Football Dominate Erie 55-6
STANHOPE, N.J. - The Sussex County Community College football team (6-2) bounced back from its second loss on the season with a solid 55-6 win over Erie Community College on Saturday, Nov. 4 at Don Smolyn Field at Lenape Valley Regional High School.
The Skylanders were led by freshman quarterback Jaiden Mead-Cooper (Gaithersburg, Md.) who got the start and was 22-for-36 for 293 yards passing. Freshman quarterback Jacob Quillen (Florence, S.C.) was 3-for-5 passing for 66 yards. "Jaiden's been doing great all year," said first-year head coach James Robertson. "Him and James can go at any moment. Either can step in and run this offense. He got the job done today and I'm proud of him."
Leading Sussex in receiving Jamir Brown (Morristown, N.J.) and Aaron Young (Burlington City, N.J.)who each emerged with six receptions, amassed 149 and 109 yards, respectively. Brown had four touchdowns while Young had two. Also contributing was Jawon Foushee (Matamoras, Pa.) with five receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown. Pacing the running attack was Thaylor Sibblies (Newton, N.J.) with 11 carries for 102 yards. This is Sibblies' first game to achieve over 100 rushing yards at the collegiate level. Jaiden Murphy (Cherry Hill, N.J.) also had 14 carries for 85 yards.
Emmett Prather (Willingboro, N.J.) led the Sussex defense with six tackles and an Erie CC fumble recovery. Tyshawn Jack (Bethlehem, Pa.) and Ashwin DeGroot (South Plainfield, N.J.) also contributed with five tackles each.
The win comes off a 73-6 loss against Georgia Military College (6-4) in Milledgeville, G.A. on Saturday, Oct. 28. "I'm just proud of how the guys responded," said Robertson. "It was a tough week of practice, they all responded very well. And we needed this, you know, we have two games left and a chance at a bowl game and we needed this to get back on track."
The Skylanders dominated the first half with a 24-0 lead, thanks to two Mead-Cooper passing touchdowns to Young, a nine-yard touchdown pass to Brown, and a Selbin Sabio (Edison, N.J.) 37-yard field goal. The third quarter kicked off with another Sabio 24-yard field goal and two touchdown passes from Mead-Cooper to Brown for 36 yards and six yards, respectively. Sussex capped the fourth quarter scoring with a Quillen two-yard pass to Foushee and a 26-yard pass to Brown.
The Skylanders will travel to Garden City, N.Y. to play Nassau Community College (5-4) on Saturday, Nov 11 at 1 p.m. "Nassau is extremely talented from top to bottom," said Robertson. "They have shown that they can compete with some of the best Junior College teams in the area. Last year things didn't go well for us in our Week #1 matchup. I am eager to see how we measure up this Saturday. Out of all the Division 3 JUCOs we play, I think they will be the toughest. James Laubstein (quarterback) is returning from injury which is good but Jaiden has done an excellent job during his time behind center. We have struck some adversity this week as a program but the coaching staff has done a fantastic job of keeping the guys locked in and focused on the end goal.
By KELLY BARTA, SCCC Sports Broadcasting Student