Lackawanna College

9/26/26
 
EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – A suffocating performance in all three phases helped East Stroudsburg University rip through Lackawanna College football, 51-0, on a rain-soaked Saturday evening at Gregory-Douds Field at Eiler-Martin Stadium in a first-ever meeting between the Falcons and the Warriors.
 
Lackawanna College (0-4) was held to just 52 rushing yards and 147 total yards of offense, while the Warriors (3-1) racked up 476 yards of offense, including 280 on the ground, an 8.5 yards per rush average. ESU scored ten or more points in each quarter, forced two turnovers, and made the Falcons punt eight times throughout the game.
 
A Lackawanna interception gave ESU a short field to work with for its first series, which the Warriors turned into points on a 32-yard field goal. The Falcons moved the ball on their next series, taking advantage of two ESU penalties that gave the Falcons first downs, and then hitting a big 14-yard pass from David Naniewicz (Scott Twp., PA) to Jamal Jefferson, Jr. (Euclid, OH) to get to the Warrior 43-yard line. The Falcons unfortunately flamed out and had to punt, but Samuel Magnotta (Roaring Brook Twp., PA) pinned the Warriors on their own one-yard line.
 
The Lackawanna defense did its job to hold the Warriors to three-and-out, but a booming 66-yard punt pushed the Falcons back to their own 26 for the next drive, and they had to punt from their own 12 after a sack on 3^rd and 16. ESU took the ball on the LC 35-yard line, advanced the ball on a pass interference, then ran a play just as time expired on the quarter, getting a Cade Sawyer 12-yard sweep to score the game-s first touchdown and go up, 10-0, after one.
 
Lackawanna's drive to start the second quarter stalled out, and ESU took over at its own 12, putting together a ten-play drive that ended in a Sawyer one-yard plunge to make it 17-0, Warriors, with 7:26 to play in the half. The Falcons turned the ball over on downs at their 34-yard line after getting stuffed on a fourth-down rush, and ESU converted a fourth-down play at the Lackawanna 26 for a touchdown to go up 24-0, then added another score, this time a seven-yard run by quarterback Matt Machalik, to take a 31-0 lead into the break.
 
ESU kicked a field goal from 44 yards away to make it 34-0 on the first drive of the third quarter, then scored on a beautiful 18-yard touchdown pass to the right corner of the end zone on their next series to take a 41-0 lead with 8:03 to play in the third period.
 
The next drive saw the Falcons finally start to move the ball, helped by a pass interference penalty and by a Laivon Balthazar (Perth Amboy, NJ) pass to Keaon Jenkins (Wayne, NJ) for 33 yards down to the ESU 29-yard line. But the drive ended early when Balthazar was picked up ESU at the 20.
 
Robert Nelson (Washington, D.C.) made a nice play on the next series, picking off an ESU pass deep in Lackawanna territory and returning it out to the 40-yard line, but the offense was stuffed once more and forced to punt back to the Warriors, who scored on the first play of the fourth quarter, a 43-yard touchdown run, to go ahead 48-0.
 
The Falcons punted from midfield on the next drive, and ESU seemed to be driving for another score, but Marcus Battles (Pittsburgh, PA) made a great play near the goal line to come down with an interception. The Falcons then took over on their own one-yard line with eight minutes to play, but could only get out to their own 24 before having to punt, giving ESU a short-field, which they turned into a 27-yard field goal that made it 51-0.
 
Lackawanna took the ball with three minutes to go and kept the ball on the ground, running out the clock with a drive that made it to the East Stroudsburg 44-yard line.
 
Naniewicz got the start and finished 8-for-17 for 56 yards, one INT, and three sacks, while Balthazar played most of the second half and was 4-for-8 for 60 yards, one pick, and a sack. Stephen Henry (Maplewood, NJ) led the rushing attack with 26 yards on seven carries, while Jalen Fletcher (Bethlehem, PA) was held to eleven yards on 13 carries. Khi'Lee Patterson (Fox Chapel, PA) had five catches for 39 yards, while Jefferson finished with three catches for 32 yards.
 
Defensively, Kah'Mani Garcia (Harrisburg, PA) led the way with eight total tackles, while Billy Maloney (Scranton, PA) posted four solo stops and six total tackles. Nickolas Logan (Fredericksburg, VA) picked up a sack and three total tackles, while Brodie Daugherty (Manheim, PA) had four total tackles and one TFL. Magnotta had eight punts, two that made it inside the opponents' 20-yard line.
 
Lackawanna College is home next weekend for its Homecoming 2026 contest against another nearby potential rival, Bloomsburg University. Kickoff is set for 1:07pm ET on Saturday, October 3^rd, at PenFed Field at Scranton Memorial Stadium. The game will be televised by WQMY-TV.