Box Score 9/24/22            
 
NEWTON, NJ – Lackawanna College leaned on a pair of touchdown runs from Terez Worthy, and got a blocked punt touchdown from Andrew Vines to carry them to victory, 40-3, over Region 19 foe Sussex County CC on Saturday afternoon in New Jersey.
 
The 14^th ranked Falcons (3-1) scored on three of their first four possessions, got a punt block scoop-and-score, and then added one more touchdown before the halftime whistle, building a 33-3 lead over the Skylanders (0-3) in the first half.
 
Barry Brown (Philadelphia, PA) finished 7-for-12 for 82 yards and an interception, while Hamas Duren (Sicklerville, NJ) was 5-for-10 for 69 yards and a touchdown. The Falcons had 421 yards of total offense, and went for 270 yards on the ground. Terez Worthy (Salisbury, MD) led the way with six carries for 86 yards and two touchdowns, including a blazing 66-yard score that put the Falcons up 21-3 in the first half.
 
After giving up a field goal in the first quarter, the defense pitched a shut-out from there, holding the Skylanders scoreless the rest of the way, adding 12 tackles-for-loss and five sacks, while also coming up with a pair of turnovers.
 
Andrew Vines (Garner, NC) was one of the standouts on the defense, making several tackles, and coming up with a punt block in the second quarter, which he then scooped up and ran in for a touchdown. Later, in the second half, Vines recovered a fumble to give the Falcons possession deep in Sussex territory. Keeno Arrington (Pittsburgh, PA) had several stops, and a big interception in the end zone late in the third after a long Skylander drive got to the Falcon six-yard line.
 
From the opening drive, the Falcons looked to be in control. Back-to-back first down throws from Brown had the Falcons 1^st-and-10 at the Skylanders' 30. A third-down conversion put Lackawanna on the 14, and Terez Worthy ran it in on the next play to put Lackawanna up 7-0.
 
The Falcons executed a successful onside kick, getting the ball back to the offense, but the Falcons were picked on the second play of the drive to end the threat.
 
The defense came out for its first series, and Paul Tangelo (Gaithersburg, MD) got the first of twelve tackles-for-loss for the Lackawanna defense, putting Sussex behind the sticks, and, eventually, forcing a three-and-out.
 
Lackawanna got the ball back at the Sussex 34, after a kick-catch interference call against the Skylanders, and the Falcons immediately went to work. A Jordan Sellers (Paterson, NJ) rush got the ball to the 12, and, after a holding penalty backed up the Falcons, Duren found Kyree Hinton (Somerville, NJ) for the score to make it 14-0, Falcons, barely five minutes into the game.
 
The Skylanders answered with an impressive drive on the ensuing possession. Facing a 3^rd-and-20 from its 40-yard line, Sussex completed a pass for 12 yards, but a dead ball unsportsmanlike foul called against Lackawanna College gave the Skylanders a fresh set of downs in Lackawanna territory. Later, facing 4^th-and-6 from the Falcon 34, Sussex converted on a 29-yard pass down the right sideline to put itself in business with a 1^st-and-Goal from the LC 5. Najae Hallenbeck (Toms River, NJ) got a tackle-for-loss on first down, putting the Sussex offense behind on its heels, and eventually forcing the Skylanders to settle for a field goal to make it 14-3, Falcons still in front.
 
Lackawanna College went right back to work on its next possession, and struck on the first play of the second quarter, when Worthy burst through the left side of the line, and then hit the afterburners for a massive 66-yard touchdown run to make it 21-3, Falcons.
 
Sussex was held to three-and-out, and was punting away, when the special teams came up big for Lackawanna. Vines broke through on the right side of the line, leapt into the air, and got a piece with his left hand for the block at the Sussex 30, then chased down the loose ball, scooped it up as it popped free from the pile, and raced the 19 yards to the end zone for the touchdown. The Falcons had a 27-3 lead with 13:39 remaining in the first half.
 
After a three-and-out, followed by a Falcon turnover on downs, the Skylanders were into Falcon territory at the Lackawanna 41, but a big second down sack from Hallenbeck, followed by a third down sack from Willie Matthews (Montclair, NJ), helped push Sussex back into their own territory and forced a punt. The Falcons, with 5:05 to go, put together an impressive drive, highlighted by a pair of Duren passes to James Westry (Newark, NJ) to pick up first downs, and punctuated by a 4^th-and-goal run from the five by Duren to make it 33-3, Falcons, at the break.
 
The second half started brightly for Lackawanna College, as the Falcons forced a fumble that, after it went through the hands of an offensive lineman, was picked up by Vines at the Sussex 31. The Falcons go as close as the Sussex 22, but a pair of penalties backed them up to the 47, and Lackawanna College wouldn't be able to get much closer, forcing the Falcons to punt away.
 
With 5:19 to go in the third, Sussex had another impressive drive going, starting at their own 23. The Skylanders methodically moved the ball down the field, converting on back-to-back third downs, including a 3^rd-and-16 at their own 34, and eventually got the ball all the way to the Falcon six-yard line for first-and-goal. Lackawanna College would kill the scoring threat, however, when Arrington picked off a pass in the end zone.
 
Lackawanna College had a drive of its own brewing, but a spectacular 52-yard run from Brown ended with a thud after Brown fumbled upon hitting the turf, and Sussex recovered. The Falcons argued Brown was down and that the ground forced the fumble, and the back judge initially signaled that, but the Skylanders were rewarded possession after the officials conferred with each other.  
 
Later, in the fourth quarter, Lackawanna College had a drive that started at the SCC 38. A pair of Duren runs got the Falcons to the eleven. Later, facing third-and-goal from the five, Shamar Joppy (Harrisburg, PA) got himself his first touchdown of his career to push the Falcon lead to 40-3.
 
The subsequent Sussex possession ate up the rest of the 3:30 remaining, as the Skylanders moved into the Falcon territory, and then stalled out as time expired.
 
The win puts the Lackawanna College program at 199 official wins in 30 years of competition. The Falcons will get a chance to crack the 200-win plateau next Saturday, October 1^st, when they travel to Greensboro, North Carolina for a neutral site contest with ASA New York. That game is set for a 1:00pm ET kick, and will have a video livestream available on www.lackawannafalcons.com/Live.