9/30/23

SCRANTON, Pa. -- For the second straight week, the offense piled up yardage against an overwhelmed opponent, and Lackawanna College football won, this time taking a 59-24 win over Region XIX rival Sussex County Community College on an overcast Saturday afternoon at PenFed Field at Scranton Memorial Stadium in Scranton, PA.
 
 
Hamas Duren (Sophomore; Sicklerville, NJ) threw three first-half touchdowns and ran for another, finishing with 298 yards passing and four touchdown passes on the day. Terrez Worthy (Sophomore; Salisbury, MD) led the ground attack with 174 yards rushing on 19 carries, while Kyree Hinton (Sophomore; Somerville, NJ) had a team-high 153 yards receiving on three catches, including an 86-yard touchdown strike on the first possession of the game for Lackawanna. Four different receivers caught touchdowns for the Falcons. Nyair Graham (First Year; Camden, NJ) led the defense with eight tackles, all solo, and three TFLs, including a sack, while Terence Folkes (Sophomore; Belleville, NJ) had seven solo tackles and a team-high five TFLs. He also had the defensive highlight, recovering a fumble and returning it 62 yards for a touchdown.
 
Lackawanna College (4-1) piled up 672 yards of offense, one week after going over 700 yards total, and picked up 28 first downs on the afternoon. The Falcons were 7-for-16 on third down and ran for 296 yards as a team, averaging six yards per rush. Sussex (3-1) moved the ball, gaining 373 yards and passing for 323, but was just 2-for-13 on third down, and averaged just two yards per rush on 25 carries on the day.
 
It took Lackawanna just four plays to score the first touchdown of the game. Facing a 2^nd-and-14 at its own 14-yard line, Lackawanna took to the air, when Duren lofted a pass down the right sideline to Hinton. Hinton made the catch, eluded a tackler, then raced the rest of the way for an emphatic 86-yard touchdown.
 
Sussex responded with an 11-play drive that ended in a field goal, but the Falcons immediately got back to work. Duren connected with Hinton again, this time for 48 yards, to bring the Falcons into the red zone. Later in the drive, on 4^th-and-goal from the one, Duren pushed his way into the endzone behind his offensive line for the sneak, capping a ten-play drive to make it 14-3, Falcons.
 
On its next possession, the Falcons got a 52-yard burst from Worthy to get into the red zone, and scored on the first play of the second quarter with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Duren to Petey Tucker (Sophomore; Baltimore, MD) that made it 21-3, Falcons.
 
The Falcons got the ball back after a three-and-out, but Duren was sacked deep in his own territory, fumbling the ball away to the Skylanders and giving Sussex a short field. The visitors capitalized, converting a fourth down to get inside the five, then scoring on a three-yard touchdown pass to cut into the Lackawanna lead at 21-10.
 
Lackawanna scored on its next possession thanks to a Jack Borel (Sophomore; Lanoka Harbor, NJ) 46-yard field goal, but Sussex threatened when it moved to the Lackawanna 43, before punting away. With 2:58 to go and two timeouts remaining from its own 20-yard line, the Falcons got all the way to the Sussex 11-yard line thanks to back-to-back runs from Worthy. With 2^nd-and-6 from the Sussex seven-yard line, Duren threw a quick out to Avohn Cross (Sophomore; Philadelphia, PA), who bobbled the ball and watched it hit the turf. Unfortunately, the whistle never blew, which meant it was a live ball. Sussex scooped it up and returned the fumble out to its own 38-yard line.
 
After forcing the Skylanders to go three-and-out, the Lackawanna defense caught a break when a high snap sailed over the punter's head. James Laubstein, who was also the quarterback on the day, chased the ball down and launched it towards the sideline to a receiver, but was well short of the line to gain. With 27 seconds left and two timeouts, Duren dropped a perfect pass down the left sideline to Maxwell James (Sophomore; Burke, VA) to get the Falcons to the four-yard line. Duren was sacked back to the 13, but the Falcons managed to make it work with a 13-yard touchdown pass to the right corner of the endzone to Robert Rossi (Sophomore; Scranton, PA) that made it 31-10, Falcons heading into halftime.
 
After forcing a three-and -out to start the second half, Lackawanna struck on its first possession of the third. The Falcons methodically moved the ball into Sussex territory, but faced fourth down at the Skylanders' 32-yard line. Duren stepped up and threw his fourth touchdown pass, finding James in the left corner of the endzone on a fade pattern for a 32-yard touchdown to make it 38-10.
 
Lackawanna added another score early in the fourth, when, on another Sussex drive that moved into Falcons territory, Laubstein was hit from behind by Antonio Alfano (Sophomore; Colonia, NJ), forcing the ball to pop up into the air and land into the waiting arms of Terence Folkes, who bolted down the sidelines 62 yards for the fumble return touchdown to make it 45-10, Falcons.
 
Later in the quarter, Sussex added a touchdown on a 93-yard pass play when the Falcons missed a tackle in the secondary. A two-point conversion brought it to 45-18, but the Falcons tacked on another score when Edward Sirleaf (First Year; Gaithersburg, MD) capped a six-play drive with a two-yard score that made it 52-18.
 
Sussex scored again, this time on a 17-yard touchdown pass, but failed on the two-point conversion. Lackawanna ended the scoring with just under two minutes to play on a Markell Holman (First Year; Philadelphia, PA) run that made it 59-24.
 
The win moves Lackawanna to 4-1, and now sets the Falcons up for a big clash next weekend at home, when they play host to their rival Monroe College. The Mustangs were idle this weekend, and are 3-1 on the year. Kickoff is set for 6:00pm ET on Saturday, October 7^th, at PenFed Field at Scranton Memorial Stadium. The Falcons will be celebrating Sophomore Day, and will also be raising money to Pink Out Cancer.