Big Plays Push Skylanders Past Hawks
STANHOPE, N.J. - The Sussex County Community College football team bounced back from its first loss of the season in a 38 - 26 victory over Hocking College at Don Smolyn Field at Lenape Valley High School, Saturday, Oct. 7.
The Skylanders were led by sophomore quarterback James Laubstein (Bethany, Conn.) who was 17-for-28 for 278 yards and four touchdowns passing. He also rushed for 44 yards on eight carries.
"I think our guys played hard and fought through some adversity but we have to do a better job of composing ourselves and not getting penalties," said first-year head coach James Robertson. "Week after week we put ourselves in bad positions to start games. I don't believe we've played our best football yet. I think good teams win the games they are supposed to, but great teams find a way to win when things aren't going well. We continued to bend all night but we're able to make big plays when they mattered."
Aaron Young (Burlington City, N.J.), led the team in receiving with eight catches for 173 yards and two touchdowns. Also having a big game was Justin Sellers (Upper Marlboro, Md.) with four receptions for 39 yards. Pacing the running attack was Jaiden Murphy (Cherry Hill, N.J.) with 10 carries for 59 yards. Lamar Brown (Coatesville, Pa.) led the Sussex defense with a total of seven tackles, limiting Hocking (1 - 3) to just 149 total yards. Also having a big game was Emmett Prather (Willingboro, N.J.) with four tackles, eleven assists, one for a loss.
The win comes off the Skylanders' first and only loss on the season when they traveled to PENN FED Field in Scranton Memorial Stadium to play Lackawanna on Sept. 30. The game ended in a 57-24 defeat.
"It's great to bounce back from a loss, finishing the first half of the season 4-1," said Robertson. "Hat's off to Hocking, they played us hard. I think this game came down to a couple plays and fortunately we're able to come out on top of those plays. There is still a lot of football left and a lot for us to improve on. We have some tough match-ups coming up and we need to commit to getting better."
Sussex held a 21-12 lead at the half with a Laubstein rushing touchdown for 35 yards and a 24-yard passing touchdown to Young. Daryl Fletcher (Baltimore, Md.) also contributed with a 20-yard Hocking fumble return. The Skylanders kept a steady 28-18 lead after three-quarters thanks to another Laubstein 24-yard pass for Young. Capping the scoring was Sellers with an 8-yard passing touchdown from Laubstein, and a 29-yard field goal by the freshman kicker, Selbin Sabio (Edison, N.J.).
The Skylanders look to start the second half of their season with a win this Sunday, Oct. 15 against Hudson Community College Valley. It will be Sussex County Community Colleges' 1st Annual First Responders Appreciation Game, held at Cassels Field at Sparta High School. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. and the game will be livestreamed on the Morris Sussex Sports YouTube channel.
"We need to start fast and clean up our penalties," said Robertson. "Playing on Sunday this week, being able to give our guys the extra day of rest, I am hoping that we can get some starters back from injury and get ready for this second half of the season."
By KELLY BARTA, SCCC Sports Broadcasting Student