On a night where the skies opened just prior to kickoff, the Battle for the Bell was delayed by almost an hour and forty-five minutes. Finally, West Scranton and Scranton squared off in a highly competitive match up. The homestanding Knights outscored West 35-7 in the second half en route to a 42-21 win. Scranton has now defeated the Invaders five of their last six meetings.
Midway through the first frame, the Invaders’ sophomore quarterback Leo Ciullo found Cullen Fanning on a 9-yard touchdown score to give West a 7-0 advantage.
Back came the Knights, on the first play from scrimmage in the second quarter, Marcus Morrison scampered 24 yards to pay dirt to even the score at 7 apiece. Ciullo would not be outdone. He connected with Jordan McCloe on a 37-yarder to take the lead back for his West Scranton bunch (14-7).
The see-saw affair shifted back to Scranton following a 51-yard score by Jake McCarthy on the initial play of the second half (14-14). After holding West on downs deep in their territory, Kyle Pieczynski completed a 68-yard slant pattern to Joshua Gonzalez to give the Knights their first lead of the game. Then, not even two minutes later, McCarthy again rumbled over 50-yards to pay dirt (56) as Scranton stretched their lead to 14 points (28-14).
Midway through the final period, McCarthy scored for the third time (4 yards) to lengthen Scranton’s advantage to 35-14. Following an interception, Pieczynski tossed a 27-yard touchdown to Marcus Morrison to cap off the scoring.
The Knights improve their record to 4-2 after losing two of their previous three games. After a 2-0 start, the Invaders have fallen in three of their last four contests.
Next up for Scranton is a trip to North Pocono while West Scranton returns home to take on Wallenpaupack.
