at their own 28, and Seton Hill wound down the clock from there for the win.
 
The Falcons had more rushing yards (141-101) and first downs (14-12), but had just 50 passing yards and threw two interceptions, while getting sacked four times. The Falcons were just 3-for-14 on third down, while Seton Hill was 3-for-13. Lackawanna did force three turnovers, recovering two fumbles and getting an interception.
 
Laivon Balthazar (Perth Amboy, NJ) was 6-for-10 for 52 yards, but was sacked twice, while Naniewicz finished with three completions and two interceptions, along with two more sacks.
 
McConomy rushed for 64 yards, averaging 5.3 yards per carry, while Balthazar added 41 yards rushing. Fletcher had 24 yards and a touchdown.
 
Fletcher caught three passes for 15 yards, while Jamal Jefferson, Jr. (Euclid, OH) caught a pair of balls for 24 yards.
 
Defensively, Rashon Giddens (Norristown, PA) had seven tackles, 1.5 TFLs, and a fumble recovery. Brodie Daugherty (Manheim, PA) had six tackles and one TFL. Noah Ewell (Harrisburg, PA) had six stops, including three solo tackles, and Keyonte Davis (Washington, D.C.) had four stops and two pass break-ups.
 
Lackawanna College will need to bounce back next week, when the Falcons are set to host Clarion University in another PSAC crossover match-up with the west. Kickoff is set for 1:00pm ET on Saturday, September 19^th, at PenFed Field at Scranton's Memorial Stadium.