La PLUME, Pa. - Keystone College's football program made its highly anticipated debut on Sunday, Sept. 8th at Wilkes University's Schmidt Stadium.

Sunday's exhibition between the Giants and the Colonels JV squad marked an historic event for Keystone College. The exhibition was the first football game for Keystone since 1948. Although the game was hard fought, the Giants unfortunately fell short, 23-19.

However, the arrival of Giants football shouldn't be short lived. The team showed no signs of first-game jitters and were competitive from start to finish. Despite a roster comprised of virtually all freshmen and first-time collegiate players, the Giants played like a group of wily veterans.

Christy Mathewson would be proud.

Keystone's play on the field wasn't the only impressive takeaway from Sunday's contest. The bleachers in Schmidt Stadium were filled with members from the Keystone College community. Hundreds of staff, alumni, family and friends were on hand sporting blue and orange in support of the new football program.

"It was an awesome day," said Dr. Matthew Grimaldi, Keystone's Athletic Director. "Our fans were great and our players played with great enthusiasm. Overall, it was a wonderful first game."

Both Johnathan Bates (Jersey City, N.J./Hudson Catholic) and Thomas Roach (Burlington City, N.J./Burlington City) showed promise at the quarterback position. Bates made several dynamic plays including the Giants first TD of the game with a 30-yard toss to freshmen receiver Angel Rodriguez (Islip, N.Y./Islip) in the first quarter. Bates finished the day with 126 yards passing and 67 yards rushing.

Roach was equally impressive, throwing for 127 yards. The pair combined for 253 Keystone's 378 yards in total. The freshmen quarterbacks had an arsenal of offensive weapons at their disposal.

In addition to Rodriguez, Giants receivers Javier Tazza (Burlington City, N.J./Burlington City) and Marcus Sessoms (Baltimore, Md./Lansdowne) could prove to be deadly downfield. Tazza totaled 43 yards on the day with four spectacular catches while Sessoms made two grabs for 23 yards.

The Giants running game was spearheaded by runaway freight train Damir Green (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep). The freshman running back exploded for 66 yards rushing and a TD in the forth quarter.

On defense, Brandon Davis (Tampa, Fla./Sickles) shined. The freshman defensive back finished with three tackles and one interception. Freshmen Kyree Cooper (Burlington City, N.J./Burlington City), Montez Gaskin (Baltimore, Md./Edmondson West Side), Sean Tocci (Lodi, N.J./Lodi) and Jorge Urizar (Baltimore, Md./Catonsville) also had tackles on the day.

"The return of football was a success," said Elena O'Connor, Keystone's Director of Conferences & Special Events. "I'm blown away by how well the team played. Both of our quarterbacks handled the pressure incredibly well."

Keystone will play its next game at Misericordia University on Saturday, Sept. 14th at 1 p.m.