EAST ORANGE, NJ — Under head coach Rae Oliver, the East Orange Campus High School football team has produced a winning season in each of his four seasons at the helm, including state playoff appearances in the first three years. The state playoffs were not held last year due to the pandemic.
Though the Jaguars lost a few dynamic players from last year’s 5-2 team, there is reason to feel optimism for another winning season and a return to the North Group 5 state playoffs.
“This year we are much more experienced,” Oliver said in an interview with the Record-Transcript. “I think we will be a little bit more diverse, running and throwing. Offensively, we have a lot of kids on the line back and be a little bit more controlled of what we want to do.”
This year’s team features a lot more players who are determined to work hard and do whatever is needed on the field, Oliver said.
“We lost a lot of kids in terms of explosiveness, but I think we will probably be a better team with a lot more blue-collar kids this year. Kids are just happy to be out here, not relying on their talent, but on coaching and training and the habits we create with them,” Oliver said. “It’s going to be interesting. I’m looking forward to seeing what we end up with.”
Oliver’s son, senior Raeden Oliver, is back as the starting quarterback for the Jaguars and is coming off a good off-season.
Kyle Louis, a senior wide receiver/linebacker who has been a starter since his sophomore year, has shown so much versatility that Rae Oliver has dubbed him “MacGyver,” in reference to the TV character known for quick-thinking, creative problem-solving.
“He’s our utility guy,” Rae Oliver said of Louis, who committed to Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa.. “Whatever we need, he does. He has the athleticism defensively to play a number of positions and he’s smart enough. He’s very athletic.”
Louis is ranked as the No. 12 overall football prospect in the state for the Class of 2022 by Rivals.com.
The Jaguars have two other players who have accepted football scholarships.
Rahmir Garner, a senior offensive tackle/defensive tackle, has committed to Valparaiso University, in Valparaiso, Ind., while senior H-back and defensive end Ahmad Nalls has committed to Kent State University, located in Kent, Ohio.
Other notable players for the Jaguars include senior running back Damon Phillips, senior slotback Sharif Bryant, and wide receiver Josh Richards who moved back to East Orange after living in Florida for two years and also has scholarship offers. Phillips and Bryant split time last year in the backfield.
The Jaguars’ main goal is to win a state championship. Achieving that goal will require hard work and discipline against stiff competition in the Super Football Conference.
“We’re relying on our discipline as a team and the concepts that we have to work through a long season,” Rae Oliver said. “We have Montclair that we open up, then we have Bloomfield, West Orange, Pope John, West Side, so we have a lot of good teams that we are playing this year.”
The Jaguars have competed in the Liberty Blue Division since the conference was formed in 2016 but have been moved to the Freedom Red Division, which includes Bloomfield, Columbia, Newark East Side, Livingston, Montclair and West Orange.
The Jaguars will kick off the season against Montclair in the Rumble at the Raritan Showcase on Sept. 3 at 8 p.m. at Rutgers University.
Schedule
Sept. 3: vs. Montclair, Rumble at the Raritan at Rutgers, 8 p.m.
Sept. 10: vs. Bloomfield, 7 p.m.
Sept. 17: at Columbia, 7 p.m.
Sept. 24: at West Orange, 7 p.m.
Oct. 1: at Livingston, 7 p.m.
Oct. 9: vs. Newark East Side, 1 p.m.
Oct. 16: at Pope John, 1 p.m.
Oct. 30: vs. Newark West Side, 1 p.m.
Nov. 25: at Barringer, 10:30 a.m.
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