Marcellus Pack, Anthony Cruz spur Nassau CC to comeback for 10-0 season
Nassau CC head football coach Joe Osovet speaks to his players during practice on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2014. Credit: Richard T. Slattery
Marcellus Pack returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown and quarterback Anthony Cruz got the go-ahead touchdown with a 2-yard run in the third quarter as No. 6 seed Nassau Community College completed a perfect season with a 34-27 victory over No. 7 Scottsdale CC in the Valley of the Sun Bowl yesterday.
Pack's return tied the game at 17-17 and Cruz's short touchdown gave the Lions (10-0) their first lead of the game with 5:50 left in the third quarter.
Nassau tacked on another score on a 6-yard halfback pass from Marcus Levy to tight end Ian Thomas late in the third quarter to make it 31-17.
Nassau CC finished the season undefeated for the first time since 2010. And it's the Lions' first bowl win since the 2001 Empire State Bowl.
The Fighting Artichokes (8-3) got on the board first with a field goal early in the second quarter.
With 9:59 remaining in the half, sophomore quarterback Michael Sanders connected with sophomore wide receiver Thaddeous Thompson for a touchdown pass to extend the Artichokes' lead to 10-0.
A little more than two minutes later, Nassau cut the deficit to 10-7 behind a touchdown run by Cruz, a freshman.
Scottsdale went back up by 10 with 3:39 left in the second quarter as Sanders threw a touchdown pass to sophomore tight end Julian Navarrette for a 17-7 advantage.
The Lions trimmed the lead to 17-10 before the break with a field goal.
Scottsdale put up 10 points in the fourth quarter.
