
Hurricanes Weather the Storm Late to Push Past Skylanders
LOUISBURG, NC — September 21, 2024
After coming off a bye week, the Sussex County Community College Skylanders traveled to face the Louisburg Hurricanes on Saturday. Despite a strong effort on both sides of the ball, the Skylanders ultimately fell to Louisburg 27-16.
The Skylanders' defense opened the game on a high note when Jamil Peterson intercepted Louisburg quarterback Dylan Trevillian on the third play of the game, setting up the offense deep in Hurricanes territory. However, Sussex couldn't capitalize, and after three negative plays, they turned the ball over on downs. The Skylanders would force a punt but Louisburg responded shortly after, as Rafael Brown intercepted a Maurice Williams screen pass and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown. Jesse Viens' extra point put the Hurricanes ahead 7-0. On the next Skylanders' possession, Markiss Nelson blocked a punt, giving Louisburg excellent field position, though the Skylanders defense held strong, forcing a punt.
The teams traded punts until midway through the second quarter when Viens hit a field goal to extend Louisburg's lead to 10-0. Sussex once again pushed into Hurricanes territory but came up short on another fourth-down attempt. The Hurricanes capitalized, going on an eight-play drive capped off by a Glenwood Robinson 2-yard touchdown run, making it 17-0 late in the second quarter. The Skylanders finally got on the board just before halftime. With less than two minutes left, quarterback Ja Bonner led a 63-yard drive with key receptions from Malik Baker, setting up a 23-yard field goal by Jose Ovalle to close the half 17-3.
Sussex opened the second half with momentum, but after pushing deep into Louisburg territory, an interception by Joanue Morten-Berry and a 51-yard return stopped the drive. The Skylanders defense responded as Robert Garrett forced a fumble recovered by Jayden Morello on the first play of the drive. However, Louisburg's defense stood tall once again, denying Sussex on a 4th-and-1 attempt. Louisburg then capitalized with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Trevillian to Taevon Edwards, pushing the lead to 24-3.
A quarterback change late in the third quarter gave Sussex some life, asJay Carney led an 11-play drive deep into Hurricanes territory before being sacked on fourth down. Louisburg added a field goal early in the fourth, extending their lead to 27-3.
The Skylanders mounted a late rally, starting with a 47-yard pass from Carney to Rodney Bell, setting up a touchdown on a 4th-and-26 jump ball to Maddix Bogunia-Bright. Ovalle's extra point made it 27-10. Sussex then executed a successful onside kick, recovered byLonnie Crawford. Two plays later, Carney connected with Makhy Acey, who evaded two defenders for a 50-yard touchdown, closing the gap to 27-16. The Skylanders recovered a second onside kick, but a bad snap ended their comeback attempt.
Carney finished 7-for-12 for 151 yards and two scores. Quartius Byrd Jr. ran 8 times for 19 yards against the rugged Louisburg defense. Receiver Malik Baker had six catches for 107 yards, while Maddix Bogunia-Bright had four grabs for 64 yards and a touchdown. Makhy Acey had one grab for 50 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, Robert Garrett led the way with 6 total tackles, five solos, a sack, a tackle-for-loss, and a forced fumble. Lucas Leyton had 6 total tackles, including three solo stops, and Quincey Scott-McKoy had five tackles, one solo, and a sack.
After the game, Head Coach James Robertson expressed pride in his team's resilience:
"Despite the loss, we showed heart today. The guys are starting to believe. We can't wait 53 minutes into a game to turn it on, but it shows we never gave up. After two games, we aren't where we want or expected to be, but we can't dwell on it. We have a huge matchup with Lackawanna this week, and we need to get right fast. If you told me we'd cause two turnovers, recover two onside kicks, and still lose, I'd say you're crazy, but that's how it played out. My message to the team is I still love them, and we will keep getting better. I'm proud of how we fought to the very end."
The Skylanders will look to bounce back next weekend with a rivalry match-up, as the Lackawanna Falcons travel to town for the Region XIX clash. Kickoff is set for 1:00pm ET on Saturday, September 28th.