West Scranton’s Jonyae Sostre jumps over Scranton defenders for a gain in yards during the Bell Game at Scranton Veterans Memorial Stadium in Scranton Friday, October 16, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
West Scranton’s Jonyae Sostre gets past the Scranton defense during the Bell Game at Scranton Veterans Memorial Stadium in Scranton Friday, October 16, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
West Scranton’s Michael Green (22) is celebrated by teammates after scoring a touchdown against Scranton during the Bell Game at Scranton Veterans Memorial Stadium in Scranton Friday, October 16, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
West Scranton’s Quincy Mosley (11) carries the ball past Scranton’s Jacob Tojcyzk (14) during the Bell Game at Scranton Veterans Memorial Stadium in Scranton Friday, October 16, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
West Scranton’s Jonyae Sostre runs during the Bell Game at Scranton Veterans Memorial Stadium in Scranton Friday, October 16, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
West Scranton’s Michael Green runs the ball during the Bell Game at Scranton Veterans Memorial Stadium in Scranton Friday, October 16, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
West Scranton cheerleaders run over to the bell after West Scranton defeated Scranton in the Bell Game at Scranton Veterans Memorial Stadium in Scranton Friday, October 16, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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West Scranton’s Jonyae Sostre jumps over Scranton defenders for a gain in yards during the Bell Game at Scranton Veterans Memorial Stadium in Scranton Friday, October 16, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
SCRANTON — West Scranton finally scored the first points of the game with 3:44 left in the third quarter.
Two plays later, Jonyae Sostre saw an opportunity to end the Invaders’ seven-game losing streak in the Bell Game, and seized it.
The West Scranton junior saw Chris Manning loft a pass to Alex Esposito, leaped and intercepted the pass.
“I just dropped back into coverage, I knew they were desperate to get one,” Sostre said. “I was just watching his eyes, and I just see it coming, and I’m like, yeah, I’ve got to get that.”
It was the first time the Invaders won the Battle for the Bell since 2018.
“I can’t put it into words. It was a long time coming. Seven years without it,” Sostre said. “I know how much this means to our community, and we’re just so stoked to bring it back to where it belongs. And we’re going to keep it here for the next years coming. Believe that.”
Both teams struggled to find the end zone for most of the game, but midway through the third quarter West Scranton (3-5 overall, 1-4 LFC Division I) capitalized on Scranton’s botched exchange on a handoff, as Tyaire Lloyd dove on the fumble just inside midfield.
On the ensuing possession, Green ran for 8 and 6 yards for a first down at the Scranton 34. Then, Sostre broke a tackle in the backfield and sprinted down the left sideline to the Scranton 8-yard line. The Knights (0-8, 0-5) held the Invaders out of the end zone for two plays, but quarterback Austin Sostre took the shotgun snap and bowled into the end zone on a 1-yard run to give West Scranton a 7-0 lead.
Two plays after the score, Jonyae Sostre set up the Invaders on the Scranton 48 after his interception. On third-and-4, Green, who finished with 137 yards rushing and one touchdown on 20 carries, cut to the middle and sprinted to the end zone, picking up a big block from wide receiver Kaz Colbert along the way.
West Scranton forced a punt on the next drive, Quincy Mosley returned it 35 yards into Scranton territory and had 15 more yards tacked on by a facemask penalty. Once again, the Invaders turned to Jonyae Sostre, as he took the handoff to the left side, juked two defenders and dove into the end zone on a 15-yard run to give West Scranton a 19-0 advantage with 4:49 left in the fourth.
Jonyae Sostre finished with 120 yards rushing and one touchdown on 15 carries and added a 9-yard reception.
“Coming out of the half, we knew that, yeah, it was a 0-0 game. We need to come out this half and end it,” Jonyae Sostre said. “We were going back and forth, we stalled out on drives, we weren’t finishing drives and we were getting in the red zone and weren’t finishing drives. We knew we just had to come in there and finish the drives and we could come out victorious.”
Angelo Matlock returned the ensuing kickoff 72 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 19-6, but the onside kick went out of bounds and the Invaders ran out the clock for the victory.
The Invaders defense allowed just 64 yards with six tackles for loss and four tackles for no gain.
“We just never folded. We were like glue the whole time,” Jonyae Sostre said. “We’d make a bad play, but we came back the next play and we set the tone.”
Next week, West Scranton hosts Delaware Valley on Friday at 7 p.m., while Scranton visits Abington Heights.