Falcons Hand Skylanders First Defeat, 59-24

SCRANTON, Pa.- The Sussex County Community College football team suffered its first loss of the season Saturday Sept. 30 as it fell to national-power Lackawanna College 59-24 at PENN FED Field at Scranton Memorial Stadium. The loss drops the Skylanders' record to 3-1 on the season after getting off to a program-best 3-0 start. Twenty-four points is the most Sussex has ever scored against Lackawanna and the most points the Falcons have given up this season.

"At the end of the day, we did some things that other teams that Lackawanna has played have not been able to do," said first-year head coach James Robertson. "We put up the more points than any other team that has played them so far. I think they were a little shocked by that. I think it's a good measuring stick for our guys and we look to bounce back this week against Hocking"

Lackawanna (4-1) raced to a 31-10 lead at the half, picking up another score in the third, and three more touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The Skylanders were paced by quarterback Jaiden Mead-Cooper (Gaithersburg, Md.) who was 5-for-9 for 167 yards and two touchdowns passing. Duke McDuffie (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.) led the team with six catches and 53 yards. Jael Cabrera (Holyoke, Mass.) had a 3-yard touchdown catch, Derrick Ramos (Middletown, N.Y.) had a 92-yard touchdown reception and Aaron Young (Burlington City, N.J.) grabbed an 18-yard scoring strike. Jaiden Murphy (Cherry Hill, N.J.) had 10 carries for a total of 39 rushing yards. Emmett Prather (Willingboro, N.J.) led the Sussex defense with six tackles and five assists. Another five tackles were chipped in by Jaque Alfred (Trenton, N.J.). The Skylanders also had two sacks by Tyshawn Jack (Bethlehem, Pa.) and Lamar Brown (Coatesville, Pa.).

The loss comes off a big win against Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, 54-14, on Sept. 23. The Skylanders will look to get back on track this Saturday in a matchup against Hocking College (0-5-1) at Don Smolyn Field at Lenape Valley Regional High School in Stanhope. Kickoff is 5 p.m. and the game will be livestreamed on the Morris Sussex Sports YouTube channel. "I'm hoping our guys have a little chip on their shoulder from what happened to them this weekend, and they come out fired up," said Robertson. "I think Hocking's record has shown that they've played some tough opponents, and I just look forward to getting back on the field and seeing how the team responds after this loss."

By KELLY BARTA, SCCC Sports Broadcasting Student