Reigning champion West Orange HS football team comes up short against Union City in the North 2, Group 5 sectional playoff semifinals

UNION CITY, NJ — The sixth-seeded and defending champion West Orange High School football team lost at second-seeded Union City, 20-14, in the semifinals of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s North Jersey, Section 2, Group 5 state playoffs on Friday, Nov. 3.

West Orange ended the season with a 5-5 record. Union City won its ninth straight and improved to 9-1.

With all the hype and fanfare that led into the sectional semifinal matchup between the West Orange Mountaineers and the Union City Soaring Eagles, you would think you would have all the fixings of a major championship, with the New York City skyline serving as a backdrop for this all-important playoff game. All eyes were on this game because of the improbable idea that there might be a rematch of last year’s sectional championship game between West Orange and Phillipsburg. The stage was set and it was “lights, cameras, and kickoff” at Union City’s Roosevelt Stadium, better known as the “Rooftop” stadium.

West Orange knocked off the third-seeded Plainfield Cardinals 25-21 in comeback fashion in the quarterfinal round the week before, and Union City decimated Hackensack Comets 41-7 as they too were looking to settle a score with Phillipsburg when they lost to the Stateliners 23-6 back in the 2021 playoffs.

The Mountaineers would defer the opening kickoff to the second half and the Soaring Eagles took full advantage of the gift that just kept giving. The Soaring Eagles imitated the Plainfield Cardinals’ first moves as people were still coming up the stairwells from the Kennedy Boulevard entrances, as well as getting their popcorn and refreshments. On the first play of the game, Union City running back Mark Boyd swooped through open traffic like he was preparing to fly through the Lincoln Tunnel for a 52-yard touchdown to open the early scoring, 7-0 ,with just 12 seconds taken off the clock. 

The Soaring Eagles, led by senior quarterback Marc Molina; RBs Boyd, Ja’Zaire Aurelus, Tyler Koffa, Elijah Rose and Damian Rosario; along with wide receiver Denzel Chavis, would find the end zone two more times in the first half. They would trade a total of three punts before the Soaring Eagles marched 52 yards in nine plays into the end zone for their second score to start the second quarter, sending Boyd for the 20-yard touchdown to cap the drive with 9:04 remaining in the first half and a 13-0 lead. 

West Orange would fumble the ensuing onside kick, giving Union City the ball at the West Orange 32-yard line. With excellent field position, Union City took its time to savor the sustained six-play drive before capping it with a 12-yard bull rush by Koffa to extend the lead to 20-0 with 5:39 left in the half. 

West Orange QB Charlie LaMorte, WRs David Moore Jr. and Iyan Gainor, and RBs Adonis White and Noah Terry kept the Mountaineers competitive, despite having injuries to nine players. It took a little bit longer, but the expected Mountaineers’ answer came with 4:38 remaining in the half. Starting from their own 42-yard line, LaMorte would feed White the ball for a 30-yard gain, which turned into a 15-yard personal foul against the Soaring Eagles, putting the Mountaineers squarely in Soaring Eagles territory. LaMorte then fired a 25-yard bullet to Gainer that carried him to the Union City 15-yard line, where again White would take it the rest of the way for the Mountaineers’ first score of the evening, closing the gap at 20-7 with 4:38 remaining in the half. The Soaring Eagles would drain the clock in the first half to prevent West Orange’s offense from gaining any momentum to take into the second half.

That didn’t faze West Orange too much as they came out the half with new pep in their step. LaMorte and company drove 53 yards in 14 plays, eating up 5:46 on the clock. LaMorte would cap the drive with a 5-yard pirouetting-diving sidearm pass to Gainer, who was on the receiving end of the tipped pass that was batted around like hot cakes to pull their squad within 20-14 and put the Soaring Eagles on high alert going into the final quarter of the game. 

West Orange had their rally hats on, as Union City went into swarm mode and pinned its ears back. Both teams would come up with big stops, causing the other to punt or turn the ball over on downs. But the biggest catalyst was the two opportunities that West Orange had to get inside Union City territory. However, LaMorte was sacked back-to-back for a loss of 15 yards that was immediately followed by an interception that was returned to the West Orange 5-yard line where the Soaring Eagles went into victory formation to close the game at 20-14. 

“We had a lot of adjustments to make with guys being unable to play due to injuries,” said West Orange head coach Darnell Grant. “We knew that this game would be the game that would test us. We almost pulled it out, but the mistakes were just too much for us to overcome.” 

Grant would also state that Union City did an excellent job and would look forward to playing them again in the future. 

Union City head coach Wil Valdez said, “We knew that our guys were going to match up well against West Orange, but we felt that we had a better game plan with the style of offense that we play.” 

As a team, the Soaring Eagles only threw the ball twice for 5 yards. The bulk of their damage came in the running game, as they ran the ball 34 times for 209 yards and three touchdowns. Valdez said he was extremely happy with his defensive front line for keeping the pressure up and not letting West Orange get outside their containment. 

West Orange are looking to get back to its offseason training, with its rising underclassmen for next season. 

Union City will face Phillipsburg (9-1) on Friday evening, Nov. 10, in the sectional championship game on Bellis at Maloney Stadium in Phillipsburg at 7 p.m. The Stateliners dispatched Westfield 49-24 in the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 3.

“We’ve been up to Phillipsburg before, so we’re looking forward to going out there and seeing what will happen when we get to Maloney Stadium,” Valdez said.

  West Orange High School football