EAST ORANGE, NJ — The East Orange Campus High School football team defeated Livingston High School, 33-26, in the season opener on Saturday, Sept. 7, at Paul Robeson Stadium.
It has been a full year since the East Orange Campus Jaguars were able to open their season and play on their home turf in front of a home crowd. It also marked the debut of a new field turf and track that was long overdue with new signage marking the success of its recent state championship football, track and soccer teams, as well as the pride that is the city of East Orange at Paul Robeson Stadium.
The Jaguars opened the season against longtime arch rival Livingston Lancers, who entered the contest with a win over Barringer 29-0 in a Week 0 tilt that put them on top of the Super Football Conference–Freedom Red Division race with the loss of West Orange to Passaic Tech the night before.
East Orange came to play with game-changers such as senior wide receiver/defensive back Shakur Taylor and senior quarterback Sa’eed Cole and sophomore quarterback Zach Concepcion. The quarterbacks were effective in managing the game, hitting their targets when needed. Cole handled nearly 70% of the snaps on the day, with Concepcion taking over late in the third quarter.
Livingston featured quarterback Noah Ramos and the wide receiving corps of Abel Paul, Will Atkinson and Christian Giordano. But it turned out to be an old-fashioned street fight between these two teams, which date back to the old Iron Hills Conference–Iron Division. The Jaguars and Lancers last played during the East Orange Jaguars’ 2021 championship run, where the Lancers suffered 47-7 mauling that year.
It wasn’t long before the first swipe was thrown after the teams traded punts in the opening minutes of the game. Both defenses gave up little to no yards the first pair of exchanges deep in the opposing offenses’ territories. But it was another deep Jaguar punt that put the Lancers on their own 21-yard line, where two plays later, the Jaguars pounced with Taylor popping out like Houdini to pluck a pass from Ramos taking the ball the other way for a 24-yard pick-6. The point-after was blocked with 6:10 in the first quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, Livingston would bobble and muff the ball, which ignited a scrum for the ball, with the Jaguars coming out with it on the Lancers’ 4-yard line. Wasting no time, Jahvon Hazel scooted the 4 yards into the promised land for the 13-0 lead with 6:04 left in the first quarter.
After another Lancers’ three-and-out, the Jaguars took over at their own 30-yard line, where Cole marshaled his squad 70 yards in five plays, scoring on a 45-yard strike to Taylor, who was on the express to the end zone with 1:53 left in the first quarter and the 20-0 lead.
With another punt, Livingston couldn’t find an answer to East Orange’s stifling defense. Cole would take over on the Lancers’ 29-yard line after a short punt, with nine ticks left in the opening quarter. He ushered his squad to another score with the help of senior RB Davion Thomas, who capped the six-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown to stretch the lead to 27-0 early in the second quarter. With their fifth punt of the game, the Lancers found themselves on the business end of a 49-yard uncorked bomb in the bucket from East Orange’s Cole to Samaj Toney-El for the 33-0 lead with 8:33 left in the half.
Livingston had enough of East Orange benefitting from the turnover war and finally launched a bomb of its own, a 57-yard connection from Ramos to Giordano, who ran as if he had a pack of Jaguars hot on his case, giving Livingston some life with 7:54 left in the half. From that point, East Orange was playing ball control from its 15-yard line. They sustained an 11-play drive, killing seven minutes off the clock, before turning the ball over to Livingston with 0:27 seconds left in the first half. But the momentum would stay in Livingston’s favor at the start of the second half.
East Orange would start on its own 24-yard line and it was looking like the Jaguars were going to pounce again when Cole found Toney-El again for a 41-yard gain. But Livingston would blow through East Orange’s offensive line on the next play, causing a fumble on the handoff exchange in the backfield, with Shawn Labady scooping up the loose ball and hopping on his horse for a 64-yard gallop the other way, cutting the Jaguars’ lead to 33-14 with 10:11 left in the quarter. The Jags would hold the ball nearly three minutes on their next possession, marching to the Livingston 41-yard line from their 30-yard line and keeping the ball for seven plays before turning the ball over on downs. Livingston would do the same, as the Lancers would complete two of five passes in their next possession, turning the ball over to East Orange, which was finding themselves stalling offensively, before Livingston’s defense would snag an interception of its own late in the third quarter.
Donning their rally caps, Livingston, led by Ramos, Connor Healy and Paul, began to apply the pressure with hard-nosed hits, forcing another fumble and the debut of backup QB Concepcion for East Orange. He would complete four passes of six attempts for 60 yards to pace the Jaguars into the fourth quarter.
But Ramos and company had other ideas, chewing up the clock with a 12-play, 83-yard, three-minute drive that started on the Lancers’ 27-yard line with 50 seconds left in the third quarter. Ramos found Giordano for the 12-yard scoring strike with 9:55 left in the game to pull within two touchdowns. The Lancers had a few more tricks up their sleeves, as they battled defensively toe-to-toe with the Jaguars’ explosive offensive weapons. With a fast-moving rain shower, the game pressed on in the Lancers’ rallying favor.
Ramos and Giordano would connect again with a 31-yard touchdown strike to cut the East Orange lead down to 33-26 with 1:23 left in game, where the Lancers would hop on an onside kick with just enough time to try and tie the game. But East Orange’s defense would step in and snag another interception to put an end to the Lancers’ hopes, keeping first place all to themselves in the divisional race.
East Orange improved to 1-0, while Livingston moved to 1-1 on the season.
“We knew that we had our hands full coming into this game,” Livingston head coach Bob Breschard said. He went on to say that he was able to get his players to adjust to the speed of the game, as East Orange had both size and speed, giving them a slight advantage. “We aren’t afraid to hit,” he joked when asked about the hard, physical game they played, which included injuries from both sides.
“We have to respect what they brought in today’s game,” said East Orange head coach John Jacob. He made it clear that he expected to win, but also knew that Livingston wasn’t going to be a pushover. “Coach Breschard and I are great friends and I would not expect less from his team,” Jacob said.
Livingston will be on the road again this Friday evening, Sept. 13, at 7 against the Millers of Milburn High School. Following that game, they will have West Orange, making the short ride up Route 10 to visit on Friday, Sept. 20.
East Orange will be on the road this Friday evening, Sept. 13, as well, as the Jaguars head deep into the Ironbound section of Newark to face the undefeated Red Raiders of Newark East Side High School at Ironbound Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Newark East Side was scheduled to play East Orange a couple years ago, but was forced to forfeit for undisclosed reasons. They have since revived their program after spending the past couple years in the Super Football Conference–Ivy Division. Since their return, they have defeated Plainfield, 8-6, and recently Columbia, 42-7. “Come on down to the ‘Bottoms.’ We promise you will have a great time,” said Newark East Side head coach Damon Harrison in a recent interview prior to the season’s start.
East Orange will come home afterward to face vaunted neighborhood foe Montclair High School on Saturday, Sept. 21, at 1 p.m., before embarking on a three-game road trip that starts in Orange.
Photos Courtesy of Kerry E. Porter
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