EAST ORANGE, NJ – The East Orange Campus High School varsity football team lost to Montclair HS, 44-16, Saturday afternoon, Oct. 7,at Paul Robeson Stadium in East Orange for its second straight loss to move to a 3-2 record. Montclair improved to 4-0.
The Montclair Mounties came to Paul Robeson Stadium with the mindset of a tough game against rival the EOCHS Jaguars, but what they got was nothing what they expected. The Jaguars, for the second week in a row, showed their youth as they fell victim to the onslaught that Montclair QB Tarrin Earle and company brought with them in front of a packed house.
Montclair jumped out to an early lead that got ugly very quickly. Earle threw for four touchdowns that included a forced fumble return for a touchdown which left the Jaguars looking for answers. EOCHS was held to less than 150 total yards in the game with the biggest gain on a 73-yard kickoff return from Fayeson Carney which would have ignited the Jaguars late in the second quarter when Montclair was already ahead 37-2. Montclair finished its scoring with a 60-yard pass to go ahead 44-2 at the half.
EOCHS found its rhythm late in the game, scoring two touchdowns. But the game was too far out of reach for the Jags. “Today was about our focus as we were not locked in to achieve our goal,” said Jaguars head coach Rae Oliver. He was not happy with the result of the game as he attributed it to youth and inexperience. “There were several mistakes that we will work on over the bye week before taking on the Bloomfield Bengals on October 20th in Bloomfield.” EOCHS hasn’t beaten Montclair since 2010.
The Jaguars are idle this weekend and will be on the road against Bloomfield, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. and Morristown, Oct. 28, at 1 p.m. before closing out the season with home games against West Orange and Barringer. The Jaguars are currently in seventh place in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2 Group 5 playoff hunt after dropping four spots in the past two games. The top eight teams receive playoff berths. Wins against Bloomfield and Morristown will all but solidify their position in the playoffs.