La PLUME, Pa. – Trailing 14-3 at halftime and by 11 points in the fourth quarter, the Keystone College football team rallied for a 21-20 victory on Senior Day – capturing the program's first-ever win at home – in Saturday's ECFC contest against visiting SUNY Maritime.
With the win, the Giants move to 2-7 (2-3 ECFC) and will conclude the regular season at Dean on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 12 p.m. The Privateers drop to 3-6 (2-3 ECFC) and will host Alfred State in the season finale next Saturday.
The Privateers jumped out to a 14-0 lead after one quarter before a 31-yard field by Josue Hernandez (Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex) got Keystone on the board.
With 51 seconds left in the third, Reese Karp (Pen Argyl, Pa./Pen Argyl) hauled in a four-yard TD pass from Tom Roach (Burlington City, N.J./Burlington City) to cut into the Maritime lead, 14-9. The Privateers scored another touchdown at 12:36 in the fourth to go ahead by 11, 20-9.
On the ensuing drive, Keystone went 56 yards on four plays as Mujaheed Muhammad (Philadelphia, Pa./Paul Robeson) enjoyed a 15-yard score to get the Giants within six, 20-15, after a failed two-point conversion. The Giants then forced Maritime into a fourth-and-short situation with 6:37 left, getting the ball back on the turnover on downs.
Muhammad capped off a 10-play 89-yard drive on the next possession with a five-yard TD run, giving Keystone a slim 21-20 edge with just 58 seconds remaining. On third and seven, Sean Pettway (Ellenville, N.Y./Ellenville) intercepted a tipped pass down the middle to seal the first home win for Keystone.
Muhammad finished the day with 24 carries and 147 yards, scoring twice. Damir Green (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep), Christian Manzolillo (Lebanon, Pa./Lebanon), Kevin Lewis (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter), and Donald Leach combined for 113 yards, as Keystone outrushed the Privateers 257-140.
Pettway finished with 11 solo tackles in the game-sealing pick. Carlos Perez (Reading, Pa./Reading) and Sean Tocci (Lodi, N.J./Lodi) each had seven stops. Roach found seven different receivers on the day.
