12/25/23
SCRANTON, Pa. -- As we approach the end of 2023, Lackawanna College Athletics is reflecting on the top moments from the 2023 athletics calendar, and revealing them one day at a time between now and the new year!
Today's top event comes to us thanks to some outstanding performances from our student-athletes!
#7: Four Student-Athletes Named As NJCAA National Players Of The Week
It's not unheard of for Lackawanna College to get a National Player of the Week recipient from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) in the course of a year. But four in one calendar year? That's rare...but it also happened in 2023!
During the 2023 season, Lackawanna College had four separate players win the Player of the Week award from the NJCAA, three times during the football season, and once during the 2023 part of the women's basketball campaign. It's the most wins the Falcons have had in one calendar year since the award began.
The first winner came back in September, when
Terrez Worthy (Salisbury, MD) paced a dominant Lackawanna College performance on the road against Nassau CC. The Falcons won 49-0, and Worthy ran for 342 yards on just 19 carries, an 18 yards-per-carry clip. He scored three touchdowns and had four rushes of 40+ yards, while pacing the Falcons to a school-record 496 yards on the ground against the Lions. Lackawanna finished the day with 709 yards of total offense, and Worthy had 73 of those yards on the second possession of the game when he burst through the line and dashed down the right sideline for a touchdown in the first quarter.
The very next week, on the last Saturday in September,
Hamas Duren (Sicklerville, NJ) had a performance against Sussex County CC to make the Falcons 2-for-2 on Player of the Week wins. Duren threw for 298 yards and four touchdowns on an efficient 13-for-18 day as the Falcons rumbled past Sussex, 59-24 in a battle between the only Region XIX football teams. Duren also ran for a touchdown, accounting for five total scores, as the Falcons piled up 672 yards of offense. Duren averaged 23 yards per completion, and threw his first touchdown on the fourth play of the game, when he connected with
Kyree Hinton (Somerville, NJ) on an 86-yard lightning strike to immediately put Lackawanna in front. Duren threw four touchdowns to four separate receivers on the day, and the Falcons scored 31 points in the first half.
Two weeks later, the Falcons made it 3-for-4, when
Petey Tucker (Baltimore, MD) had his breakout performance against Hocking College, catching five passes for 108 yards and three touchdowns in the 31-5 win for the Falcons on Homecoming Weekend against Hocking College. Tucker took a swing-pass for 31 yards down the right sideline in the first quarter for his first touchdown of the game, then followed that with an acrobatic catch in the right corner, falling away to the pylon for a 34-yard touchdown. His third touchdown came when Duren escaped pressure and found Tucker in the back of the end zone from ten yards out. Tucker's selection marked the first time ever the Falcons had three players chosen as National Player of the Week in one season.
But, the accolades wouldn't end there for Lackawanna College. As the winter seasons kicked into gear,
Jayla South (Long Pond, PA) made her presence felt. A week after being inserted into the starting lineup, the guard exploded on offense for the Falcons, scoring a combined 60 points in two games, shooting 51% from the field and leading the Falcons to two big wins over Essex County College and Middlesex County College. South scored 29 points and had 18 rebounds in a dominant performance against Essex, hitting five three-point shots for the Falcons in the win. Then, a few days later, she had her career-high of 31 points, along with four steals and four assists, in a big home win for the Falcons against the Colts from Middlesex. South's performances got her named as EPAC Player of the Week, as well as NJCAA Player of the Week.
Top 14 Moments Of 2023 For Lackawanna College Athletics
14) Lackawanna Softball and Ally Lemerise's Big Week
13) Paserk, Riddick, and Rush Highlight All-Academic Selections
12) Colonel Volk Day At Football Homecoming
11) Lackawanna Esports Raises $12K For Charity
10) Kyle Scott and Ji'Ayir Brown Drafted
9) Worthy, Walsh, and Collins Lead The NJCAA
8) McCarry, Morgan, and Gabriel Win Coach Of The Year Awards
7) Four Student-Athletes Named As NJCAA Player Of The Week
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