EAST ORANGE, NJ — Coming into the 2021 high school football season, we had an idea that this was going to be a special season for one if not both teams in one of the oldest high school football rivalries in the nation. Dating back to 1897, legend has it that the students from then East Orange High School — now East Orange Campus High School — and Newark High School — now Barringer High School — wanted to see who had the better football team. The students would meet in what is now Oval Park in East Orange, where they had horse races, track-and-field events, and many community fairs, as well as baseball games. With the tradition over the years where each team would play host at their respective home stadiums, East Orange and Barringer were part of many memorable Thanksgiving battles.
East Orange Campus has been on a winning streak that started in the shortened 2020 season, during which they beat Clifton 36-0 in the final game and forwent the annual Thanksgiving game. Instead they held a telethon benefiting the youth football programs in East Orange and Newark. They held a telethon this year as well but went ahead and played their annual rivalry Thanksgiving game at Newark Schools Stadium. As expected, the Jaguars pulled out a win over the Blue Bears, 49-0, making their record 12-0 for the 2021 season.
The Jaguars took full advantage of the short field after they recovered a Blue Bears fumble on the first play of the game. East Orange quarterback Raeden Oliver flipped a quick 8-yard pass to wide receiver Joshua Richards and then fed Damon Phillips for the 21-yard opening touchdown.
Oliver would come back on the Jags’ next possession and fire an air salute to Richards again for a 20-yard score for the 14-0 lead.
But the highlight of the game would be senior running back Jessica Felix putting a stamp on her high school football career by scoring her first touchdown. She is only the second female football player to score in program history, and the first under head coach Rae Oliver.
Felix got in late in the first quarter with about a minute left. She would have 7 yards on three carries before finally hitting pay dirt. Some of her teammates wanted to lift her up in celebration, but she kept everything simple by quickly handing out well-deserved daps and handshakes to close out the first quarter 21-0.
Barringer, led by quarterback John Camacho, could not stand up to the pressure that East Orange’s stingy defense brought to the Thanksgiving Day table. East Orange forced two fumbles and registered 3 and a half sacks on the day, all while keeping the Blue Bears under 100 yards in total offense. It also turned out to be a proving point in the next squad up, as the Jags rotated most of their starters out of the game. With senior backup quarterback Kaleb “Biscuit” Harmon taking over the duties and a running back by committee of Mikahl Taylor and Jahlyte Chance, along with wide receiver Michael Henderson, the Jaguars easily ran away with the score to go up 42-0 at the half. It would be Taylor who would set the pace with a 14-yard scoot and score. Henderson would follow suit on a jet sweep play, as he galloped 41 yards on a tightrope for the next score. Chance closed out the half with a 21-yard touchdown.
Halftime festivities honored several players from the past but most importantly the current seniors, who will be going off to college. For East Orange, Damon Phillips was named Offensive Player of the Year and Kyle Louis was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year. Louis has committed to play at the University of Pittsburgh. He did not play in the game, mainly due to an elbow injury, so he can be ready for the NJSIAA North, Group 5, Regional Bowl Championship at Rutgers SHI Stadium on Dec. 5 against Clifton.
The Jaguars would keep the game interesting in the third quarter as they shuffled in their underclassmen for the remainder of the game. The Jags refused to score for the better part of the third and fourth quarters. But quarterback Kaleb Harmon would put the final nail in the 2021 season for the Blue Bears as he called his own number for a quarterback sweep off the right side. The Jags once again were in good field position, eyeballing another touchdown as running backs Jahlyte Chance and Mikahl Taylor combined as part of a three-headed running tag team with Harmon, driving from the Barringer 36-yard line to inside the 8-yard line. Harmon showed his speed as he slid to his right, going full blast to the nearside pylon and scoring the final touchdown.
After the game, East Orange head coach Rae Oliver was happy with the win. However, he said, “We have to clean some things up before we can play Clifton next week. If it means we have to practice today and tomorrow, by all means I am ready to practice. Let’s go.”
He went on to say that there are a few things that he expects from his squad vis-a-vis core values that he didn’t see after the game but decided to handle that in-house.
As for Barringer Blue Bears head coach Dave McCombs, he was extremely appreciative of the opportunity to be a head coach again. Although his squad finished 0-10 on the season, he stated that there were a few games in the season that they could have won, which would have given them the momentum they needed. He will be looking to beef up his program in the off-season with returning and new players. He also wanted to keep the Thanksgiving Day tradition alive in the wake of East Orange winning the NJSIAA, North Jersey, Section 1, Group 5, championship. East Orange Campus owns the series at 61-39-9.
The Jaguars will kick off their final game of the season against Clifton on Sunday, Dec. 5, at 1 p.m. at Rutgers University’s SHI Stadium in Piscataway. Clifton, 10-2, has been riding the late-game heroics of Omar Muheisen, Bryan Feliciano and Donovan Swasey after the Mustangs took out the Ghosts of Paterson Eastside, 19-18, in a highly competitive game in the North 2, Group 5, championship. Can Clifton stop the high powered Jags? Will East Orange Campus rise to the occasion and play their brand of stingy defense? As head coach Rae Oliver once said, “Both teams will have to line up on that field, and then we shall see.”
Photos Courtesy of Kerry E. Porter
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