Sussex falls to Lackawanna Rival 28-12

10/19/2024

SCRANTON, Pa. – Sussex County Community College football played battled throughout this contest but fell to Lackawanna College in a 28-12 defeat on Saturday afternoon at PenFed Field in Scranton's Memorial Stadium in a Region XIX matchup.

The Skylanders (1-4) struggled offensively, unable to capitalize on seven forced punts 1 interception and 1 turnover on downs throughout the game, managing just 115 yards passing. Despite these struggles, Sussex's defense held strong, limiting Lackawanna's potent passing attack to only 79 yards and 307 total yards of offense. The Skylanders also held the Falcons (5-2) to just 7-for-18 on third-down conversions.

Running back Deavyn Morgan led the Sussex offense with 30 yards on 9 carries and a touchdown, while Miguel Baldwin added 4 rushing yards and another score. Quarterback Jay Carney passed for 115 yards, with wide receiver Kendal Stewart leading the receiving corps with 4 catches for 49 yards.

On the defensive side, defensive end Robert Garrett showcased his dominance with 10 total tackles, including 2 for loss and 1 sack. Linebacker Daunte White contributed with 8 tackles in the contest. Cornerback Lonnie Crawford maintained his lockdown presence, allowing zero catches and adding an interception in the end zone.

After the Falcons intercepted a Carney pass at the Sussex 26 on the second play of the game, it seemed like Lackawanna was poised for an early score, but the Falcons went three-and-out, and fell short on fourth down after a big stop by safety Martin Martini to turn the ball back over on downs. The Sussex drive stalled out after an intentional grounding penalty, and the punt made it only to the Sussex 41, the Falcons returned the punt to the 1-yard line. Lackawanna punched it in two plays later to make it 7-0, Falcons, with 11:50 to go in the first.

A Sussex drive deep in its own territory went three-and-out, and the punt only went 14 yards to the 19-yard line. Lackawanna couldn't cash in for a touchdown, however, the Falcons settled on a 42-yard field goal that made it 10-0 with 9:11 in the first quarter.

A short kick was returned 15 yards by Jamil Peterson to the Sussex 43, and four straight rushes from the Skylanders had the visitors in business at the Lackawanna 32. A personal foul penalty because of a late hit moved the ball to the Lackawanna 18-yard line, and Skylander Running back Morgan scored on the next play. The extra point was blocked, and the Falcons led 10-6 at the 5:18 mark in the first.

The teams traded possessions over the next few drives. The Skylanders had the ball at the Lackawanna 40 after a 28-yard pass play in the second quarter, but an illegal substitution, followed by a sack and a tackle-for-loss in back-to-back plays, the Skylanders faced 3^rd-and-30 from their own 40, where they threw an incomplete pass and punted away.

The Falcons started the following drive up 10-6 at 10:58 in the second from their own 39, working the ball down the field to the Sussex 4-yard line, but the Skylander defense turned away the Lackawanna offense on three straight plays, and forced to settled for a 22-yard field goal that made it 13-6 with 6:51 to play in the half.

Sussex faced a 4^th-and-2 at the Lackawanna 35 on the next drive, but this time the Falcon defence held the rusher to just a one-yard gain, turning the ball over to the Lackawanna. The Falcons took a 3^rd down handoff and raced 44 yards to the Sussex 14 to get the Falcons in scoring position, but Lackawanna couldn't get a touchdown and settled for the third field goal of the day, this a 30-yarder, and Lackawanna took a 16-6 lead with 1:14 to play.

Sussex had a quick three-and-out and punted to Lackawanna, which had the ball at its own 32 with 35 seconds to go in the half. The Falcons drew two separate pass interference penalties that helped get the Falcons to the Sussex 25-yard line. With six seconds to go, the Falcons made a 43-yard attempt, making it 19-6 Falcons at the break.

The third quarter saw the Falcons winning the field position battle, but not scoring. Sussex kept starting deep in its own territory, while the Falcons were near midfield or even in plus territory on nearly every possession. A Lackawanna drive that started at the Sussex 35 ended in an interception in the endzone, but the Sussex defender inexplicably returned the ball out, pushed out of bounds at the four-yard line. Lackawanna got the next possession at the Sussex 49, but went three-and-out and punted away. Sussex was set to punt on fourth down on the next drive from its own 29, but Punter Jose Ovalle saw an opening and sped away to his right to stretch for the first down. Lackawanna defender hit him a yard shy of the line-to-gain, giving Lackawanna possession at the Sussex 40 with 1:54 to play in the third.

The Lackawanna possession stalled at the Sussex 37-yard line, and the Falcons punted away again in plus territory, but the punt was down at the Sussex 1-yard line. The Lackawanna defense came after the Skylanders on the next possession, getting to the running back in the end zone on second down for the safety to make it 21-6 just before the end of the quarter.

The Falcons started their next drive near midfield following the free kick at the end of the third quarter, opening the fourth with six straight rushes before attempting a pass. On the seventh carry, they pushed the ball to the Sussex 22-yard line. After two defensive stops by Sussex, Lackawanna finally found their rhythm on third down, rolling left and completing a 21-yard touchdown pass, stretching the lead to 28-6 with 10:11 left in the fourth quarter.

The Skylanders mounted a late drive, scoring on a four-yard rush from Baldwin to cut the deficit to 28-12 after a failed two-point conversion at 6:46.

The Skylanders watched the onside kick sail out of bounds and gave the Falcons possession at the Sussex 44-yard line, but Lackawanna was turned away and forced to punt, giving Sussex the ball on its own 20-yard line with 5:19 to go. Sussex's defense gave them one last chance, but Lackawanna controlled the clock with a strong rushing attack, sealing the game. 

Head Coach James Robertson after the loss, "No one is ever happy with a loss, but this one stings more than most. We view this as a rivalry—two schools so close in proximity, competing in everything, including recruiting. Lackawanna is the measuring stick for where we are as a program, and we've never beaten them. We're a good football team, and I believe this is the toughest we've ever played them. We've never held them to under 40 points before, let alone 30. Lackawanna has gone toe-to-toe with some of the best teams in the country and scored more on them than what we allowed today. That's a testament to where we are as a team and how much progress we've made this season. We're starting to believe in the process and in each other, and I couldn't be prouder of my guys. I wanted this schedule. I wanted the tough matchups. Next week, we face last year's NJCAA Division 3 National Champs, College of DuPage, and we look forward to the challenge."

Sussex will look to bounce back as they prepare for The College of Dupage with kickoff set for Saturday, October 26th, at 1:00 pm at Sussex County Technical School in Sparta, NJ.