9/4/26
 
MOUNT VERNON, NY – Lackawanna College football, despite an uneven performance, couldn't recover an onside kick late and ultimately fell flat in its season-opener on Friday night, dropping a 20-12 contest at Monroe University at the Stadium at Memorial Field in New York.
 
The Falcons (0-1) were playing their first football game since leaving the NJCAA, so it only made sense for them to head into this new era against a team they have history with in Monroe. The Mustangs (1-1) are also transitioning to NCAA Division II, and were playing in their first home game, after losing to AIC in their opener last week.
 
Despite some offensive struggles throughout the night, the Falcons (0-1) had an opportunity late when David Naniewicz (Scott Twp., PA) threw a 56-yard pass to Keaon Jenkins (Wayne, NJ) to get the Falcons to the one-yard line, and Jalen Fletcher (Bethlehem, PA) cashed in with a one-yard plunge to get the Falcons within 20-12 with under a minute to play.
 
Lackawanna tried an onside kick, but the ball skittered out of bounds and Monroe took the possession and ran the clock out for the win.
 
Neither team could really get their offenses in gear, and each side went scoreless through the first quarter, but the Mustangs (1-1) were driving to open the second stanza, inside the Lackawanna 20-yard line. A holding penalty, followed by a stuff at the line, forced the Mustangs into a 47-yard field goal attempt. Daniel Okonkwo (Harrisburg, PA) got his hand up to swat the kick out of the air, and Rashon Giddens (Norristown, PA) scooped up the loose ball and raced 60 yards the other way for the touchdown, giving the struggling Falcons a 6-0 lead with 13:38 to go in the first half.
 
Monroe would get itself up and running on the ensuing possession, striking for a 56-yard touchdown pass to Diasian Noakes to get ahead 7-6, a lead they'd hold into halftime.
 
The score would stay the same through the third quarter, but the Mustangs would gain possession at their own nine-yard line with 7:33 to play in the third. They'd put together an impressive drive, converting four third downs and then a six-yard run from quarterback Zavry Ward to cap a 10-minute, 37-second drive and make it 13-6, Mustangs.
 
On the next drive, the Falcons made the switch at quarterback from Laivon Balthazar (Perth Amboy, NJ) to Naniewicz, but the offense still couldn't get a push, and were forced to punt.
 
Monroe punted back to the Falcons on their next possession, and the Falcons took over at their own 27-yard line with 8:33 to play. On a third down throw, Naniewicz tried to squeeze the ball through a tight window over the middle, but the Mustangs picked him off and returned it to the Lackawanna 38-yard line with 7:39 to go. A few minutes later, Monroe converted a fourth-and-goal with the ball on the two-yard line, pounding up the middle for the score that lengthened the lead to 20-6.
 
Naniewicz and company took over on their own 25 with 3:13 to play, and he began to string some passes together hooking up with Jamal Jefferson, Jr. (Euclid, PA) for a pair of passes to pick up a first down, then hitting Fletcher in the flat for a handful of yards. On a second down, Naniewicz was under duress rolling to his right, spun out of trouble, switched fields, and then threw on the run to Jefferson for a 12-yard pick-up and another first down out to the Lackawanna 43. On second down with 1:06 to play, Naniewicz threw a long ball down the left sideline to a streaking Jenkins, hitting him in stride. Jenkins sprinted down the hashmarks before a Monroe tackler collared him at the one-yard line. Fletcher punched it in one play later with a plunge for the first offensive touchdown of the season with 56 seconds to play, but the failed onside kick nullified the chance for Lackawanna to try to tie things up.
 
Lackawanna College will turn its attention now to its home opener, set for Saturday, September 12^th, when Seton Hill University comes to Scranton for the first time ever to face the Falcons. Kick is set for 1:00pm ET at Scranton's Memorial Stadium, and it marks the first time a PSAC team will play against Lackawanna College.