Skylanders finish season with 3-6 record

The Sussex County Community College (SCCC) football team had a historic season with first-year head coach James Robertson in 2023.

The Skylanders finished 8-2 and were one vote shy of getting an invitation to a bowl game in their first winning season in the program’s history.

“Coming into the season, I was really excited,” Robertson said about this fall. “Having that winning record last year was a real confidence boost as a first-year head coach. I felt as if we did not have to fight a whole lot of adversity and had a great group of guys.”

This year, the team compiled a 3-6 record, losing its final game of the season to Snow College, 62-21, on Nov. 16. Snow got the bid to the bowl game last year over SCCC.

One of challenges college coaches face is players graduating and having to start fresh with a new team. That is even tougher at a two-year school.

The Skylanders also were dealing with injuries, which can be critical with a group of first-year players.

Last spring, 19 of the team’s starting players graduated, which paved the way for many new faces.

The team hired a recruiting coordinator, Luke Krumich, who has brought in some great players, Robertson said.

Not only does Krumich recruit players to play at SCCC; he also helps them move on to bigger schools when they finish here.

Not an easy schedule

Robertson did not want an easy schedule; he made sure to play several nationally ranked teams, which shows strength as a program.

“We have great individual players, and we are still trying to find our way as a team,” he said before the final game. “We are struggling this year, but we are battling and I couldn’t be more proud of the team I have.”

He has confidence in his team and believes this year will be a building block for next season. With players there for two years, a season with new players struggling may be followed by a great season with a lot of chemistry.

Robertson believes some problems may be remedied by getting the team into camp a few weeks earlier.

Many college football programs start their camp almost a month before the school year starts. The Skylanders only had two weeks.

Another issue is the lack of an official home field.

This year, the Skylanders played their three home games at Sussex County Technical School in Sparta.

Robertson said a field of its own as it could lift the program to another level.

“A lot of these places you go to, the college football team is the community’s team,” he said. “Not everyone has enough money to go see the Giants or the Jets or even Rutgers.

“I would love to build that relationship with the community.”